Dresser makers pressed to more quickly improve safety standards
November 11, 2016, philly.com
Safety advocates accused furniture manufacturers of resisting much-needed changes they say could help reduce the risk of dresser tip-overs, tied to scores of deaths and thousands of injuries each year. One of the top officials of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has warned the industry to adopt a tougher standard or face a mandatory one imposed by the agency.
Troubled GoPro announces recall of its just launched drone
November 8, 2016, digitjournal.com
Action camera manufacturer GoPro has announced a full recall of its $799 Karma drone after reports of devices losing power while in use. GoPro said it plans to resume shipments of the drones as soon as power loss issues are resolved. There have been no reports of injuries or cases of property damage.
Samsung apology, investigation update on Note7 in U.S.
November 11, 2016, International Business Times
Here’s the latest statement from Samsung as the company continues to deal with fall out from the recall and discontinuation of the Galaxy Note7: “At Samsung, we innovate to deliver break through technologies that enrich people’s lives. An important tenant of our mission is to offer best-in-class safety and quality. Recently we fell short on this promise. For this, we are truly sorry.” The company still has not identified the root case of the smartphone’s malfunction.
Joint statement of CPSC Chairman Kaye, and Commissioners Adler, Robinson, and Mohorovic recommending parent or caregivers not use padded crib bumpers
November 3, 2016, cpsc.gov
Four CPSC leaders have joined to “strongly advise the public to stop using padded crib bumpers. In our view, they do nothing more than contribute to the deadly clutter in many of our nation’s cribs.” The Commission leaders disagreed with a staff briefing package containing an analysis of fatalities that concluded: “72 incidents were not likely to be addressable by Commission Action,” 9 were “likely to be addressable to some degree,” and that 26 “lacked sufficient details to determine whether the crib bumper contributed to the fatality.“ The statement reflects a reference in the Consumer Product Safety Act which calls for the agency to “assist consumers in evaluating the comparative safety of consumer products.”
Product safety versus recall—Is it worth it?
November 6, 2016, jobsnhire.com
Authorities may soon be looking into existing consumer product safety inspections and regulations with the recent recalls of regular household items that pose safety risks to the public. Including the Samsung top-loading washing machine recall, five different consumer products have been recently recalled due to risk they represent of causing serious injuries to consumers. Industry safety experts believe the authorities should review current practices and processes involving product safety inspections and testing, as well as reviewing current policies and regulatory practices.
U.S. regulator found another cheat device in Audi car: report
November 6, 2016, Reuters
Regulators in California recently discovered software installed on some of Volkswagen AG’s Audi models that appear to have allowed the cars to cheat carbon-dioxide emissions testing standards. Reports are that the device is different than the one which triggered last year’s diesel emissions scandal at Audi parent Volkswagen, and was also used in diesel and gasoline powered cars in Europe.
Top 10 EU Product Law Developments
November 9, 2016, Lexology
While the implications of Brexit on EU product-related laws are still to be determined, some recent developments are noteworthy for the regulations of products placed on the EU market. Among areas affected are REACH “articles” guidance, eco design/energy labeling tolerances, and product alignment under the new EU legislative framework.
Consumer Minister attends first meeting of working group on product recalls and safety
November 8, 2016, gov.uk
British Consumer Minister Margot James attended the first meeting of a government working group set up to deliver urgent recommendations to improve the safety of white goods. She touted a new portal, which acts as a one-stop shop for information on product recalls. The group was formed following a serious fire in London started by a faulty Whirlpool tumble dryer. Among the areas the group is being urged to examine are causes of fire in white goods, registration of electrical products at point of sale, and developing a code of practice for product recalls including the peer review of risk assessments.
EU must embrace the value of “Made in Europe”
November 2, 2016, The Parliament Magazine
An EU official is promoting the benefits of “Made in Europe” products as a reflection of the value of the EU’s single market approach. An increase of the EU-28’s trade surplus from €11bn in 2014 to €64bn in 2015 is a key indicator of the growth potential of a well-coordinated, effective plan to promote foreign trade and internationalism.
Counting the cost of supply chain disruption
November 8, 2016, 4-Traders (Zurich Insurance Group)
One in 3 organizations have experienced losses over EUR 1 million during the past year according to a report issued by the Business Continuity Institute. The increased costs of disruption could be attributed to significant cost increases in loss of productivity (68% up from 58% in 2015), cost of working (53% up from 39%), and damage to brand or reputation (38% up from 27%).
