BOSTON, MA--(Marketwired - Apr 21, 2016) - SGS, the world's leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company, today announced it is a sponsor of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers' (AHAM) annual meeting, Digital Destinations. This week's agenda covers many important topics for Home Appliance Manufacturers and product safety is always an underlying concern. One area of emphasis will be on the ways adding internet connectivity is changing how home appliances are manufactured, purchased and sold.
Smart appliances promise to offer a wide range of features such as remote operation and repair that will make their users' lives easier and more convenient. This requires manufacturers to develop new policies and procedures to address data privacy and safety requirements.
SGS advises Home Appliance Manufacturers on three key best practices to implement before the manufacturing process:
1. Assess risk -- Conduct risk assessments for functional safety issues such as unforeseen misuse by the operator. This will enable them to identify and fix issues before submitting products for certification.
2. Material evaluations -- Ensure materials and components such as plastics, wires, and heating elements are pre-approved. If not, test them to ensure compliance. Discovering you need to get a component certified or find a pre-approved component during crunch time will cause major delays.
3. Ratings -- Check to make sure the overall product rating and supply cords meet the CEC and NEC restrictions. This is a common issue found during construction reviews.
"As new technologies are added to products, it becomes even more difficult for manufacturers to design for compliance," said Paul Krauss, Certification Manager, SGS North America. "We will work with AHAM members to better prepare for the certification testing process. Otherwise, they risk discovering a safety issue after a product leaves the assembly line, and that will cause significant time-to-market delays and be much costlier to fix."
About SGS
SGS is the world's leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 80,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 1,650 offices and laboratories around the world.