Why do your products need third party certification?

            Generally they don’t. It will depend largely on your customer’s needs.

In certain parts of the world it is common practice for products to be third party certified and it may not be possible to sell them unless they are. Some countries may accept the certification mark from another country, this is common within Europe. Other countries may have joint agreements, As an example, a cUL mark will indicate that the product has been tested by Underwriters Laboratories and found to meet the requirements of the United States standards (UL). At the same time it was also assessed against the Canadian standards issued by the Canadian Standards Authority (CSA).

There is however another benefit from third party testing. The testing body will have assessed your product against the requirements contained within the relevant standard(s). If found to be compliant, they will then issue the product with their Certification Mark – BEAB, SEMKO, IMQ, UL etc. Generally these marks are registered trade marks. The reputation of the owner of the mark could therefore be called into question if the integrity or safety of the product is challenged. The certification body may well be prepared, if appropriate, to stand up in court and defend your product – and their mark.

One point that is frequently missed is that the user instructions issued with the product should be assessed at the same time as the product is tested. These instructions may also determine how the product is tested and even what standards are used.

It is therefore of paramount importance that matters relating to certification are properly managed. A product that fails to meet the requirements of the standard and has to be modified and retested may delay the launch of that product.

Ian Andrews can help you with many of the aspect concerning certification and could also manage the process on your behalf.