Product certification is a means of providing assurance that a product complies with specified requirements in standards and other normative documents. It would be expected to apply mainly to those societal concerns whose significance calls for the involvement of an independent body. The use of product certification bears out this observation as it is generally applied only to significant concerns. Concerns can involve such product attributes as safety, health or environmental (SHE) impacts, durability, compatibility and suitability for intended purposes or for stated conditions. Product certification may also be used by manufacturers and retailers to improve the acceptability of their products by the market, especially when the certified products can bear a mark of conformity. In this module, we are mainly focusing on certification of tangible products (toys, electronic products, construction materials, etc.). In fact, product certification can also be applied to non-tangible products (software, service, etc.) and to process certification.
Three fundamental purposes of product certification become evident:
- Product certification should address the concerns of consumers, users and more generally, all interested parties by instilling confidence regarding fulfillment of requirements.
- Product certification may be used by suppliers to show to the market the third-party involvement.
- Product certification should not require excessive resources that result in product costs beyond what society in general is willing to bear.
In general, product certification should instill confidence in those with an interest in fulfillment of requirements, and product certification should provide sufficient value so that suppliers can effectively market products. Product certification is most successful when it delivers the required confidence while utilizing the fewest possible resources; i.e. maximizing value.
Product certification is used in various ways. For example, governments may impose certification requirements in connection with such matters as communications, food and drugs. Local governmental authorities rely on certification of products to assure that such technical areas as electrical wiring and construction products are suitable for use in building construction. Retailers of consumer goods rely on certification as evidence that aspects such as the safety of electrical appliances have been addressed by a third party, thus giving confidence that products they place on their shelves for sale to the public are not likely to bring harm to their customers. Manufacturers may require certification of parts/components provided by suppliers in order to assure the quality of the finished products.
While these examples illustrate important distinctions in the way product certification is used, these brief overviews neither serve to fully explain the details of certification in the respective cases, nor constitute the entire universe of ways in which certification is used.
Product certification as a technique to address concerns related to the design, production, distribution, use and disposal of products has been in use for over 100 years. Many effective forms of product certification can be found all over the world. While all forms of product certification can be highly effective, the specific concerns to be resolved by product certification and the conditions (both voluntary and regulatory) under which product certification will operate will quickly narrow the choices for the optimum set of elements for a specific product certification system.
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