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Product Safety

Product safety testing is driven by governmental organizations all over the world to ensure that a product is not a fire or shock hazard and does not pose any other basic safety risks to a user. PTI can help out with product safety in 5 ways:

1. Provide an NRTL approval:

The United States and Canada and Canadian government requires that any AC powered device for use in a workplace environment have an NRTL approval. NRTL standards for “National Recognized Testing Laboratory”. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is the division of the US Government that approves testing facilities to grant NRTL approvals. NRTL approvals are recognized with a symbol on the outside of the product. This symbol is often referred to as an “NRTL mark”, and the UL (Underwriter’s Laboratory) symbol is probably most recognized by the general public in the United States. Not only does the US and Canadian government and require an NRTL mark, but additionally many large customers (i.e. their procurement departments) will require an NRTL mark before buying your product. The UL mark is one of about 7 options that you have to prove compliance and satisfy both governmental AND procuring agency requirements. The type of testing and method for approval depends on what kind of product you’re selling. There are literally hundreds of categories and there is a testing and approval procedure for each category of equipment. The standards for each category are labeled UL XXXXX. For example, UL 60950 is the testing and approval procedure for IT Equipment. Although these documents begin with a “UL” for historical reasons, any of the recognized NRTL’s in the United States and Canada can test and approve to these standards. Here are a few of the symbols you’ll find on products to prove NRTL approvals:

So what can PTI do to help with NRTL’s? We can provide an NRTL approval from MET labs the oldest NRTL, for certain types of products. The table below shows the products and categories we’re able to perform right here in Austin, TX:

Do you need help with another UL standard other than the ones listed, and you need it done here in Texas and you need some help? Fill out a quote request form and we can quickly evaluated whether or not we can help you.

2. Provide a CE Mark:

The European Union (EU) is a conglomeration of 25 different countries in Europe that have all agreed on certain trade laws among other things. One of the agreements made is that the CE Mark is required on all products shipped into the European Union. The CE mark signifies that the product have followed “directives”, which are an assortment of requirements depending on the product’s feature and intended use. The “Low Voltage Directive” is the equivalent of an NRTL mark here in the United States and Canada. The difference is that, for most products, there’s no approval agency. The CE Mark works under a method of “self declaration” in most cases. A manufacturer is still required to perform the testing and keep the results in a technical construction file, but this file is not required to be submitted to any agency unless it is requested by a representative of the EU. Generally a “declaration of conformity” for to prove compliance to the CE mark rules is a shipped through customs into the EU. The declaration of conformity is a 1-page summary of the directives and laws you’ve used to declare conformity with that product. The CE Mark looks like this:

So what can PTI do to help with CE Marking? We can help you evaluate which directives and standards are required for your product to ship to Europe, we can perform the testing to the Low Voltage Directive (specific for product safety) and other directives including the EMC Directive with our EMC Capabilities. We also have consulting services to help you maintain a technical construction file and we can even help you draft the declaration of conformity! Here are a few examples of Low Voltage Directive testing, which are similar and in some cases identical to the testing required for NRTL compliance:

3. Provide a CB Scheme:

The CB Scheme is a more global approach to proving compliance for Product Safety. Instead of an “NRTL” for the United States, and approving laboratory is called a “CBTL” which stands for “Competent Body Test Lab”. There is no mark or sticker you apply on your product for CB Scheme approvals. Once your product is evaluated, a CBTL issues you a report that can be brought to all major developed Countries in the world, and you receive their marks or logos or approvals as appropriate. The report you receive is called the “CB Scheme”. The approval process with a CB Scheme report varies by Country: some (like India) require nothing more than a certificate proving compliance, and others (like the UL in the United States or CSA in Canada) require a fee, a review of the report, and reserve the right to look at a sample. You’re reading this correctly: THE CB Scheme is an alternative method to receiving an NRTL mark even here in the United States!

So what can PTI do to help with CB Scheme? PTI is a CBTL-in-training, and we can work with a partner company, NEMKO, to provide a CB Scheme report. The testing is done at your facilities, and PTI is there to support you and make sure you’re compliant!

Getting Worldwide Market Access: PTI takes care of you with the NEMKO direct program: Just pick your Countries of interest, and we’ll make sure you receive access to those markets with the CB Scheme. We can help specifically with the following types of products for CB Scheme reports:

4. Pre-compliance testing:

If you’re going directly to an NRTL for United States / Canada compliance, we can do pre-compliance testing and analysis for you to make sure you are going to pass. Going directly to NRTL’s can pose a risk: long lead times, and delays / extra fees for failures. PTI is here to help you work through these issues before you send a product out to UL, for example, for final testing.

5. Compliance testing:

We can be your partner throughout the complete design cycle for compliance testing. Compliance issues are rarely the top concern during a product’s development, so let PTI take care of that for you. Here is how we can help at each state:

Product Safety: