Workplace electrical product safety: OSHA seeks comments on EC proposal
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced a request for comments on a proposal submitted to OSHA by the European Commission (EC).
OSHA’s Request for Information (RFI) is a U.S. deliverable under the auspices of the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC), a bilateral body established in 2007 to fortify the U.S.-EU trade relationship and facilitate cooperation between the two economies.
The proposal suggests permitting the use of Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity (SDoC) as an alternative to the Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories (NRTLs) product-approval process that OSHA currently employs for certain electrical products.
NRTLs are third-party independent laboratories that have met OSHA’s specified requirements to perform safety testing and certification of electrical and other products used in the workplace. These laboratories determine whether products conform to applicable U.S. product-safety testing standards.
The NRTL program has been in place since 1988, and fifteen private-sector laboratories are currently recognized by OSHA under the requirements of the program.
An SDoC, as proposed for use, is an equipment manufacturer or supplier’s written statement that assures a product conforms to a specified test standard or a set of requirements. A manufacturer's self-approval in the form of an SDoC is allowed in the U.S. (by some federal agencies) and other countries for certain types of products.
Details on current SDoC use and the proposal can be found in OSHA’s RFI.
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