Electrical Safety Testing for Electronics

Electrical and electronic products come and go, and manufacturers and retailers who want a shelf life beyond the next holiday season must sell products that are safe as well as work. Brand image and reputation that have been carefully nurtured for years can be tainted in an instant. A large recall or a customer injury suit can wipe out in one stroke a multitude of merchant smart plays. To avoid such a crisis, there are numerous measures that Electrical and Electronic product suppliers need to consider:

• Vendor selection: The first step is to develop a long-term buyer/vendor relationship. When there is a sense of a continuing partnership and potential future business at stake, vendors have a strong incentive to design safe products.
• Third-party certification: The second step is to obtain third-party product safety certification. This involves a highly experienced independent third-party to scrutinize prototype designs or early production samples, and screen out significant errors that even the most diligent design houses may miss. Certification schemes also include some factory surveillance, which is generally implemented through quarterly visual inspections that can monitor any design discrepancies.
• Compliance with sourcing and performance specifications (protocols): Another measure is to review production samples against a sourcing or performance specification. This action by a third-party can frequently detect any variation from the original certification samples.

What is the IECEE CB Scheme?

Operated by the IEC System of Conformity Assessment Schemes for Electrotechical Equipment and Components (IECEE), the IECEE CB Scheme is an international system for mutual acceptance of test reports and certificates dealing with the safety of electrical and electronic components, equipment and products.

In 2018, in excess of 100,000 CB Test Certificates were issued worldwide as the chart below demonstrates (source: IECEE statistics)

As you can see from the below chart, in the last 5-years since 2014, 2 product categories have dominated the number of submissions (Office equipment linked to 60950 safety standard & household appliances linked to 60335 safety standard): 

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

• Safety: verify that products comply with relevant safety standards.
• Quality: validate the quality of products 
• Interoperability: confident that their products work and can interact with other products, services and installations.
• Consistency: be sure their products comply with the sample assessed.

WHY BUREAU VERITAS?

We have CB Test Labs all over the world in USA, France, Germany, India, Greater China and Korea, all approved under Bureau Veritas LCIE as the National Certification Body. A CB Test Certificate from Bureau Veritas can prove to be your gateway to global market access.