Safety is defined as "Not being exposed to the risk of unacceptable harm or injury."
Along with this definition, safety for product, process or service is provided in writing. This is Safety standard.

<< Category of safety standard >>
Safety standard contains standard in common across the world, common standard in Europe, and standards at individual countries.

(1) Common standard across the world: IEC
International Electro Technical Commission

(2) European: Norm
European Standards (Normalization)

(3) USA: UL
Underwriters laboratories Ins

(4) Canada:　CSA
Canadian Standards Association

(5) Japan
Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law

(6) UK: BS
British Standard

(7) Others
Germany: VDE
Switzerland: SEV
North Europe: FI，DEMKO，NEMKO，SEMKO
China: CCC

Safety standard has a wide range. Sole standard is not able to provide everything so that individual standard by product category is provided. IEC is provided in number of 60 thousands place. The standards related to our product (Information technology equipment) are IEC 60950, EN 60950
in Europe, and C22.2 No. 60950 in Canada.
Common safety standard across the world, IEC, is based on European standard carrying the same abbreviation number.

Information technology equipment in Japan is not subject to Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law so that the equipment is not involved in Technical Standards. It might be involved in DC power supply, dare to say.

<< Safety standard and Test laboratory >>

The safety laboratory inspects products to see if they are properly manufactured in a way to meet safety standard. Some laboratories have established their own standard to inspect products, and some inspect by utilizing existing standards.

(1) Representative among those who have their own standards is UL. Originally, UL used to be an underwriter in USA. As there were a lot of fires caused by electric appliances, UL made a standard to inspect and allow laboratories to affix a UL mark (Figure 1.20) to products that passed their standards. And UL decided not to pay insurance coverage to products without the mark. This made UL famous in not only USA, but across the world, and today as well. UL is, now, inspecting electric appliances of course, to extinguishers and helmets and so on.

Figure. 1.20 UL Mark

(2) CSA (Figure 1.21) made their own standard as well. UL and CSA made a mutual agreement as they are adjacent to each other. This allows UL to inspect with CSA standard together to put c-UL mark (Figure 1.22). This mark indicates that both UL and CSA are certified.

Figure. 1.21 CSA Mark

Figure. 1.22 C-UL Mark

(4) Manufactures and importers of electric appliances to sell in Japan need to follow the law to affix Safety mark (Fig. 1.24) effective on April, 2001.

Figure. 1.24　PSE Mark

<< Safety standard and Quality assurance >>
UL issues procedures (Report) or products that have passed safety test, and every 3 months, UL audits factories to verify that their quality assurance system is well organized as long as the product is manufactured to follow the procedures.
As to TUV, they audit once per year provided that good products are manufactured as long as quality assurance system of the company is well organized.
As we applied ISO 90001 to TUV, TUV audits us but no ISO factory audit.

(1) The product shall meet basic technical requirements.
(2) To create Legal documents (Technical file and Declaration of Conformity) and keep them in EU.
(3) Proper implementation of Quality assurance In case of legal (Directive) nonconformity, product recall, sales suspension or sales prohibition are enforced.

Technical basic requirements are based on Directives below.

1. Safety of machinery
2. EMC
3. Low voltage electrical equipment
4. Simple pressure vessels
5. Safety of toys
6. Gas appliances
7. Telecommunications terminal equipment
8. Medical devices

Among those above, Directives our products are subject to at present are Machinery Directive, EMC Directive, and Low voltage Directive. However, for Machinery Directive, it applies to equipments with moving parts so that our products are not subject to.

EMC applies to equipments that probably interfere other equipments with performance by electromagnetic waves, or equipments that are probably interfered by those electro-magnetic waves including Mains harmonic current and Electrostatic discharge immunity. Low Voltage Directive specifies the equipment to be used with the input voltage range of 50V to less than AC 1000V, or 75V to less than DC 1500V. As every equipment is subject to the Directive, our products are subject to EMC Directive and Low Voltage Directive together.

CE mark indication has the meaning as follow,

(1) "CE" display means that the manufacturer (CE mark indicator) has implemented all required by Conformity Assessment (Products Certification) System provided by EMC Directive, such as ER basic requirement conformity, Creation and Keeping of Technical file, Declaration of Conformity, and appropriate quality assurance.

(2) There are other Directives than EU Directive, and if
those require the CE display, the display means all related directives have been conformed.

(3) CE mark indicates that the manufacturer has carried out legal duties showing to regulatory authority.
The mark does not indicate by any means that the product is safe, or never generates radio disturbance, etc. to customers or users.

(4) Requirements in displaying CE mark are as follows,
- "CE" Log design
- CE display shall be carried out by the manufacturer who takes the final liability for products conformity assurance.
Note: If the manufacturer entrusts to a statutory agent, the agent can display the mark. Importers are not allowed to do this.

- CE display shall be put on the product. If not for some reasons, the marking shall be put on the operation manual or warranty which are enclosed with the product together, or on the packaging box.
- CE mark shall be "easily legible", "easily readable," and "hard to erase." Also, "CE" log height is specified to be 5mm or higher.