C
controlz
Hello,
We are a fast growing business based in the UK. We currently sell over 40 different products ranging from small home appliances (fans, heaters) through to soft products such as blankets etc. The vast majority of our product range fit into CE - LVD/EMC/RoHS within Europe, and FCC/UL/ETL within the USA with a few exceptions/anomolies. Our main markets are UK, Europe and North America.
In general our products are relatively off the shelf from the Chinese factories we work with, so we rely on their certification and test reports. We have a process as follows:
- Ensure factory has all necessary testing reports and certificates for the product (based on our research and guidance from our 3rd party inspection company)
- If necessary, have new testing reports or documents created to plug any gaps.
- 3rd party agency will deconstruct a sample and cross reference it with the list of components within the testing reports to ensure the factory hasn’t changed components.
- Upon completion of an order, we will do a pre shipment inspection where product function is tested and samples are deconstructed to ensure they line up with the component list and deconstructed sample. Assuming so, we are confident it adheres to regulation.
We think it’s a pretty meticulous process, however as we grow we are keen to take even more control of our production quality. For example, we are no experts in CE/FCC etc and some of the documentation can be taken subjectively so are never 100% sure that we have identified every single regulation a product adheres to.
Likewise, we rely on certification from our factories under their own name, but we are unsure under what circumstances we require these within our name.
Our list of queries goes on, but we think it is about time we utilised some experts to help manage this - Analyse our product range and ensure all documentation is up to date, and develop a simple QC process going forward.
My question is how to approach this? Is this a role we recruit for internally, or is it too diverse for one person? Is this something we outsource to a QC company or a contractor? Any other advice will really help us move forward as we are pulling our hair out a little.
Many Thanks
ControlZ
We are a fast growing business based in the UK. We currently sell over 40 different products ranging from small home appliances (fans, heaters) through to soft products such as blankets etc. The vast majority of our product range fit into CE - LVD/EMC/RoHS within Europe, and FCC/UL/ETL within the USA with a few exceptions/anomolies. Our main markets are UK, Europe and North America.
In general our products are relatively off the shelf from the Chinese factories we work with, so we rely on their certification and test reports. We have a process as follows:
- Ensure factory has all necessary testing reports and certificates for the product (based on our research and guidance from our 3rd party inspection company)
- If necessary, have new testing reports or documents created to plug any gaps.
- 3rd party agency will deconstruct a sample and cross reference it with the list of components within the testing reports to ensure the factory hasn’t changed components.
- Upon completion of an order, we will do a pre shipment inspection where product function is tested and samples are deconstructed to ensure they line up with the component list and deconstructed sample. Assuming so, we are confident it adheres to regulation.
We think it’s a pretty meticulous process, however as we grow we are keen to take even more control of our production quality. For example, we are no experts in CE/FCC etc and some of the documentation can be taken subjectively so are never 100% sure that we have identified every single regulation a product adheres to.
Likewise, we rely on certification from our factories under their own name, but we are unsure under what circumstances we require these within our name.
Our list of queries goes on, but we think it is about time we utilised some experts to help manage this - Analyse our product range and ensure all documentation is up to date, and develop a simple QC process going forward.
My question is how to approach this? Is this a role we recruit for internally, or is it too diverse for one person? Is this something we outsource to a QC company or a contractor? Any other advice will really help us move forward as we are pulling our hair out a little.
Many Thanks
ControlZ
Last edited: