Product Safety

Product safety relates to measures to assure there is adequate protection for users in a product’s intended operating environment from the potential for electrical shock, fire, mechanical or chemical hazard, among other concerns.

Many information technology products are increasingly battery powered, and certain safety requirements apply to batteries on a standalone basis and as part of an end product in assuring product safety. Suppliers of internal or external power supplies typically perform required safety tests on these supplies prior to sale, but additional evaluation of the supplies as part of an end system is necessary to assure product safety of the system. In the US, by mandate of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), many information technology products used in the workplace are required to be assessed for safety by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) that include UL, TUV, CSA, ETL, or MET, and involve UL/CSA 60950-1 evaluation.

As part of their CE-mark requirements in the European Union, information technology products are required to meet certain product safety standards, typically the EN 60950-1. On a global scale, the CB Scheme program is an internationally backed conformity testing and certification system with over 50 member countries covering product safety – it speeds up the process to achieve product safety certifications at the country level via mutual recognition of assessment to IEC standards such as IEC 60950-1. CBTL testing labs including MET Labs and TUV Rheinland are able to complete evaluation of technology products to achieve CB Scheme certification.