Why is Regulatory Compliance Such a Big Deal?
If you've been reading my posts here for a while you know that my primary employer is the ABYC, the primary standards writing organization in the US that deals with engineering aspects of boat construction and repair. Very often within our standards we make reference to third party testing requirements for equipment used on boats. This is important to ensure that the specific engineering aspects we have deemed as important have been met by vendors supplying our industry. Well one of our members, XANTREX has recently begun a short series of publications simply entitled "Tech Doctor". I thought I'd share one of their most recent releases with you today because it coincidentally goes right along with some of the information I used in a recent two part series covering Inverter / Chargers for Practical Sailor magazine. In the Practical Sailor piece I discussed product labeling and issues of third party testing. Why? Because I feel that with inverter chargers, this sort of testing is especially important because failure and or problems with these devices can be extremely dangerous. The following article was written by Don Wilson, a sales application engineer for Xantrex Technologies, one of the primary suppliers of inverter / chargers to our industry. I share this because I want to reiterate my own feelings, and Don has covered that point quite well in my view. So, from Don Wilson, the Xantrex "Tech Doctor": Why is Regulatory Compliance Such a Big Deal? … What’s the Risk if Your Onboard Electronics Lacks It? By Don Wilson Ever been in the market for one of those hot new onboard marine electronics? As you reviewed your top choices, you likely compared plenty of features and benefits … but, did you happen to check for that seemingly inconspicuous “regulatory compliance mark?” If you didn’t, you could be setting yourself up for disappointment down the road, and potential serious risk. In my opinion, regulatory compliance is mandatory and is arguably the best indicator of a product’s ability to perform as well as to prevent harmful consequences or even death. Let’s talk about this subject in more detail to understand why this is so important. Q: Why should I make sure that my products have regulatory approval? TECH DOCTOR: Well, consider this: Anyone who has been to a basic electronics class can make a simple power supply for charging batteries. Those products could be sold for use in any state or province. However, if there’s a circuit that is too small for the maximum rated power, it will fail. What happens when it fails? It shuts off? Smoke? Fire? What if it charges batteries fine, but fails to charge the rate down? Damaged batteries? In addition, a regulatory mark also informs a consumer that the product was built by the manufacturer, and then sent to an independent testing laboratory to uncover and isolate any unsafe issues. This test is usually very rigorous, time consuming, and expensive. QUESTION: What specific approvals or marks should I look for? TECH DOCTOR: I’ll focus my answer or remarks for electronics here. UL or Underwriter’s Laboratories is the main regulatory body in the US. Canada has a similar standard written by CSA. This means that they write the specifications and the test procedures. They also have testing labs that give exclusive approval to mark the product. However, there are many testing labs that can mark a product for US use, but they are the only ones who are authorized to mark the products that pass the UL, or CSA written test procedures. In the North American marine markets, the regulatory standard for power electronics is UL 458 with marine supplement. QUESTION: What are the consequences of using a non-regulated product? TECH DOCTOR: The consequences can vary widely. It’s like asking, ”What are the consequences of not wearing shoes on a beach?” Likely, you’ll be okay, but there could be something in the sand that is unseen that can cause you pain or suffering. In an electrical device, anything from a puff of smoke, to real fire, to a shock hazard or something worse could be the result of a poorly designed or ill performing product. QUESTION: Are non-regulated products legal? Would you recommend these for use in any limited applications? TECH DOCTOR: Legal? Yes…sort of. Obviously, there are products that can be sold without the mark or listing and there are plenty of them out there which is why you should always check. However, there are certain approvals that require listing. For instance, an inspector will not approve a house build if non-UL parts are used. On the other hand, a non-UL breaker could be put in a panel that is UL listed for use with the non-UL breaker (since UL tests the entire panel, breaker and all). This is an example of a legal non-listed product being used legally, but it required the panel manufacturer to do the listing. You may be able to buy a non-regulated product for a cheaper price but doyou really want to take that risk? I wouldn’t. QUESTION: Can you provide an example where a non-regulated product caused extensive damage or put life of people onboard in danger? TECH DOCTOR: I do remember hearing a story about a 55-gallon aquarium which had a non-UL listed pump. The pump overheated, igniting a fire and causing major damage, killing numerous fish and a kitten, the latter of which died of smoke inhalation. There were numerous causes for the fire, including a non-GFCI outlet and other factors, but if the motor had gone through UL testing the design could have been changed to shut down on overheat before temperatures climbed to the ignition point. I'd like to point out that Don only references UL and CSA (Canadian) testing entities. ABYC will sometimes refer specifically to UL, and CSA marking is also referenced within our standards as well as SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) ANSI (American National Standards Institute) and others. Its important to remember that the ABYC is increasingly referencing other "recognized third party testing labs" and so in some cases you may see a product that simply has labeling that states: "Complies with ABYC Standard XX"( depending upon the specific standard, the number for the standard will vary). ABYC is NOT a testing Laboratory, we are a standards writing group, so keep in mind that the ABYC does not certify products.
If you've been reading my posts here for a while you know that my primary employer is the ABYC, the primary standards writing organization in the US that deals with engineering aspects of boat construction and repair. Very often within our standards we make reference to third party testing requirements for equipment used on boats. This is important to ensure that the specific engineering aspects we have deemed as important have been met by vendors supplying our industry. Well one of our members, XANTREX has recently begun a short series of publications simply entitled "Tech Doctor".
I thought I'd share one of their most recent releases with you today because it coincidentally goes right along with some of the information I used in a recent two part series covering Inverter / Chargers for Practical Sailor magazine. In the Practical Sailor piece I discussed product labeling and issues of third party testing. Why? Because I feel that with inverter chargers, this sort of testing is especially important because failure and or problems with these devices can be extremely dangerous. The following article was written by Don Wilson, a sales application engineer for Xantrex Technologies, one of the primary suppliers of inverter / chargers to our industry. I share this because I want to reiterate my own feelings, and Don has covered that point quite well in my view. So, from Don Wilson, the Xantrex "Tech Doctor":
Why is Regulatory Compliance Such a Big Deal?
… What’s the Risk if Your Onboard Electronics Lacks It?
By Don Wilson
Ever been in the market for one of those hot new onboard marine electronics? As you reviewed your top choices, you likely compared plenty of features and benefits … but, did you happen to check for that seemingly inconspicuous “regulatory compliance mark?” If you didn’t, you could be setting yourself up for disappointment down the road, and potential serious risk. In my opinion, regulatory compliance is mandatory and is arguably the best indicator of a product’s ability to perform as well as to prevent harmful consequences or even death. Let’s talk about this subject in more detail to understand why this is so important.
Q: Why should I make sure that my products have regulatory approval?
TECH DOCTOR: Well, consider this: Anyone who has been to a basic electronics class can make a simple power supply for charging batteries. Those products could be sold for use in any state or province. However, if there’s a circuit that is too small for the maximum rated power, it will fail. What happens when it fails? It shuts off? Smoke? Fire? What if it charges batteries fine, but fails to charge the rate down? Damaged batteries?
In addition, a regulatory mark also informs a consumer that the product was built by the manufacturer, and then sent to an independent testing laboratory to uncover and isolate any unsafe issues. This test is usually very rigorous, time consuming, and expensive.
QUESTION: What specific approvals or marks should I look for?
TECH DOCTOR: I’ll focus my answer or remarks for electronics here. UL or Underwriter’s Laboratories is the main regulatory body in the US. Canada has a similar standard written by CSA. This means that they write the specifications and the test procedures. They also have testing labs that give exclusive approval to mark the product. However, there are many testing labs that can mark a product for US use, but they are the only ones who are authorized to mark the products that pass the UL, or CSA written test procedures. In the North American marine markets, the regulatory standard for power electronics is UL 458 with marine supplement.
QUESTION: What are the consequences of using a non-regulated product?
TECH DOCTOR: The consequences can vary widely. It’s like asking, ”What are the consequences of not wearing shoes on a beach?” Likely, you’ll be okay, but there could be something in the sand that is unseen that can cause you pain or suffering. In an electrical device, anything from a puff of smoke, to real fire, to a shock hazard or something worse could be the result of a poorly designed or ill performing product.
QUESTION: Are non-regulated products legal? Would you recommend these for use in any limited applications?
TECH DOCTOR: Legal? Yes…sort of. Obviously, there are products that can be sold without the mark or listing and there are plenty of them out there which is why you should always check. However, there are certain approvals that require listing. For instance, an inspector will not approve a house build if non-UL parts are used. On the other hand, a non-UL breaker could be put in a panel that is UL listed for use with the non-UL breaker (since UL tests the entire panel, breaker and all). This is an example of a legal non-listed product being used legally, but it required the panel manufacturer to do the listing. You may be able to buy a non-regulated product for a cheaper price but doyou really want to take that risk? I wouldn’t.
QUESTION: Can you provide an example where a non-regulated product caused extensive damage or put life of people onboard in danger?
TECH DOCTOR: I do remember hearing a story about a 55-gallon aquarium which had a non-UL listed pump. The pump overheated, igniting a fire and causing major damage, killing numerous fish and a kitten, the latter of which died of smoke inhalation. There were numerous causes for the fire, including a non-GFCI outlet and other factors, but if the motor had gone through UL testing the design could have been changed to shut down on overheat before temperatures climbed to the ignition point.
I'd like to point out that Don only references UL and CSA (Canadian) testing entities. ABYC will sometimes refer specifically to UL, and CSA marking is also referenced within our standards as well as SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) ANSI (American National Standards Institute) and others. Its important to remember that the ABYC is increasingly referencing other "recognized third party testing labs" and so in some cases you may see a product that simply has labeling that states: "Complies with ABYC Standard XX"( depending upon the specific standard, the number for the standard will vary). ABYC is NOT a testing Laboratory, we are a standards writing group, so keep in mind that the ABYC does not certify products.
