ul certification

UL is the abbreviation for Underwriter Laboratories Inc. in the United States. UL Safety Testing Institute is the most authoritative institution in the United States and also a major private institution engaged in safety testing and certification worldwide. It is an independent, non-profit, professional institution that conducts experiments for public safety. It adopts scientific testing methods to study and determine whether various materials, devices, products, equipment, buildings, etc. pose a threat to life and property, and the degree of harm; Determine, write, and distribute corresponding standards and materials that help reduce and prevent losses to life and property, while conducting factual research services.

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UL Introduction

UL is mainly engaged in product safety certification and business safety certification business, with the ultimate goal of obtaining products with a considerable level of safety for the market and contributing to ensuring personal health and property safety. In terms of product safety certification as an effective means of eliminating technical barriers to international trade, UL also plays a positive role in promoting the development of international trade.

UL was founded in 1894 and initially relied mainly on funding from the fire insurance department to maintain operations. It was not until 1916 that UL became fully self-sufficient. After nearly a century of development, UL has become a world-renowned certification body with a complete set of rigorous organizational management systems, standard development, and product certification procedures. UL is managed by a council composed of representatives from safety experts, government officials, consumers, the education industry, public utilities, insurance industry, and standards departments, with daily work handled by the President and Vice President. Currently, UL has five laboratories in the United States, headquartered in Northbrook Town, north of Chicago, and corresponding laboratories have been established in Taiwan and Hong Kong. In the United States, UL is a symbol of safety signs for consumers, and globally, UL is one of the most trusted qualified evaluation providers for manufacturers.

Introduction to UL Mark

UL logo style

The UL mark is usually marked on the product and/or packaging to indicate that the product has passed UL certification and meets safety standards.

form

The most important component of these markings is the UL logo, which is a registered trademark of UL.

UL Mark Usage Requirements

The minimum height of a registered trademark should be 3/64 inches.

When the outer diameter of the UL mark is less than 3/8 inches, the registered trademark symbol may be ignored if it is not clearly readable under naked view.

3. The marking can be directly and fixed on the unchanged product using stamping, molding, ink printing, screen printing, or similar methods.

4. Acquisition of the logo: Manufacturers can reprint or obtain it from UL authorized distributors.

5. ULus logo (only us, no c): a safety label for products entering the US market; CUL (only c, no us): a safety symbol for products entering the Canadian market; CULus logo: a safety label for products entering the US and Canadian markets

Service Items

The types of UL product certification and testing services can be mainly divided into listing, recognition, and grading.

1. LISTED:

Generally speaking, UL listing only applies to complete products and various devices and devices that are replaced or installed by qualified personnel on site. The various products that belong to UL listing services include household appliances, medical equipment, computers, commercial equipment, and various electrical products that function in buildings, such as distribution systems, fuses, wires, switches, and other electrical components. UL listed products can usually be labeled with the UL listing symbol on each product. The usage of column name flags.

2. Recognized:

Accreditation service is a project in UL services, and the products identified can only be used as components or raw materials on UL listed, graded, or other approved products. Recognize that the product is structurally incomplete or has certain limitations in its use to ensure the expected safety performance. In most cases, tracking services for approved products belong to the R category. Approved products belonging to the L-category include electronic wires (AVLV2), processing wires (ZKLU2), wire harnesses (ZPFW2), aluminum wires (DVVR2), and metal flexible tubes (DXUZ2). Approved products require approval marks.

3. Classification:

Graded services only evaluate specific hazards of products, or evaluate products that comply with standards other than UL standards (including internationally recognized standards such as IEC and ISO standards). Generally speaking, most graded products are not products used by consumers, but rather products used in industry or commerce. The classification mark in the UL mark indicates that the product has certain restrictions and specified ranges when being identified by UL. For example, for chemicals such as solvents used in industry, only the range of fires that may occur when they reach the ignition point temperature is evaluated. The classification and listing services for certain products are the same, but generally only evaluate one or several aspects of the product. For example, in the United States, medical X-ray diagnostic devices and other equipment must comply with US laws and regulations on radiation emission and beam accuracy nationwide. However, because UL only considers X-ray as a classification product, only evaluate its mechanical, electrical, and other non radiation properties.

4. Multiple listing, recognition, or rating services:

When an UL applicant obtains the aforementioned listing, recognition, or classification services and their products are to be produced in the name of another company to meet sales needs, they can apply for multiple listing, recognition, or classification services. In this case, the manufacturer who has obtained the listing, recognition, or classification is allowed to use the name of another company in the product list, except for the company code, The product code or other features that UL considers acceptable must be consistent with the original listed, recognized, or graded product.

5. "AL" listing, recognition, or rating services

If the UL applicant does not want to obtain listing, recognition, or rating services under their own company's name, they can apply for listing, recognition, or rating services under another business name (usually a retailer or wholesaler), that is, "AL" listing, recognition, or rating services. The difference between it and multiple listing, multiple recognition, or multiple rating services is that the applicant is not a listed person.

6. System certification services:

As a member of the International Accreditation Commission, UL is widely involved in ISO9000 quality system certification, ISO14000 environmental protection certification, QS9000 automotive industry quality system certification, and AS9000 aircraft industry quality system certification services. A total of 116 factories in China have obtained UL system certification; Among them, 21 are ISO9001 certified, 85 are ISO9002 certified, 1 is ISO14001 certified, and 9 are QS9000 certified.

7. Other services of UL:

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

technological process

Product application for UL marking includes the following steps:

1. The applicant submits relevant company and product information

Written application: You should request UL company to conduct testing on your company's products in writing.

Company Information: Provide detailed and accurate names, addresses, contact persons, postal codes, phone numbers, and faxes of the following units in both Chinese and English.

(a) Application company: The company that applies for product testing and is responsible for all engineering service fees

(b) Listed companies: Companies listed in various product catalogs published by UL

(c) Production factory: The manufacturer and producer of products.

Product information: Product information should be provided in English.

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

(b) Product Model: List in detail all product models, varieties, or classification numbers that require experimentation.

(c) Intended use of the product: for example, in homes, offices, factories, coal mines, ships, etc.

(d) Parts List: List in detail the components and models (classification numbers), rated values, and manufacturer names that make up the product. For insulation materials, please provide the name of the raw material, such as GE Polycarbonate, Lexan Type 104. When the component has obtained UL certification or recognition, please prove the specific model of the component and indicate its UL file number (e). Electrical performance: For electronic and electrical products. Provide electrical schematic diagram (circuit diagram) and electrical performance table.

(f) Structure diagram: For most products, it is necessary to provide a structure diagram or explosion diagram, ingredient list, etc.

(g) Product photos, instructions for use, safety, or installation instructions.

2. Make a decision based on the provided product information

When the product information is complete, UL engineers will make the following decisions based on the information: the UL standard used for the experiment, the engineering cost for testing, the testing time, and the number of samples. They will notify you in writing and send the formal application form and tracking service agreement to your company. The application form indicates the cost limit, which is the maximum engineering cost estimated by UL based on the testing project. Without written authorization from your company, the cost limit cannot be exceeded.

3. Apply for company remittance, return application form and samples

The applicant shall sign the application form and tracking service agreement, and return the form to UL company. At the same time, the samples shall be sent by bank transfer to the post office or express delivery. Please provide appropriate explanations (such as name and model) for the samples sent for inspection. Please send the application form and samples separately. For each application project, UL will assign a unique project number (Project No.) to indicate the project number and the name of the applicant company when remitting, sending samples, and applying for forms, so that UL can easily check and receive them.

4. Product testing

After receiving the application form, remittance, and experimental samples signed by your company, UL will notify you of the completion time of the experimental plan. Product testing is generally conducted in UL laboratories in the United States, and UL can also accept audited third-party testing data. The experimental samples will be returned or destroyed according to your request.

If the product testing results meet the UL standard requirements, UL company will issue a testing qualification report and a FollowUp Service Procedure. The testing report will detail the testing situation, the indicators achieved by the sample, the product structure, and the safety signs suitable for the use of the product. The tracking service details include a description of the product and guidance for UL area inspectors. Send a copy of the testing report to the applicant company, and a copy of the tracking service details to each production factory.

5. The applicant is authorized to use the UL mark

The UL regional inspector in China contacts the production factory for the first factory inspection (Initial Production Inspection. IPI). The inspector inspects the condition of your product and its components in the production line and warehouse storage to confirm whether the product structure and components are consistent with the tracking service rules. If required by the rules, the regional inspector will also conduct witness experiments. When the inspection results meet the requirements, the applicant is authorized to use the UL mark.

After IPI, inspectors will visit the factory irregularly to inspect the product structure and conduct witness experiments. The frequency of inspections is determined by the product type and production volume. Most types of products are inspected at least four times a year. The inspector's inspection is to ensure that the product continues to comply with UL requirements. Before you plan to change the product structure or components, please notify UL first. For minor changes, there is no need to repeat any experiments, UL can quickly modify the tracking service details so that inspectors can accept such changes. When UL believes that changes to the product affect its safety performance, it is necessary to apply for the company to resubmit the sample for necessary testing.

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

If the product testing results cannot meet the UL standard requirements, UL will notify the applicant, explaining the existing problems. After the applicant improves the product design, they can resubmit the product for inspection. You should inform UL engineers of the improvements made to the product, so that they can decide on the steps for applying for UL certification.

Inspection Rules

summary

UL inspectors' inspections are basically mechanical operations. According to different products, the inspector's inspection basis includes bulletins, procedures, FUII (if any, included in the regulations), and UL standards (if required in FUII).

If the inspector visits the factory and the factory is producing UL products or has inventory of UL products, the inspector will take samples in one of the following ways:

1. Extract each component from the production line and a complete product from the warehouse.

2. Extract each component from the warehouse and add the complete product from the production line.

3. Extract complete products from the warehouse for splitting.

The specific number of samples depends on the detailed rules, FUII (tracking inspection instructions), SAP (standard attachment), or direct commands from UL laboratories. Inspectors may not necessarily inspect all products during each inspection, but they will try to inspect all product categories or models within one year or at least two years.

Generally speaking, UL does not have high requirements for the factory's production system. It only requires measuring instruments and equipment once a year, keeping the factory's own inspection records, and having certain control measures for non-conforming products.

During inspection, the on-site representative (UL inspector) will mainly focus on the product itself, and they will verify the structure, components, and assembly of the product item by item based on the above inspection criteria. For components related to product safety, the general rules will specify the requirement for UL certified products, and the manufacturer and model will be indicated; For injection molded parts such as shells and shields, the detailed rules generally specify their raw materials and dimensional requirements. The on-site representative will verify the above items and the UL markings specified in the detailed rules.

On site testing

In addition, if on-site testing of the product is required by the regulations or FUII or standards, the on-site representative will require the factory inspector to conduct corresponding tests, and the on-site representative will witness on the side. If the detailed rules also require sending samples to UL for tracking testing, the factory should cooperate with the inspector to make corresponding samples. After the inspector writes the sample label, provides the address, and seals the samples, the factory should send them to the corresponding UL laboratory.

If the products produced by the factory fully comply with the corresponding UL inspection standards and there are no other violations of the tracking service agreement, the inspector will issue an Inspection Report; The factory representative should sign the report after confirming the accuracy of its content; One inspection is complete. If there are situations that do not meet the inspection standards during the inspection process, the inspector will issue a Variation Notice and take corresponding measures based on the specific situation.

Remove UL marking

For unauthorized products using UL markings, inspectors will require the removal of UL markings; For products that do not meet UL requirements, inspectors will require the factory to remove UL markings or rework them to meet the requirements; If the factory does not agree with the above handling opinions, the UL mark can be temporarily retained, but shipment must be stopped. The inspector will notify the corresponding laboratory of the situation, and the UL will make a response to decide whether the UL mark can be retained; If only minor issues occur and do not affect the safety of the product, the inspector will make a temporary acceptance decision and report