The electronic picture frame was a Christmas present. It was made in China. Is this safe to plug in and leave powered up 24/7? That depends on the product listings for this device. Here are things you should know about the listings on products.
What is a Product Listing?
When you purchase a product, you expect that the product will meet minimum safety standards. Manufacturers and distributors will apply labeling that indicates that the product meets safety standards. That sounds like a good way to verify safety, but the use of these labels is not consistent between agencies.
In the United States the most common label is the UL label. This label indicates that Underwriters Laboratories have evaluated this product, and it meets the applicable safety standards. The UL listing is not automatic or free. The manufacturer must pay UL to conduct the evaluation and be subject to follow up audits and inspection to verify that products are being manufactured to the appropriate standard. To be listed by UL the product must use component parts that are UL listed and meet safety standards. The final assembly must meet safety standards and be evaluated by UL. The safety standards can come from consensus standard developers such as ASME, ANSI, and other industry specific groups. UL has some of its own standards that have been peer reviewed per ANSI protocols..
It is interesting to do a search on Amazon to see how prevalent the UL listing is in the marketplace. I searched for “porch lights outdoor” when doing some work at home. The original Amazon search results brought back over 9,000 results. Using the filters on Amazon, I was able to specify that I wanted UL Listed products. This reduced the search to 2,000 items. Over 75% of the products offered did not have a UL Listing.
Were the UL Listed light fixtures more expensive? Yes, they were. The question is, do you believe that an electrical fixture should meet minimum safety standards, and the manufacturer is willing to pay to prove it a feature you desire?
There are other recognized testing laboratories that follow processes similar to UL. One of the most prominent in the US is Intertek. It provides a service similar to UL. These listings will show the standard to which the product is evaluated.
CE and UK CA Marks
Many products display a CE or UK CA mark on the packaging. These marks are different from UL. 90% of these are self-certified by the manufacturer. These are intended to facilitate trade within the European Union and Great Britain. While the European safety standards differ from US standards, the major difference is that manufacturers can self-certify that their products meet the safety standards. There is no third party verification.
Why You Should Care
Any product that is electrical in nature has inherent hazards, these hazards are not readily visible and only through testing can the safety of these products be verified. A listing agency mark indicates this has been done. One common theme is fires related to lithium-ion batters has been the lack of UL listings for the products.
Products that use fuel such as natural gas or LP (Propane) are also subject to product testing and having listings for product specific safety standards. Look for the UL listing on the product.
The Consumer Products Safety Commission requires children’s products to be evaluated to meet safety standards related to painting and finishes content, small parts that are a choking hazard, flame spread for textiles as examples. These products sold in the US must meet these standards and the listing must include ongoing audits to ensure continued use of the approved parts and materials. These standards have removed toxic lead paints finishes, highly flammable textiles and toys with small parts that cause choking hazards from the marketplace.
You can research the listing mark to see what standards were used to evaluate this product.
The bottom line is that product listings from reputable testing agencies are a quality indicator and a safety indicator. Without these listings and labels, you are placing yourself and your family at risk from hidden defects and substandard manufacturing practices. In a global economy where goods are not being produced locally, this may be your last chance to assure an acceptable level of safety.
I ultimately decided that the picture frame was OK, it had listings from Intertek that addressed electrical safety.
The Driehaus Difference
We care about your safety. The best insurance claim is one that never happened. We review industry reports on losses and note that many of these losses have a common factor, unlisted products.
We want our clients to be educated about the risk management tools that are present in the marketplace, and we encourage our clients to use these tools to protect themselves. An insurance claim is a response to an unfortunate event. Avoiding that event is the best risk management technique you can employ. We have internal risk management resources to help our clients make good choices.
We want to be your insurance provider. Call us on 513-977-6860 or contact us at www.driehausins.com.
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