Appliance Design - November 2007 - (Page 56)

ASSOCIATION REPORT: AHAM Continuous Improvement in Product Safety Joseph M. McGuire President Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers T he Congress is hard at work crafting legislation designed to address the recent torrent of problems with imported toys from China. This is a very serious issue, not only for the toy industry, but for everyone involved in the consumer product supply chain. The safety of our products is our single most important priority. And, it’s not just a China issue. Each and every company involved in the supply chain has a responsibility. A full commitment to product safety is necessary, but not easy. If the commitment is real and resourced, it will pay dividends by protecting customers and earning their trust. Certainly a business case can be made for having a culture of safety in one’s company. But it’s a complex and continuously changing environment. At one time or another every company in the supply chain has had some experience with the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s corrective action program. No company is perfect. No matter how many resources are dedicated to product safety by a company, mistakes will occur. New knowledge and information will continue to raise the bar on safety. Companies that have adopted a culture of safety will respond to such developments in a positive manner to keep their customers satisfied, to maintain the credibility of their brand with the public, and because it’s the right thing to do. The CPSC has encouraged companies to report information when they think there might be the chance of a defect or hazard, not to wait until it’s proven. This proactive approach has generally been accepted by industry, but it also puts burdens on the agency’s resources to deal with the increased amount of information. As the Congress works to make the CPSC more effective, AHAM feels it is our responsibility to participate in this debate and to point out the strengths and weaknesses of the current system employed by the federal government. The toy import issue has energized legislators on consumer product safety, which is good. But, our concern is to ensure that solutions devised to address this situation do not undermine elements of the current product safety system that work. We applaud the Toy Industry Association and ANSI for announcing a framework for a new mandatory testing requirement for toys sold in the U.S. The toy industry is working with the Congress to adopt legislation to ensure industry-wide adherence to mandatory testing, standardized testing procedures, and a laboratory certification program for toys. But, as we know in the appliance sector, virtually all products are subject to safety standards, developed for the most part by Underwriters Laboratories for electrical aspects, and the ANSI Z21/83 group for gas-fueled appliances. While these standards are referred to as “voluntary,” that descriptor refers in reality only to the fact that developers of consensus safety standards, such as UL, are non-governmental. AHAM members understand, and CPSC takes great pains to point out that the word “voluntary” doesn’t refer to compliance with these standards. It is standard practice in the appliance sector for manufacturers to demonstrate compliance with safety standards through independent testing by an accredited safety lab. It is the norm for most retailers as well. AHAM has worked with the CPSC and major retailers in educating manufacturers in China of their need to consider “voluntary” standards as mandatory for the U.S. market. We don’t want to lose the benefits of this system in any legislated reform of CPSC. We are working with the many stakeholders in the consensus standards and conformity assessment arena to preserve this system. Likewise, while no company enjoys dealing with CPSC on potential corrective action matters, the system is designed for cooperation and this should be maintained. Proposals to limit the producers’ ability to review and comment on the accuracy and fairness of the release by CPSC of company-specific information, or allowing state attorneys general to enforce federal safety laws, will only serve to transform the current system to one of increased litigation and defensive tactics. Other proposals we have seen may, in fact, weaken the CPSC by having it focus on marginal issues, unrelated to the core functions of the agency. While AHAM supports increased funding for CPSC, we want to make sure the increases will be devoted to actually improving safety. AHAM members, from OEMs to suppliers, will continue to keep product safety at the top of our agenda and look forward to continuous improvement. < 56 applianceDESIGN November 2007 www.applianceDESIGN.com http://www.appliancedesign.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Appliance Design - November 2007

Appliance Design - November 2007 Contents Editorial Shipments/Forecasts News Watch Today’s LEDs are Brighter and More Colorful than Previous Versions, Allowing Designers More Opportunities to Improve and Differentiate Their Products. When Converting from CCFL to LED Backlights in LCD Panels, New Driving Methods are Needed. Electrowetting Technology Allows Displays to be Designed in an Extensive Range of Colors. Noise Problems are Not Always Easy to Find or Fix, but Acoustic Labs Can Help Designers Ferret Out the “Good” Noise from the “Bad.” A New Sanitization Protocol for Clothes Washers Combines the Best of Three Well-Established Provisions to Ensure Efficiency, Quality and Safety. Stricter EMC Requirements Raise the Bar for Appliances with Electronic Controls and Require Testing to New Levels. Despite Added Cost and Complexity, Gas-Modulating Systems have Migrated from Large-Scale Boiler Applications to Smaller Residential and Commercial Furnaces and Appliances. A New Treatment Technology Hardens the Surface of Light Alloys such as Aluminum and Magnesium and Expands Their Potential Applications. DesignMart Advertiser’s Index Association Report: AHAM

Appliance Design - November 2007

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.