The COVID-19 pandemic has caused severe financial strain in nearly every industry. Early estimates show that global trade fell by 3% in the first quarter of 2020 and 18% in the second quarter thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.
Errors and delays in product certification can be costly, and there is even less room for error than normal. With slimmer margins than ever, it’s important to find the most cost-effective path to compliance with the new IEC 62368-1 standard for information technology equipment (ITE) and audio/visual (A/V) products.
Depending on whether the product is certified with a CB scheme, Low Voltage Directive (LVD) report, or safety agency certification, you may have different options to update certifications and demonstrate compliance.
Here are two key ways to reduce costs associated with IEC 62368-1 compliance:
Avoid costly bundles if you don’t
need them
If you have an existing product that was
certified using a CB scheme, updating the entire CB scheme certification may be
more costly than necessary.
In many cases, CB certifications are bundled so the product meets NRTL standards for the U.S. and Canada, as well as European Union standards for the CE Mark. But existing NRTL certifications do not need to be updated to be compliant with the new IEC 62368-1 standard. Since there is no need to update the NRTL reports, there is no benefit to bundle the certifications together—and no benefit to paying the higher price for the bundled certifications.
An updated Low Voltage Directive (LVD) report satisfies the requirement for IEC 62368, and most of the information needed for the LVD report can be obtained from the testing data in the existing CB scheme report. This makes the LVD report option more cost-effective than the bundled CB scheme certification for most legacy products.
Create a plan for new products
that will work over time
Redoing tests and certifications unnecessarily
is expensive—something manufacturers need to avoid more than ever. When it
comes to new ITE and AV products, it’s not about how to be compliant now, but how to be compliant for the foreseeable future without
costly re-dos.
Keeping your product compliant and on the market, during COVID-19 and beyond, requires careful input at two stages: product design and compliance strategy.
●
Product design: The product should be designed
with the new hazard-based standard, IEC 62368-1, in mind. This means taking risks
into account for different types of users, and creating safeguards against
those risks.
●
Compliance strategy: Even when the product is
designed with IEC 62368-1 in mind, you need a thoughtful compliance strategy
that allows you to sell it in all your target markets. Some countries have
adopted 62368-1 already, and more may do so in the future, but specific
requirements may still vary among countries and certification bodies.
Working with a trusted compliance partner gives you access to important knowledge and experience in different regions. G&M Compliance puts that experience to work to find the most cost-effective path for your new product.
Learn More About IEC 62368-1
Contact G&M Compliance today to learn more about IEC 62368-1 and the best approach for your situation.