© 2006 Underwriters Laboratories – Proprietary & Confidential

The International Consumer Product Health and SafetyOrganization (ICPHSO) Conference

October 26 – 28, 2009 Toronto, Canada

The Role of Standards in Consumer Product Safety

Robert A. WilliamsVice President, Standards

Underwriters Laboratories Inc.

The Role of Standards in Consumer Product Safety

A case study, Evolution of Requirements for Paper Shredders

Generally operated by professional staff in an adult environment

Larger number of businesses being operated out of the home

10% to 15% increase in sales of document shredders due to concerns over identity theft

The Role of Standards in Consumer Product Safety

A Case Study, Evolution of Requirements for Paper Shredders

UL’s Field reports process revealed a number of incidents where children’s fingers were being drawn into paper shredders in the home. Typical injuries were amputated fingers.

The Role of Standards in Consumer Product Safety

A Case Study, Evolution of Requirements for Paper Shredders

UL immediately issued a Public Notice on Safe Use of Paper Shredders

UL also began developing modified requirements and contacted the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to coordinate next actions.

The CPSC issued its own notification, based on the exact technical information in UL’s notification.

CPSC also conducted research on the topic, and UL decided to wait for the completion of the CPSC research activity in order to minimize the net time associated with implementation of the final solution.

The Role of Standards in Consumer Product Safety

A Case Study, Evolution of Requirements for Paper Shredders

Upon issuance of the CPSC Report, UL formed a Task Group to develop updated requirements for document (paper) shredders for CSA/UL 60950-1.

The Task Group consisted of representation from UL, CSA, the U.S. CPSC, and several manufacturers of document shredders.

The result of the Task Group’s work was a proposal to revise UL 60950-1 to address the safety concerns with use of document shredders in homes.

The Role of Standards in Consumer Product Safety

A Case Study, Evolution of Requirements for Paper Shredders

• The Task Group developed the following new requirements for document shredders: New definitions of Household/Home Office and

Commercial/Industrial Document Shredders, New set of markings, Required on/off switch, New implementation of the UL Articulated Accessibility Probe for

assessing access to safety interlocks and potentially hazardous moving parts, and

A new method of evaluating access through openings with spreading force applied via a new accessibility probe/wedge.

The Role of Standards in Consumer Product Safety

A Case Study, Evolution of Requirements for Paper Shredders

• New accessibility probe/wedge

• Proposals were processed through the bi-national working group and then the CSA Technical Committee and the UL Standards Technical Panel.

The Role of Standards in Consumer Product Safety

A Case Study, Evolution of Requirements for Paper Shredders

• Demonstrates a Critical source for revising Consumer Standards, field experience

• More products/devices formerly intended for use by adults/professionals are accessible to children and inexperienced adults.

• Broader definition of “Consumer Products”