Someone once said that "Some of it, plus the rest of it, is all of it." Here is some more of it on EU/USA regs.
Prior to EU Directives and CE marking it was common to obtain, and display the marks of, many European country test agencies. This meant many approval and annual fees. Now, for the most part, self-declared conformity to Directives and CE marking is sufficient. Some of the "old" marks may still be desirable for marketing purposes only, i.e. they are helpful to sell. The irony is that deleted Western Europe marks may require replacement by the marks of many Central/Eastern Europe/Russia/CIS countries. For the USA and Canada, approvals have simplified to some degree. Both have begun to recognize marks other than UL and CSA respectively. Refer to 29 CFR 1910.399 Subpart S for some key OSHA requirements. Access via "www.safetylink.com", scroll to and select "OSHA - 29 CFR 1910, Subpart S - Electrical - Definitions", scroll to and select last item on list, "1910.399". See opening paragraphs as to "acceptable" equipment: (i) If it is accepted, or certified, or listed, or labeled, or otherwise determined to be safe by a nationally recognized testing laboratory; or (ii) With respect to an installation or equipment of a kind which no nationally recognized testing laboratory accepts, certifies, lists, labels, or determines to be safe, if it is inspected or tested by another Federal agency, or by a State, municipal, or other local authority responsible for enforcing occupational safety provisions of the National Electrical Code, and found in compliance with the provisions of the National Electrical Code as applied in this subpart; or The jist of this is that typical ITE equipment can be (1) certified by a nationally recognized test laboratory, or (2) inspected by Federal, state, or local agency. I don't think you want to go the second route. OSHA has approved several NRTLs, including UL, CSA, ETL, and MET. Some others are either approved or in the approval process. It is not as clear what Canada (or it's provinces) will accept. Canada does accept testing to Canadian standards by CSA or UL. So in USA, acceptable certification marks include UL, CSA/NRTL, ETL, MET, or any other NRTL. In Canada CSA or c-UL mark is acceptable. The point is that some single agencies can test and certify for both USA and Canada. In addition, Certification Bodies (e.g. UL and CSA) must accept CB Reports from other Certification Bodies if the appropriate country standards were included in the assessment and there are no flaws in the reported tests. This is another means to obtain certification with minimal or no additional testing. This does not take into account the marketing and public recognition aspects of marks which may be desirable beyond what is required. This "new age" of product approvals places test agencies in the unique position of being competitive with respect to service, quality of work product, and pricing. However, this is not likely to draw sympathy from manufacturers who have always been in this position. [The comments above may reflect some remaining ignorance (curable) and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.] George Alspaugh Product Safety Lexmark International georgea @ lexmark.com
