Chris asks: >>>In a quick paragraph, would you provide your opinion on the value of a Non-NRTL Listing Certification. <<<<<
Hard to talk about value in such general terms, when the neither the product nor the application is known. However, a few reactions come to mind: 1. UL was a non-NRTL Listing provider for the first 85 years of its existence. Obviously a third party certification organization can provide value to first and second parties in the absence of government accreditation programs. 2. There are 3rd party listing programs for many products or functions under which there is no NRTL accreditation program applicable. Obviously, there is value in listing in these areas also. 3. Not all NRTL laboratories are equally regarded by authorities or by the market - so NRTL accreditation is not the sole basis, nor is it always the primary basis for determining the value of a listing. 4. In its strictest sense, the NRTL accreditation applies to workplace requirements and certain installation codes. In all other applications for electrical products, including household consumer appliances and electronics, there is no legal requirement for NRTL listing, and I'm not clear on whether NRTL based listing would provide any advantage over non-NRTL based listing in the case of a liability suit. I suspect not. I suspect also that if a household consumer of electrical products is concerned about listing, they are looking at certifcation brands, and have little or no understanding of what an NRTL designation is. 5. Having said all of the above, it always behooves a manufacturer to use an NRTL certifier if one is available. My opinions. Greg Galluccio www.productapprovals.com ------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE EMC Society Product Safety Technical Committee emc-pstc discussion list. Visit our web site at: http://www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/emcs/pstc/ To cancel your subscription, send mail to: majord...@ieee.org with the single line: unsubscribe emc-pstc For help, send mail to the list administrators: Ron Pickard: emc-p...@hypercom.com Dave Heald: davehe...@attbi.com For policy questions, send mail to: Richard Nute: ri...@ieee.org Jim Bacher: j.bac...@ieee.org All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://ieeepstc.mindcruiser.com/ Click on "browse" and then "emc-pstc mailing list"