Last year’s Product Safety Conference was recently followed up by Electrical Safety First (formerly the Electrical Safety Council) and some leading industry figures to discuss the results of the conference.
Having been well received in the industry and gaining significant coverage in the media with trade and consumer publications, the conference was attended by a number of different groups of people. Speaking of the reason for this diverse number of attendees, Head of the Technical Unit, Martin Allen, says this is because “...it took a holistic, 360 degree approach to product safety.”
The main focus of the conference and the follow up was to highlight how product recalls and the processes for the traceability of electrical appliances just isn’t working. As it stands currently, product recalls have a 10-20% uptake rate, which leaves many unsuspecting people at significant risk of fire or electrocution from their appliances.
Electrical Safety First wants further regulation clarity and a centralised product registration system, and since the conference has been consulting with Governments in the UK and the EU, and trade bodies to try and create a consumer database to ensure better results for product recalls and traceability.
ESF’s research has shown that many people would prefer to register products with an independent body as it is more likely they would only be contacted for recall purposes.
It is the worry of being bombarded by marketing material that often prevents people from registering their appliances and therefore makes them almost impossible to trace when goods have been recalled.
ESF say that it is important for the industry to back the idea of a centralised registration scheme to ensure its success.
Do you agree with ESF, will a centralised registration scheme work for better appliance recalls?
Written by Sara Thomson
