Biden Taps House Aide To Chair U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
July 2, 2021, Yahoo Finance
President Joe Biden plans to nominate a senior lawyer for a U.S. House of Representatives committee to chair the CPSC, along with a lawyer at the agency for another commissioner slot, the White House said. Biden announced that he intends to nominate Alexander Hoehn-Saric, a Democrat who is chief counsel for the Energy and Commerce subcommittee on communications and consumer protection to head the CPSC. The Democratic president also plans to nominate Mary Boyle to the commission. She is the CPSC’s current executive director and has spent more than a decade at the agency in senior positions.
EU Digital-Era Upgrade May Include Hefty Fines For Online Markets
July 1, 2021, Euronews.next
To avoid children’s dolls being hacked or phone chargers catching fire, the EU is pitching a revamp of product safety rules for the digital era. It will require online marketplaces to remove unsafe products without undue delay or face hefty fines.
Senate Bill Could Lead To CPSC Pilot Program On Artificial Intelligence
June 25, 2021, ZDNet
The U.S. House recently approved and sent to the Senate a bill to form a pilot initiative to use artificial intelligence to vet consumer product safety. The bill provides for a “pilot program” to examine use of artificial intelligence by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
How To Bring Your Conscience To Work (podcast)
June 8, 2021, Knowledge@Wharton
“To be a person of conscience — to bring your conscience to work, to bring your values to work and make a commitment to acting on them — is an essential leadership skill,” Wharton Professor Richard G. Shell says.
Paris Threatens To Ban E-Scooters After Woman’s Death
June 30, 2021, The Straits Times
Paris has threatened to ban e-scooters if operators don’t comply with speed limits and other rules after a pedestrian was killed by 2 riders. Some 15,000 devices are available in the city. They are supposed to travel less than 20kmh with only 1 rider.
UC Davis Pediatricians Warn Of The Dangers Of Button Cell Batteries
June 29, 2021, Daily Democrat
Pediatricians say keep button batteries secure and out of children’s reach. Jonathan Kohler, MD, UC Davis Children’s Hospital said, “Kids who swallow these batteries may require emergency surgery and can have devastating long-term injuries.”
Best Recall Practices: Part 3 – Consumer Goods
June 2021, Sidley
In part three of this series on product recalls, the authors focus on the rules governing recalls and withdrawals of consumer products from the EU and Swiss market. They examine the recall procedures, set out in Directive 2001/95/EC on general product safety (GPSD), its related guidance set out in the Commission Decision for the notification of dangerous consumer products.
Experts Warn Of Carbon Monoxide Dangers Amid Power-Outages
July 1, 2021, ClickOn Detroit
During power outages, people turn to portable generators to keep their lights and appliances working — but the Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning people that if generators aren’t used properly, they can cause serious consequences.
Opinion: Rethinking Plastics
July 1, 2021, University of Delaware
Plastics now are everywhere in our lives, providing low-cost convenience and other benefits in countless applications. They can be shaped to almost any task, from wispy films to squishy children’s toys and hard-core components. They have shown themselves vital in medicine and have been pivotal in the global effort to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic over the past 16 months. Plastics seem indispensable these days. Unfortunately for the long-term, they are also nearly indestructible.
New UK ‘Right To Repair’ Standards Come Into Effect
July 1, 2021, Belfast Telegraph
Manufacturers must make home products such as washing machines easier to repair under the new standards. They are now legally obliged to make spare parts available to consumers for the first time so that electrical appliances can be fixed easily.
Four Imperatives For Managing In A Hybrid World
June 28, 2021, Harvard Business Review
As more companies turn to a hybrid work model a year into the pandemic, what challenges are leaders likely to face when managing people both in the office and remotely? Interviews with 38 executives in Nordic countries point to four main tensions.
Honoring Our Heroes
SPSP Website
SPSP makes a permanent home for the salute poster at its website.
