Product Certification: Added Product Cost or Added Product Value?

PCA Newsletters14 Dec 2023

What happens when a company develops a great new high-tech product and wants to take it to market? Before selling can begin, it needs to undergo testing and certification. This process is known as product certification, and it is important for several good reasons.

What is product certification and why does it matter?

Product certification is the process by which your product is tested to verify its conformance to standards in a specific market, industry or region. This may be a mandatory requirement due to a potential risk to the end-user, or a voluntary exercise which provides a unique selling point for the product.

Voluntary certification allows manufacturers to differentiate their products in competitive markets. Consumers are aware certified products are more reliable and cost-beneficial than cheaper, uncertified products. It can therefore be used as a marketing tool.

Product certification also confirms safety and reliability. No one wants to buy a product that is low quality or may expose its users to an unacceptable hazard. Certification can show your product has passed relevant safety tests as well as performance tests. Having a product tested for safety also reduces the risk of any legal action that may result from malfunction.

Finally, product certification matters because governments (easily the biggest buyer of materials and supplies) have procurement standards that they must enforce. Many governments will not allow companies to tender for contracts if they fail or refuse to certify their products.

What are the steps towards successful product certification?

In general, a product certification process can be broken down into the following stages:

Application – to a competent entity approved for product certification
Evaluation – the product is tested in an accredited lab by a competent testing entity as per the relevant standard or regulation
Review and attestation – after testing (and factory audit, as required), the resulting outcomes (test reports, factory audit reports, corrective actions taken, as needed) are reviewed. Once conformance to the standard/regulation is confirmed, a certification decision is taken. If approved, a certificate of conformity, or a license, can be granted for use as a product certification mark
Surveillance (as required) – once certification is granted, the product and the manufacturing facility is periodically checked and visited, to ensure that the product still meets the qualification criteria required at the time that the certificate/license was granted

Once the product satisfactorily passes these stages, the product may now bear the certification mark and the consumer now knows it has met the requirements of the relevant standards.

Certification marks

There are hundreds of different certification markings on products in the market, each with its own meaning. Very often, this is because different markets enforce different regulatory requirements. This might be based on geographical location (tropical vs. temperate zones), local traditions (halal, kosher, etc.) or religious beliefs.

Some examples:

CE Mark

Since 1985, the Conformité Européene (CE) Mark has been used on products destined for markets in the European Union (EU). Its presence on a product (or its packaging) indicates conformity with the health, safety and environmental protection standards set for the EU. Before affixing a CE Mark to a product, the supplier must provide the necessary paperwork and supporting documents to show compliance with EN standards.

Depending on the product, the supplier may self-declare conformity if the product has a simple design or a simple-to-use functionality. However, they may also seek the involvement of a third-party certification body to execute conformity assessment. This is common for complex products and those products that, by due to the nature of their end use, are highly hazardous to the user and/or surroundings.

SGS North America Certification Mark

This certification mark was developed to show, by means of independent assessment, conformity with applicable American and Canadian standards (e.g. ANSI/AAMI ES60601-1, CAN/CSA C22.2 No.60601-1, ANSI/UL 60950-1, ANSI/UL 61010-1).

The assessment process confirms product compliance with effective standards and, through periodic factory inspections, that the product will be manufactured to the same quality as certified. Once confirmed, the registered SGS North America Certification Mark can be affixed to the product. Third-party certification like this is a key factor in opening doors to American markets, and it speeds up the decision-making process for American control bodies – ‘Authorities Having Jurisdiction’ (AHJs).

SGS is officially recognized by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) and accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) to perform product certification to Canada Standards Association (CSA) standards.

FCC

Electronics and communications equipment destined for US markets must meet the rules and regulations enforced by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). FCC certification is mandatory for most electronic equipment and components in order to enforce communications laws and regulations. In essence, it ensures a product doesn’t interfere with existing communication frequencies. While the FCC regulates certification in the US, they more broadly refer to EMC/EMI certifications.

Why product certification makes a difference

Product certification can be misconstrued as a complex and expensive process, but it is an important and significant step in the process of product development and production. It can be confused by the highly technical terms used but the important thing to note is the common objective of safety. Many of these markings demonstrate a product is safe (in a certain aspect) and also demonstrate compliance with recognized ethical requirements.

To stand out in the marketplace, a product does not just need to be useful, modern and practical, it also has to be reliable. Consumers’ buying decisions are guided by this rationale in almost every industry, which is why certification is such a fundamental aspect of product development, corporate responsibility and sustainable production and consumption.

Learn more about Product Conformity Assessment (PCA).

This article can also be found in our PCA Newsletter (Q4/2023) – which keeps you up to date with developments in technical barriers to trade and product conformity assessment.