1 by Mark Wasmuth, BSI British Standards Impact of Standards on the Safety of Products

2 The Costs of Accidents and ill-health at Work In the UK each year: Over 1 million injuries and 2.3 million cases of ill- health are experienced by workers; Around 40 million working days are lost to business; Over individuals are forced to give up work because of injury or ill health. These cost British employers an estimated £3.3 to £6.5 billion each year Most organisations do not know what accidents and ill-health really cost them in time and money.

3 Accidents to Consumers Every year in the United Kingdom about 5,000 people die as a result of an accident in the home, or during their leisure time; Over 2 million people are treated in hospitals; Another 1.5 million consult a general practitioner. The cost to society of UK home accident injuries was estimated (in 1996) at £25,000 million a year. Source – UK Home Accident Surveillance System

4 UK Strategy to Reduce Accidents QUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE Regulation Specific Product Safety General Product Safety Standardization Conformity Assessment Certification of Products

5 Product Sectors - 1 Appliances burning gaseous fuels Cableway installations designed to carry persons Construction products Electromagnetic compatibility Equipment and protective systems in potentially explosive atmospheres Explosives for civil uses Lifts Low voltage equipment Machinery safety Measuring instruments Medical devices: Active implantable

6 Product Sectors - 2 Medical devices: General Medical devices: In vitro diagnostic New hot-water boilers fired with liquid or gaseous fluids (efficiency requirements) Non-automatic weighing instruments Packaging and packaging waste Personal protective equipment Pressure equipment Radio and telecommunications terminal equipment Recreational craft Simple pressure vessels Toys safety

7 New Regulation – Machinery Safety Injury Fatal34230 Major /4 >3 days lost /44 Machinery Safety Regulation and 800+ New Standards were introduced to the UK (and EU) during 1989

8 Enforcement of safety regulations in the UK Inspection by the UK Market Surveillance authorities: Consumers are protected by the Trading Standards departments of local government General Workplaces are the responsibility of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) with a regional offices network Other Agencies enforce regulations for specific areas: –Medical devices, radio, transport, utilities, etc.

9 Legal Penalties For non-compliance the penalties are severe: Enforcement authorities are allowed to seize and destroy non-compliant products Courts can impose unlimited fines and imprisoned for Directors But: Enforcement authorities encourage manufacturers to be compliant with advice and support from the Quality Infrastructure institutions

10 UK Quality Infrastructure Institutions Regulations – UK Government Standards – BSI Certification – various accredited bodies Product Testing – various accredited laboratories Metrology (Scientific/Industrial) – NPL Metrology (Legal) – NWML Accreditation – UKAS

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