Hi Ted Thank you for the interesting read on NYC deliveries. With the size of the NYC food market, the economic forces must be immense. Economic markets have a way of creating solutions. In this market, the first person with a good solution will win big! Seriously interesting problem!
On Fri, Jul 28, 2023, 06:39 Ted Eckert < 000007cf6ebeab9d-dmarc-requ...@listserv.ieee.org> wrote: > I can give additional background on the reason why these fires have become > common in New York. A large number of residents of New York City use > delivery services for goods and food, such as Uber-Eats, DoorDash, and > GrubHub. The adoption of these delivery services accelerated during the > COVID lockdown, and it has become a major business in the city. The drivers > for these services are contractors, not employees, and they get paid based > on delivery without reimbursement for expenses. Driving a car is expensive, > and finding parking is very hard. Delivery people who drive cars often lose > money because they incur too many parking tickets. The delivery people have > switched to battery-powered electric scooters and bicycles. > > > > These small electric vehicles are optimal for the delivery services since > they can move around stopped traffic easily, and they can be brought inside > the door of a building for a delivery, avoiding the risk of parking fines > or the vehicle getting stolen. However, the batteries will only last for a > few hours of use at most. The delivery people want the option of using the > electric bicycle or scooter all day to try to make more money. The common > solution is to remove the battery that came with the vehicle and replace it > with a much larger after-market replacement. The delivery services do not > pay well, so people look for the cheapest option they can find for a large > battery. The regulations in the United States make it easy to order > something online that has undergone no safety testing at all. The result is > that a battery of dubious quality is placed in an electric bicycle by a > person with dubious technical skills. No effort may have been made to match > the charger with the battery. The battery may not be provided with the > physical protection necessary to avoid damage during use. The question > isn’t why there are so many fires, but why there aren’t more considering > the circumstances. > > > > In the United States, there is reasonable indemnification of the test > laboratories. The test laboratories accredited under the OSHA Nationally > Recognized Test Laboratory (NRTL) system have a reasonable level of > protection. If a product carrying one of their certification marks fails, > they can be sued, but it would be hard for that law suit to make it to > court. The test laboratories will indicate that they tested samples on a > given date and found those samples to meet the technical requirements of > the standard at that time. Their report does not state that the samples > were safe. It only states that they passed testing of specific > requirements. The legal system places the responsibility for safety onto > the manufacturer. > > > > The challenges that I see are that battery manufacturers willing to ignore > safety might be willing to forge safety certification marks and documents. > I strongly suspect you can buy product online and have them shipped to the > UK or Europe with a Declaration of Conformity based on nothing. I suspect > manufacturers will claim their products meet requirements without testing > or documentation to back it up. If the manufacturer is located outside of > Europe and has no legal presence there, they can sell on line and avoid > responsibility. I strongly suspect that this is why there are stricter > requirements for online importers and distributors in the new GPSR. > > > > The overall issue is not new. Insufficient testing, forged or missing > documentation, irresponsible actors shipping from the far side of the world > and the other problems have existed for a while. However, the large size of > the batteries in these scooters and bicycles, and the common charging of > them indoors in buildings with a large number of residents, creates an > issue where a failure can jeopardize many more lives in a single incident. > > > > > > Ted Eckert > > > > *The opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of > my employer.* > > > > *From:* Matthew Wilson | GBE <matthew.wil...@gbelectronics.com> > *Sent:* Friday, July 28, 2023 2:11 AM > *To:* EMC-PSTC@LISTSERV.IEEE.ORG > *Subject:* [EXTERNAL] [PSES] BBC news article re Li-ion batteries... > > > > I thought this news article that was on the BBC TV broadcast bulletins 27 > th July might be of interest. > > > > “Batteries for e-bikes should be regulated in the same way as fireworks, > heavy machinery or medical devices because of the fire risk they pose, a > charity [UK based Electrical Safety First] has said” > > > > https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-66304564 > > > > > > *Disclaimer:*** > This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended > solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. > > If you have received this email in error please delete it from your system, > do not use or disclose the information in any way and notify the sender > immediately. > > The contents of this message may contain personal views which are not the > views of the company, unless specifically stated. > > > GB Electronics (UK) Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales under > number 06210991. > > Registered office: Ascot House Mulberry Close, Woods Way, Goring By Sea, > West Sussex, BN12 4QY. > ------------------------------ > > This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc > discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to All > emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: > https://www.mail-archive.com/emc-pstc@listserv.ieee.org/ > > Website: https://ewh.ieee.org/soc/pses/ > Instructions: https://ewh.ieee.org/soc/pses/list.html (including how to > unsubscribe) <https://ewh.ieee.org/soc/pses/list.html> > List rules: https://ewh.ieee.org/soc/pses/listrules.html > > For help, send mail to the list administrators: > Mike Sherman at: msherma...@comcast.net > Rick Linford at: linf...@ieee.org > > For policy questions, send mail to: > Jim Bacher at: j.bac...@ieee.org > ------------------------------ > > To unsubscribe from the EMC-PSTC list, click the following link: > https://listserv.ieee.org/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=EMC-PSTC&A=1 > ------------------------------ > > This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc > discussion list. 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