| Q. |
What is a safety agency? |
| A. |
Safety agencies are regulatory bodies that establish testing procedures called standards.
They provide their seal of approval, known as an agency listing, to a product that meets their
standards. In the United States, one of the most popular agencies is Underwriter’s Laboratories
(UL), in Germany, TÜV Rheinland, in China, China Compulsory Certification (CCC). It is important
to note that in the United States, as in many other countries, the Federal government isn’t involved
in regulating these electrical safety compliance agencies; there is no law in the U.S. that states a
manufacturer must have a listing in order to sell an electrical product. However, in order to compete
in today’s market and to avoid potential customer injuries and lawsuits, obtaining a safety agency
listing is a must.
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| Q. |
What is a standard? |
| A. |
A standard is a set of test procedures that applies to a specific electrical product or category of
products. Standards are used to verify that products meet basic requirements for safety, construction and
durability.
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| Q. |
What safety agency’s standards do I need to adhere to? |
| A. |
This varies by product type and classification. You can call us here at AR or your local safety agency
office for information on the standards that apply to your product.
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| Q. |
Do standards differ by state or country? |
| A. |
Safety standards do usually vary by country, especially between Europe and the United States.
However, while many safety agencies are specifically founded and/or affiliated with certain countries,
most are accepted by a variety of nations. For example, even though UL is the most popular electrical
safety agency responsible for consumer products sold in the United States, many other countries have
deemed UL listed products acceptable to sell within their own borders. Likewise, the United States accepts
many products that are TÜV listed to be sold within our borders. Check with your local safety agency office
for more information.
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| Q. |
What organization determines what testing needs to be performed and on what basis? |
| A. |
This usually depends on what country you manufacture in and what country you are shipping your products to.
In the United States of America the governing safety organization is Underwriters Laboratories (UL). They set
the safety compliance specifications for consumer safety. In Canada it would be the Canadian Standards Association
(CSA). For a complete listing of compliance agencies see our resource listing.
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| Q. |
Are your Hipots listed by an Independent Safety Testing Agency? |
| A. |
Our instruments are in compliance with EN 61010 and UL 3111.1 safety standards, the majority of
our products carry either the TÜV-GS and/or the C-UL-US safety agency listing marks and the CE mark.
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| Q. |
Do you have information on domestic/international compliance safety agencies? |
| A. |
Yes. Please contact us for more information about national and international safety agency standards.
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