UL certification

UL is the U.S. Underwriter Laboratories Inc. is the most authoritative and the world's largest private organization engaged in safety testing and accreditation. It is an independent, not-for-profit, professional organization that conducts tests for public safety. It uses scientific testing methods to study and determine whether various materials, devices, products, equipment, buildings and other hazards to life and property and the extent of the hazards; to determine, prepare and issue the corresponding standards and information to help reduce and prevent damage to life and property, and to conduct factual research operations.

About UL

UL is mainly engaged in product safety certification and operating safety certification business, the ultimate goal of which is to contribute to the market with a considerable level of safety of goods, to ensure the safety of human health and property. UL plays an active role in promoting the development of international trade as an effective means of eliminating technical barriers to international trade.

UL was founded in 1894, the initial stage of UL mainly by the fire insurance department to provide funds to maintain the action, until 1916, UL was completely self-sustaining. After nearly 100 years of development, UL has become a world-renowned certification body with its own set of rigorous organizational management system, standards development and product certification procedures.UL is managed by a council of safety experts, government officials, consumers, education, utilities, the insurance industry and representatives of the standards sector, with day-to-day work handled by the president and vice president. UL currently has five laboratories on U.S. soil, headquartered in Northbrook Township, north of Chicago, as well as corresponding laboratories in Taiwan and Hong Kong. To consumers in the United States, UL is the symbol of safety, and globally, UL is one of the most trusted providers of conformity assessment to manufacturers.

Introduction to the UL Mark

UL Mark Style

The UL Mark is usually marked on the product and/or product packaging to indicate that the product has been certified by UL and meets the requirements of the safety standards.

Components

The most important component of these marks is the UL design symbols, which are registered trademarks of UL.

UL logo use requirements

The minimum height of the registered mark shall be 3/64 inch.

2. When the outer diameter of the UL mark is less than 3/8 inch, the registered trademark symbol can be ignored if it is not clearly readable under bare view.

3. The mark can be stamped, molded, inked, screen printed or similar methods directly and fixed on the unchanging product.

4. Access to the mark: The manufacturer may reprint or obtain from an authorized UL distributor.

5. ULus mark (only us, no c): safety mark for products entering the U.S. market; cUL (only c, no us): safety mark for products entering the Canadian market; cULus mark: safety mark for products entering the U.S. market and the Canadian market

Services

UL's product certification, testing services can be divided into the main types of listing, recognition and classification.

1. Listing (LISTED).

In general, the listing applies only to complete products and qualified personnel in the field to replace or install a variety of devices and devices, belonging to a variety of products listed by UL services include: household appliances, medical equipment, computers, commercial equipment and in the building role of various types of electrical products, such as power distribution systems, fuses, wires, switches and other electrical components. Products listed by UL can usually be marked with the UL Listing Mark on each product. The use of the listing mark. 2.

2. Recognition (Recognized).

Recognized service is one of UL's services, its identification of products can only be used as components, raw materials on UL-listed, graded or other recognized products. Recognized products are not structurally complete, or have certain restrictions on their use to ensure that the desired safety performance is achieved. In most cases, the tracking service for approved products falls into Category R. Approved products that fall into category L are electronic wire (AVLV2), processed wire (ZKLU2), wire harnesses (ZPFW2), aluminum wire (DVVR2), and metal flexible tubing (DXUZ2). Approved products are required to bear the approval mark. 3.

3. Classification (Classification).

Classification services only for the evaluation of specific hazards of the product, or the implementation of UL standards other than other standards (including internationally recognized standards, such as IEC and ISO standards, etc.) for the evaluation of products. Generally speaking most of the graded products are not products for consumer use, but for industrial or commercial use. the classification mark in the UL mark indicates that the product is identified by UL with certain restrictions and specified scope. For example, for chemicals such as solvents used industrially, only the range of fires that may occur when they reach the ignition temperature is evaluated. Classification services and listing services for certain products are the same, but generally only one or several aspects of the product evaluation, such as in the United States, medical X-ray diagnostic equipment such as national compliance with U.S. laws and regulations relating to radiation emission and beam accuracy, but because UL only X-ray as a graded product, so only to evaluate its mechanical properties, electrical properties and other non-radiation performance of these aspects.

4. Multiple listing, multiple recognition or multiple classification services.

When a UL applicant in the above-mentioned listing, recognition or classification services, its products to be produced under the name of another company to meet the needs of sales, you can apply for multiple listing, multiple recognition or multiple classification services, in this case, the manufacturer who received the listing, recognition or classification is allowed to use the name of another company in the product list, but the product in addition to the company code, product code or UL In addition to any other characteristics deemed acceptable by the company, the product must be consistent with the original listed, approved or graded product. 5.

5. "AL" Listing, Approval or Classification Service

If the UL applicant does not want to use his own company name to obtain listing, approval or classification services, he may apply for listing, approval or classification under another trade name (usually a retailer or wholesaler), that is, "AL" listing, approval or classification services. The difference with the multiple listing, multiple recognition or multiple classification services is that the applicant is not a listed person.

6. System Certification Services.

As a member of the International Accreditation Committee, UL is extensively involved in ISO9000 quality system certification, ISO14000 environmental protection certification, QS9000 automotive quality system certification and AS9000 aircraft quality system certification services. A total of 116 factories in China have obtained UL's system certification; 21 of them are ISO 9001 certified, 85 are ISO 9002 certified, 1 is ISO 14001 certified and 9 are QS9000 certified.

7. Other services of UL.

Such as certification service, inspection service, factual judgment service, research service, etc.

Process

Product application for UL Mark includes the following steps.

1. Applicant submits information about the company and the product

Written application: You should request UL in writing to test your products.

Company information: Provide detailed and accurate name, address, contact person, postal code, telephone number and fax in English and Chinese for the following units

(a). Applicant company: the company that submits the application for product testing and is responsible for the full cost of engineering services

(b). Listed company: the company whose name is listed in the various catalogs published by UL

(c). Production plant: The manufacturer and producer of the product.

Product information: Information on the product shall be provided in English.

(a). Name of the product: Provide the full name of the product.

(b). Model number: detail all the product models, varieties or classification numbers, etc. that need to be experimented with.

(c). The intended use of the product: for example: home, office, factory, coal mine, ship, etc.

(d). Parts list: detail the parts and components that make up the product and the model (classification number), rating, and the name of the manufacturer. For insulation materials, please provide the name of the raw material, for example: GE Polycarbonate, Lexan Type 104. When the parts have been certified or approved by UL, please prove the specific model of the part and indicate its UL file number (e). Electrical properties: For electrical and electronic products. Provide electrical schematic (wiring diagram), electrical performance table.

(f). Structural diagram: For most products, you need to provide the product's structural diagram or exploded view, ingredient list, etc.

(g). Photos of the product, instructions for use, safety, etc. or installation instructions, etc.

2. Make a decision based on the product information provided

When the product information is complete, UL's engineers make the following decisions based on the information: the UL standard on which the test is based, the engineering cost of the test, the time of the test, the number of samples, etc. You will be notified in writing and a formal application form and tracking service agreement will be sent to your company. The fee limit stated in the application form is the maximum engineering cost estimated by UL based on the test item, and the fee limit cannot be exceeded without your company's written authorization.

3. The applicant company remits and sends back the application form and samples

The applicant should sign the application form and the tracking service agreement and send the form back to UL. At the same time, send the samples by bank remittance, by post or by express mail, with appropriate descriptions (such as name and model) of the samples to be sent for testing. Please send the application form and samples separately. For each application project, UL will assign a unique project number (Project No.) and indicate the project number and the name of the applicant company when remitting money, sending samples and application forms, so that UL can check and receive them.

4. Product Testing

Upon receipt of your signed application form, remittance, and test samples, UL will notify you of the completion date of the test plan. Product testing is generally performed at UL laboratories in the U.S. UL may also accept audited test data from participating third parties. Test samples will be returned or destroyed at your request.

If the product test results meet the requirements of UL standards, UL will issue a test report and follow-up service procedure (FollowUp Service Procedure) test report will detail the test situation, the indicators achieved by the sample, the structure of the product and the safety markings appropriate for the use of the product. The Follow-Up Service Procedure includes a description of the product and instructions for UL regional inspectors. A copy of the test report is sent to the applicant company and a copy of the tracking service specifications is sent to each manufacturing facility.

5. The applicant is authorized to use the UL Mark

The UL regional inspector in China contacts the manufacturing plant for the initial factory inspection (Initial Production Inspection . IPI). The inspector checks your product and its parts on the production line and in the warehouse stock to confirm whether the product structure and parts are consistent with the tracking service rules. When the inspection results meet the requirements, the applicant is authorized to use the UL Mark.

Following the IPI, inspectors will visit the factory from time to time to check the product structure and conduct visual experiments. The frequency of inspection is determined by the type of product and production volume, and most types of products are inspected at least four times a year, and the inspectors' inspections are to ensure that the product continues to be consistent with UL requirements. Any experiments, UL can quickly modify the tracking service rules so that inspectors can accept such changes. When UL believes that the changes to the product affect its safety performance, the applicant company is required to resubmit samples for the necessary testing.

The cost of the tracking service is not included in the testing fee.

If the product test results do not meet the requirements of UL standards, UL will notify the applicant of the problems, and the applicant can re-deliver the product after improving the product design. You should tell UL engineers what improvements have been made to the product so that they can decide the above are the steps to apply for UL certification.

Overview

UL inspector's inspection is basically a mechanical operation. Depending on the product, the inspector's inspection based on bulletin (Bulletin), rules (Procedure), FUII (if any, included in the rules) and UL standards (if required in FUII).

If the factory is producing UL products, or has UL products in stock, when the inspector visits the factory, the inspector will take samples in one of the following ways.

1. from the production line to take individual components plus a complete product taken from the warehouse.

2. from the warehouse to take individual parts plus a complete product on the production line.

3. A complete product is taken from the warehouse for splitting.

The exact amount of sampling is determined by the specifications, FUII (Follow-Up Inspection Instructions), SAP (Standard Attachment Sheet), or direct orders from the UL laboratory. Inspectors do not necessarily inspect all products per inspection, but they will try to inspect all product categories or models within a year or at least two years.

In general, UL's requirements for factory production systems are not too high, only the requirements of the instrumentation once a year to measure, keep the factory's own inspection records, as well as the non-conforming products have some control means can be.

Inspection, field representatives (UL inspectors) will focus on the product itself, they will be based on the above-mentioned inspection basis to check the structure of the product, components and assembly. For the parts involved in product safety, the general rules will specify the requirements for UL certified products, and will indicate the manufacturer and model; for the shell, shroud and other injection molded parts, in general, the rules will specify the raw materials and size requirements. On-site representatives will check the above items and the UL mark as specified in the rules.

Field testing

In addition, if the rules or FUII or standards require field testing of the product, the field representative will ask the factory inspector to do the corresponding tests, while the field representative is there to witness. If the rules also require that samples be sent to UL for follow-up testing, the factory should cooperate with the inspector to produce the corresponding samples, and after the inspector writes the sample label, provides the address and seals the sample, the factory will send it to the appropriate UL laboratory.

If the products produced by the factory fully meet the requirements of the corresponding UL inspection standards, and no other violations of the tracking service agreement, the inspector will issue a tracking inspection report (Inspection Report); factory representatives should sign the report after confirming that its contents are accurate; an inspection is complete. If the inspection process does not comply with the inspection standards, the inspector will issue a change notice (Variation Notice), and take appropriate measures according to the specific circumstances.

Removal of the UL mark

For unauthorized products using UL mark, the inspector will require the removal of UL mark; for products that do not meet the requirements of UL, the inspector will ask the factory to remove the UL mark or rework to make it meet the requirements; if the factory does not agree with the above treatment, you can temporarily retain the UL mark, but must stop shipping, the inspector will notify the corresponding laboratory, the UL response to decide whether you can retain UL mark; if only some minor problems, and does not affect the safety of the product, the inspector will make a temporary acceptance of the decision and report to the appropriate laboratory; if it is some obvious standard errors, such as typographical errors or unit errors, it does not affect the conformity of the factory's products, but as UL's document processing, the inspector will also issue a notice of change. In general, unless it is UL's responsibility, the inspector will require the factory to the non-conformity of each to the appropriate laboratory to explain, UL will be based on your explanation to make the appropriate response.

The final decision

Of course, the inspector's judgment is only temporary, the final decision, of course, in each UL laboratory. If the factory does not agree with the test practice, you can fully reflect to the appropriate laboratory, at this time, the inspector is obliged to provide the appropriate contact person and contact information. After confirming that the contents recorded in the change notice are correct, the factory representative should sign the notice.

UL

Certified Factory Inspection UL regional inspectors in China contact the manufacturing plant for the first factory inspection (Initial Production Inspection, or IPI), the inspectors check your products and their components in the production line and warehouse inventory to confirm whether the product structure and parts are consistent with the tracking service rules, if required in the rules, the regional inspectors If required by the rules, the regional inspector will conduct a visual test. When the inspection results meet the requirements, the applicant is authorized to use the UL Mark.

Following the IPI, the inspector will visit the factory from time to time to check the product structure and conduct visual experiments. The frequency of inspections is determined by product type and production volume, with most types of products inspected at least four times per year (the cost of the follow-up service is not included in the testing fee). The inspector's inspection is to ensure that the product continues to be consistent with UL's requirements and that UL is notified in advance before you plan to change the structure or components of the product. for changes that are minor and do not require the repetition of any experiments, UL can quickly amend the tracking service rules to make such changes acceptable to the inspector. When UL believes that a change in a product affects its safety performance, the applicant company is required to resubmit samples for the necessary testing.

Certification Review

UL certified products are subject to factory inspection by a local provincial China Import and Export Inspection Bureau (CCIB), authorized by UL, before the first shipment. Annual follow-up inspections are also required.

Follow up inspection

Introduction

As an integral part of UL certification, UL has developed a "follow-up inspection" system to ensure that UL's listed and approved products continue to meet UL's standards and requirements. Tracking inspection" is sent by UL field representatives around the world to the local factory production site for UL's product tracking inspection. The purpose is to ensure that the manufacturer's production process, inspection process and products always meet UL's requirements through verification of the factory's production process, inspection process and products against UL's standards and tracking inspection rules.

The basis for follow-up inspection

After the site representative arrives at the factory, the inspection is mainly based on the "tracking inspection rules. Tracking inspection details" is prepared by UL Engineering Department, after testing the samples sent to the inspection, this document includes a comprehensive description of the product, including photos, instructions, etc.. It also provides for the manufacturing plant during production often to do a variety of tests, some of which require 100% of the product to be tested, such as the voltage test. Certain tests can be carried out on a sample basis, while also specifying the test items that must be sampled by the site representative during the on-site inspection of the factory. The site representative judges whether the test results are satisfactory based on the details and provisions of such tests.

Tracking the classification of inspection products

The review is divided into the first review and quarterly review, the first review costs are relatively higher, UL's tracking inspection is divided into R and L. L class services are mainly used and life safety-related products, such as fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, fire doors and some of the production of a considerable number of products, such as electrical equipment, electrical wiring and circuit breakers. For products belonging to category L, manufacturers must order labels directly from UL to be affixed to the products. category R services are mainly used for electrical equipment, such as fans, televisions, hair dryers, ovens and other products that are usually produced with the appropriate assembly line.

Terminology

"AL" LISTING (multiple listing or approval)

AGENT (Agent)

APPEALS PROCEDURE

APPENDIX (attached page)

APPLICANT

AUTHORIZATION PAGE

CATEGORY CONTROL NUMBER

COMPONENT(Parts)

CONDITION OF ACCEPTABILITY (applicable conditions)

CONTROL NUMBER

FACTORY IDENTIFICATION

FACTORY INSPECTION

"AL" LISTING, CLASSIFICATION OR RECOGNITION (multiple listing or recognition)

Application and authorization by the applicant, in the name of a different party from the applicant (listed person) to establish the listing or recognition services

AGENT (Agent)

A person or enterprise entrusted by the applicant to engage in activities with UL in the name of the applicant

APPEALS PROCEDURE

If a customer disagrees with the results of an engineering test or follow-up inspection, he or she can discuss it with the relevant engineer or field representative without fear of jeopardizing future conclusions. If a satisfactory answer is not obtained at this level, the customer can appeal to a higher level until the president.

APPENDIX (attached sheet)

A section of the rules that includes the responsibilities of the plant and field representative and the requirements for related testing. It may also describe the tests performed on the samples sent to UL.

APPLICANT (Applicant)

A company or individual who applies to UL for testing of its components, products or systems. Legally, this party will be responsible for the cost of testing and tracking services, and will have rights to all information related to the results of the testing. See also Agent.

AUTHORIZATION PAGE

A page filed at the top of the factory inspection specifications for tracking services to authorize the corresponding tracking inspection service (Class L or Class R) and the allowed certification marks

CATEGORY CONTROL NUMBER (CCN) (category control number)

UL listing, recognition, classification services in different product categories in the form of character representation. For example, AVLV2 means electronic wire; QOWZ means portable lamps and lanterns. In general, XXXX for listed products, XXXX2 for approved products, XXXX7 for listed products that meet Canadian standards, XXXX8 for approved products that meet Canadian standards.

COMPONENT (Parts)

A part of a product, in addition to participating in the testing of the entire product as part of the complete product, also needs to be tested separately for its performance and / or structure. Parts can be listed, approved or non-listed parts.

CONDITION OF ACCEPTABILITY (applicable conditions)

These items are listed in the report for approved or non-listed parts, but are not used as the basis for inspection by the field representative. These items are based on the results of testing and indicate the limitations and conditions when the part is used with a complete product. For example, in the report for a switch, it may be indicated in the "Applicable Conditions" that the product is only suitable for currents up to 1A or temperatures up to 125°C.

CONTROL NUMBER

One of the four possible components of the UL Recognized Mark, assigned by UL. Depending on the product category and the type of tracking service, the control number may change periodically.

FACTORY IDENTIFICATION (factory identification)

By the production of the same product in different factories used by the manufacturer of a certain identification mark to distinguish a product is produced in which factory.

FACTORY INSPECTION (factory inspection)

UL certification concern industry

Audio-visual equipment

Automotive

Components

Household appliances

Industrial control equipment

Information technology equipment

Lamps

Medical equipment

Plastic

Information equipment

Wire and Cable

UL Convinces People with Numbers

UL94 certification-Test items

UL94 certification of plastic materials is not only the evaluation of flame retardant performance, but also includes the thermal and electrical performance analysis test of plastics. In addition, there is also the thermal aging performance of plastics under long-term stormy high temperature (air oven thermal aging), water, ultraviolet light, cold, etc., all as the final evaluation of the material.

UL94 certification of the material performance evaluation include

94 flammability UL certification

UL certification 746A electrical and mechanical properties

UL certification 746B thermal aging procedures

UL certification 746C review file

Plastic Outdoor Adaptability Performance

Component QMQS2

Color QMLJ2

Materials used in special environments are intended for specific final investigation of the performance required in the application of the material used in the product to maintain contact after the presence of certain critical operating and/or environmental conditions. This will include exposure to different types of ultraviolet (UV) radiation.