The Safety Passport You Need to Know

Figure 1. Notebook Power Adapter Comparison

Did you notice the difference between those power adapters (Figure 1)? Yes, it’s all the markings that imprint on it. Most consumers will never or do not bother to look to see if the product they are about to buy displays a safety agency mark and certification mark. Most of the time, consumers taking the safety of the purchased product for granted. Consumers and manufacturers should pay attention to these marks and understand the benefit it delivers.

Figure 2 – The general relationship overview of the markings.

The Relationships in All the Markings

Consumers are often confused about the required imprints and the meaning behind them. Figure 2 illustrated a brief explanation of all the marking relationships. Generally speaking, for products to sell into a country, it needs to imprint certain markings need by that country. These imprints are so-called certification marks. Such marks are FCC, CE, CCC, and BSMI. Depending on the product category, other marks may also need it. The mark carries a deeper meaning. Take product with CE marking for example. It means it is in conformity with health, safety, and environmental protection standards to sell inside or outside the European Area. Without the certification mark, products are unable to put on the shelf or hold by custom.

Different countries' certification marking shares similar requirements.  By the same token, the standard operates the same. They share similar testing parameters on different product categories. Some well-known standards are the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), Underwriter Laboratories (UL), the Guobiao in China, and the Chinese National Standard (CNS) in Taiwan. To make sure production products meeting the standards. Companies would send their goods to a third-party testing facility.

What and Who are the Safety Agencies?

The safety agency is an independent third party. Who provides consulting, testing, and certifying products meeting standards. Some of the recognizable agencies are IEC, UL, TÜV, and SGS. When a company decides to carry the agency marks. The agency will provide a complete set of performance tests set by the agency. There are many testing criteria set by the standards, safety is one of the main aspects.

Testing on electronics usually separates into two categories. The type testing, and routine testing. Type testing determines whether a product meets design specifications. It is usually performed on a single product in the laboratory environment. Routine testing performs in the production line. It usually determines if the production output meets established quality standards. Further, the routine test is more stringent, and need to conduct under a fast pace environment.

The major difference between the two is the testing time. To meet par testing results, the routine test sets on a harsher testing parameter in a fraction of time. For example, performing a withstand test in a laboratory may need a full 60 second. But on the production floor, it only has 3 seconds, depending on which and what test performed.

Once the product passed all the tests specified in the standard. The safety agency mark now can imprint on the product with full confidence.

Electronics are Safer backed with Safety Agency Marks

On a high-level speaking. The safety agency marks are the safety assurance under the right use provided by the business to consumers. Yet, having such marking imprint on their product is often by choice. As there is no standardized law regulating this. Without it, it lacks trust through marketing channels.

To minimizes the safety concerns coming from the customers. Manufacturers should understand the benefits of acquiring a safety mark from recognizable agencies. Making this investment leaves greater peace of mind for companies. Knowing the products they delivered carries liability protection for them. 

The Instruments Behind the Safety Standard.

As now you have a general idea about how the marking system run. It is also important for you to know what is the main key instrument to meet the marking. It is the electrical safety analyzer. As mentioned earlier, different product categories have different testing standards. For example, IEC standard 60034 Rotating Electrical Machine is common standard testing on a motor. It usually requires Hipot (AC/DC), Ground Bond (GB), and Insulation Resistance (IR) Testing. EEC's SE electrical safety analyzer supports the full range of testing standards on electric motors.

Extech Electronics Co. (EEC) has been in the safety testing industry for over 40 years. Our products are being used in various third-party laboratories around the globe. Our commitment is to help our customers achieve the safety agency marking with our safety tester.

Figure 3 – EEC’s ESA series electrical safety compliance analyzer and SE series electrical safety analyzer are mostly use by customer and laboratories while performing such tests.

Extech Electronics Co. (EEC) has been in the safety testing industry for over 40 years. Our products are being used in various third-party laboratories around the globe. Our commitment is to help our customers achieve the safety agency marking with our safety tester.