ANSI Proposes Consumer Product Safety Guidance Standard
April 5, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS
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The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Committee on Consumer Policy (COPOLCO) submitted a proposal for a new consumer product safety standard.
According to the ISO proposal, existing national regulations and standards governing consumer product safety may not provide adequate consumer protection, often specifying only a minimum set of requirements to address known products and associated hazards.
COPOLCO experts said there is a need for an international standard that would establish universally applicable guidance for safety across all consumer product types.
The new work item would provide practical guidance to all parties in the supply chain on how to carry out a systematic safety analysis of a product through its entire life cycle - from design and manufacture through end-use and disposal. Experts said placing greater emphasis on safety at the design stage and on controlling manufacturing and distribution processes will result in fewer consumer injuries and legal issues with dissatisfied customers and enforcement authorities.
Specifically, the document would:
- Identify the information and data that needs to be considered to identify potential risks.
- Outline steps to follow when assessing risks and associated hazards, including evaluating the probability, severity and consequences of exposure.
- Define means of determining, documenting and implementing the best approach to negating or limiting harm.
The standard would also provide guidance on implementing other relevant safety standards, including ISO/IEC Guide 37:1995 - Instructions for use of products of consumer interest and ISO/IEC Guide 51 - Safety aspects -Guidelines for their inclusion in standards.
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is looking for comments on the ISO/COPOLCO proposal. All input received will be compiled and considered to form a recommended ANSI position to ISO.
Interested stakeholders can submit comments to Steven Cornish, ANSI director of international policy (scornish@ansi.org) by Friday, May 4, 2007.
Source: American National Standards Institute (ANSI).