Compliance & Precision News Round-Up - Issue 19

This issue covers:

ESC stresses importance of recall processes

This year’s UK Electrical Safety Council (ESC) Product Safety Conference, being held in London, on 16th May, will look at issues surrounding consumer protection from faulty electrical goods.

A key element of the event will be a review of product recall processes and traceability, looking at how recalls are tracked within the supply chain and to the consumer.

“Our research has shown that, in the last six years, 250 products – from mobile phone chargers to fridge freezers and dishwashers – have been recalled”, explains Martyn Allen, Head of Technical at the ESC. “But the average success rate for these recalls is around 10 – 20% - with most of them at the lower end of the scale.

“We have also found that around two million adults have knowingly ignored a recall notice, with one in three claiming they would not return a recalled product if it was too inconvenient. This lack of awareness is in contrast with the reality – recalled products have been known to cause severe injury and even death”.

Conference presentations will cover safety design principles for foreseeable misuse and the communication of risk in consumer protection.

The keynote speech comes from Malcolm Harbour CBE, MEP and Chair of the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee. Other speakers include Dyson, Bosch, AMDEA, Recall UK and the British Retail Consortium.

More details at www.esc.org.uk.

Sustainable commitment drive by switchgear associations

The European Coordinating Committee for the National Associations of Manufacturers of Low Voltage Electrical Switchgear and Controlgear equipment (CAPIEL) has published a new code of conduct for its members and industry stakeholders.

The new publication is intended to guide and support member companies, as well as the market in general, towards excellence and long term value creation by adopting sustainable development practices.

Corporate social responsibility, environmental care, best in class quality and highest levels of service is the credo of CAPIEL companies all over the world. Member companies are required to set high ethical, environmental and quality standards and apply them across their entire supply chain.

CAPIEL and its member associations, cover a wide range of low voltage products and services essential for the operation, protection and control of the electrical distribution networks and electrical machines.

More at www.capiel.eu .

DO4000 drives up quality control on automotive production lines

Improved testing of robotic weld quality during automotive vehicle manufacturing is provided by the DO4000 range of high performance, digital milliohmmeters now available from Cropico.

The portable and rugged instrument includes several advanced features to test accurately the integrity of welding during body part assembly as an integral part of an advanced quality control programme. It can also be used to improve the measurement of other areas of automotive production including testing resistance of airbag detonators and battery crimp terminations.

Features of the DO4000 include forward and reverse current measurement with auto averaging, true current zero, long scale length and a selectable measurement range from 40mΩ to 4kΩ with respective resolutions between 10uΩ and 1Ω.

Within the range, model 4001 also includes temperature compensation, with preset coefficients for copper and aluminium plus user settable coefficients for other materials. Temperature measurement over the range –50 to +800ºC is also available.

Protection up to 415V rms is provided at the measurement terminals and push button operation is achieved easily by clearly marked function controls. Direct reading measured values are displayed on a four-digit LCD display.

Over range and low battery indication is also provided and warning LEDs illuminate when an open circuit lead condition is detected. The 4000 series can be supplied with a rechargeable battery option featuring a battery pack, docking station and charger.

More at on the Cropico DO4000 here.

PlugSafe highlights electrical safety concerns

A special electrical safety initiative highlights threats to consumer safety through the availability of counterfeit and unsafe electrical plugs and sockets in the UK.

The PlugSafe information portal is run by a voluntary group of professional electrical engineers that is working with other bodies to oppose the threats to safety posed by faulty electrical goods, illegal counterfeits and loopholes in standards.

The group was formed in response to fears that consumer safety was being compromised. Of particular concern is the number of web retailers who advertise counterfeit plugs which, although being fraudulently marked “BS 1363”, are not compliant.

Among the dangers highlighted on the PlugSafe website are counterfeit fuses, plugs with a partially sleeved earth pin, problems with colour coding of wires, faulty mouldings and poor plug assemblies.

For full details visit www.bs1363.org.uk

Fault notification on power supply units

The EU’s Rapid Alert System for Non Food Products (Rapex) has highlighted the compulsory withdrawal from the market of a potentially dangerous range of electrical power supply units.

Rapex has ordered a product recall from customers notice on a consignment of Brand basicXL power supply units for notebook computers manufactured in China.

The units do not comply with the Low Voltage Directive and the relevant European standard EN 60950.

Examination of the power units have revealed that the electrical insulation and the clearances/creepage distances between the primary and secondary printed circuits are not sufficient and have the potential to cause electric shock.

Compliance with international and product specific safety standards, as well as type approval testing in the design and development laboratory, can be achieved safely and effectively with the Clare HAL range of test instrumentation.