QIMA Testing and Certification Services Guide: An Overview

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QIMA Guide

QIMA, formerly known as AsiaInspection, is a relative newcomer to the testing, inspection, and certification industry. That said, QIMA is a pioneer when it comes to providing an easy-to-use digital platform for booking lab testing and quality inspections.

In many ways, QIMA has made product compliance testing, inspection, and certification more accessible and affordable to SMEs and e-commerce businesses.

This guide serves as an introduction to QIMA’s company history, testing and inspection services, main markets, accreditations, and more.

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SGS Testing and Certification Services Guide: An Overview

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SGS Guide

SGS is often synonymous with product testing and certification to the point that manufacturers sometimes refer to lab testing as “SGS testing”. That’s not surprising, given the incredible scope of product compliance services offered by Switzerland-based SGS.

This guide serves as an introduction to SGS company history, testing and certification services, main markets, accreditations, and more.

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Bureau Veritas Testing and Certification Services Guide: An Overview

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Bureau Veritas Guide

Bureau Veritas is nearly 200 years old, with origins in the maritime industry. Today, the French giant offers a wide range of testing and certification services applicable to nearly every consumer product sold on the planet. It also has offices and testing facilities in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

This guide serves as an introduction to Bureau Veritas company history, testing and certification services, main markets, accreditations, and more.

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UK REACH for Importers and Manufacturers: An Essential Guide

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UK REACH Guide

Do you intend to manufacture or sell products in the UK? If so, REACH compliance is likely required. In practice, REACH requires that your products don’t contain restricted chemicals, heavy metals, and other substances above the set limits. Examples include lead, cadmium, and various phthalates.

In this guide, we list some product categories covered by the UK REACH regulation in the United Kingdom and provide information on the differences between the pre-Brexit and post-Brexit REACH limits.

Note that this article does not apply to Northern Ireland as Northern Ireland still follows EU REACH.

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Toy Regulations and Standards in the UK: An Essential Guide

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Are you an importer or manufacturer interested in placing toy products in the UK market? In this guide, we explain what UK-based importers and manufacturers must know about toy regulations, safety standards, lab testing, documentation, and labeling requirements.

We also cover CE marking and the more recent UKCA marking requirements applicable to toys.

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ETL Certification and Marking: A Complete Guide

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ETL Certification & Marking

Intertek has a long history of providing testing and certification services to clients wanting to ensure their products conform to relevant safety standards and regulations. This includes the ETL Certification Program. ETL stands for Electrical Testing Laboratories, which is Interteks lab testing branch.

When products have been tested and found to be compliant with the program’s requirements, manufacturers and importers can affix the ETL Mark on their products.

There are several types of ETL marks that can be used by companies whose products have been found compliant, including the ETL Listed Mark and the ETL Verified Mark.

This guide includes a list of ETL-covered products, information about ETL Certification, ETL Mark, and ETL Listing. Additionally, we explain the necessary steps that must be taken to ensure compliance, and how much it costs to have your products certified via Intertek’s ETL Certification Program.

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Electronic Product Regulations in the United Kingdom: An Overview

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Planning to import, manufacture or sell electronics in the UK post Brexit? This guide covers electronic product regulations in the United Kingdom, excluding those that relate to Northern Ireland.

As a former member of the European Union, the UK has its own legislation that corresponds with EU legislation for specific products. For instance, the following UK legislations relate to the following EU legislative titles respectively:

a. Electromagnetic Compatibility Regulations 2016 – Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive

b. Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 – Low Voltage Directive

c. Radio Equipment Regulations 2017 – Radio Equipment Directive

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Intertek Testing and Certification Services Guide: An Overview

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Intertek Guide

Intertek has established itself as one of the world’s leading testing and certification companies. Headquartered in London, the company offers certification and testing services to brands, importers, and manufacturers desiring to ensure the safety of their products.

Intertek also has numerous accreditations, such as A2LA, UKAS, and ISO 17021.

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Prefab House Regulations & Safety Standards in the European Union

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Prefab House Regulations in the EU

Prefabricated houses, or prefab homes, refer to construction products that are constructed off-site and transported to the building site to be completely assembled. In this guide, we present what importers and manufacturers must know about regulations and safety standards relevant to the prefab housing market in the European Union.

Construction products that are commonly referred to as “prefabricated” include:

  • Kit homes
  • Modular shipping container homes
  • Prefabricated panels
  • Mobile homes

This guide does not cover electrical appliances (like fridges, or air conditioners). However, we include information about electrical installations (such as electrical wiring).

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CPSC Product Safety Regulations and Standards: An Overview

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CPSC Regulations and Standards Guide

Planning to import and sell products to US consumers and not sure what safety regulations apply to your product? In this guide, we cover the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), and other related Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) acts.

Please note that this is a non-exhaustive list of CPSC regulations.
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