Global Safety Standards

UL Standards (United States)

UL, or Underwriters Laboratories Inc., is a non-profit testing organization that was founded in 1894 by a group of American fire insurance companies. Their aim was to prevent loss of human life and damage to property from fires and other hazards by ensuring that machinery, tools and materials were safe. To this end, UL developed a variety of tests and research methods for machinery, tools and materials, which resulted in the compilation of the UL standards. These standards are used for common items such as electronic equipment, motor-powered devices and electronic parts. The most important aspect to the UL standards as a manufacturer is that legal provisions in many American states require that such products have passed the relevant UL safety tests and be listed in the UL Directory before being offered for sale. Although some states do not explicitly require UL-listing by law, there are cases where insurers refuse to cover the risk of fire or damage caused by a product that is not UL-listed. This is almost equivalent to the legal sales restrictions in other states, and under such circumstances the customer will obviously only purchase items that are UL-listed. For a product that is to be sold in the United States, recognition or listing by UL is recommended.

Also, UL has been accredited as a verification agency for the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) and is recognized by all Canadian provinces. Therefore, it is possible to have testing for Canadian safety standards performed at UL. Products that are recognized as conforming to Canadian safety standards can display the c-UL mark, and their sale and use is permitted in Canada.

CSA Standards (Canada)

CSA stands for "Canadian Standards Association", a private, non-profit testing organization established after an inquiry by the Canadian government. To protect human life and property from fire hazard and accidents, provincial laws in Canada forbid the sale and use of any electrical machinery, electrical parts, and so on, unless its safety has been confirmed by the CSA. For this purpose, CSA has established standards detailing mandatory tests and requirements to ascertain component safety.

Also, the CSA has been accredited by the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as a national research and testing laboratory (NRTL) and is now able to undertake testing under American safety standards. Products that are recognized as conforming with American safety standards may display the CSA mark with NRTL added, and their sale and use is permitted in the United States.

EN Standards (EU member states)

The European Union continues to coordinate the industrial and safety standards of individual member states under the aegis of the Council of European Standardization (CEN) and the Council of European Electrical Standardization (CENELEC). The unified standards for all of Europe are called the Harmonized Standards. The numbers for Harmonized Standards all begin with an "EN". EN standards apply to the design and manufacture of products exported to the EU area. (IEC and VDE standards apply when an EN standard has not yet been enacted.)

Certification is given by private inspection organizations such as TÜV Rheinland, VDE and DEMKO. Qualifying products may display the various safety marks.

Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law

Effective April 1, 2002, Japan's Electrical Appliance and Material Control Law was revised and renamed the "Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law". The purpose of the new law is to prevent the occurrence of danger and trouble resulting from electrical appliances and materials by regulating the manufacture, sale and other activities involving electrical appliances and materials, while promoting the voluntary efforts of private businesses in order to ensure their safety. Accordingly, the authorizations (tests) and other safety checks, which under the old law were conducted directly by the government, have become the responsibility of the manufacturers, etc. which must now ensure the safety of their own products through the introduction of a third-party certification system. The Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Law applies to the electrical appliances and materials generally used in homes, offices, etc. They are classified into categories- "special electrical appliances and materials" and "products other than special electrical appliances and materials" - according to the level of danger they present. Special electrical appliances and materials are subject to compliance tests and the retention of compliance certificates performed/issued by the Japan Electrical Safety & Environment Technology Laboratories (JET) or other test laboratory certified (or approved) by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and must also bear the diamond-shape PSE mark. Products other than special electrical appliances and materials must comply with the relevant technical standards and bear the circular PSE mark.

China Compulsory Certification Mark

Chinese requirements for safety and quality certification are not new. Since 1989, China has had a safety licensing system, which included the CCIB Safety Mark, required for products in 47 product categories, and the CCEE "Great Wall" Mark, for electrical commodities in seven product categories. As the certification system grew through the 1990s, many companies exporting to China raised concerns about the dual certification systems, redundant testing, and differential treatment of domestic products and imported products.

When China negotiated the terms of its World Trade Organization (WTO) membership in the late 1990s and through 2001, it acknowledged some of the problems inherent in its existing system, and agreed to merge its two certification regimes into a single unified system, with equal treatment for domestic products and imports. 

In December, 2001, at about the same time it joined the WTO, China announced the new China Compulsory Mark system and the list of covered products. The system was put in place on May 1, 2002, with a one-year transition period, with the system fully effective -- and mandatory for all goods in the product catalogue -- on May 1, 2003. 

The CCC Mark is administered by the Chinese government agency Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA). The China Quality Certification Center (CQC) is designated by CNCA to process CCC mark applications.

CE Marking

To distribute equipment within the European Union, the CE marking is mandatory for certifying that the equipment complies with EC Directives (safety). To obtain a ruling that the equipment satisfies the required items of each directive, the manufacturer must usually verify that the equipment complies with the EN standards applicable to the EC Directives, or, if not available, with the IEC standards. The manufacturer then composes a declaration stating compliance with the directives and applies the CE marking. (However, depending on the risk of danger, formal testing by an approving authority may be required and the self-composed declaration is then issued after receiving proof of formal testing.) Products with a declaration of voluntary compliance have the CE mark on the nameplate or on the package label.

Cyber Resilience Act and Our Initiatives for Product Cybersecurity, Vulnerability Information

Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) [(EU) 2024/2847]

The Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) is an EU regulation that entered into force on 10 December 2024 to ensure the cybersecurity of products with digital elements. It requires manufacturers and other economic operators to implement cybersecurity measures for hardware and software throughout the product lifecycle, from the design and development phases through decommissioning and disposal.

From 11 September 2026, manufacturers will be required to notify, through the single reporting platform operated by European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), any actively exploited vulnerability in a product of which they become aware, as well as any severe incident having an impact on the cybersecurity of the product.

From 11 December 2027, the main requirements of the CRA will apply. To place products subject to the CRA on the EU market, manufacturers must assess their conformity with the applicable cybersecurity requirements and affix the CE marking.

Our Initiatives for Product Cybersecurity

With the rapid advancement of digitalization and network connectivity throughout society, cybersecurity risks are increasing even for industrial equipment that was previously considered largely unrelated to cybersecurity.

As a manufacturer of products that are incorporated into a wide range of equipment, we consider it an important responsibility to ensure the cybersecurity of our products, in addition to their safety and reliability. As part of our efforts to comply with the CRA, we are promoting cybersecurity measures for our products under the following basic policies.

Basic Policy on Product Cybersecurity

We are committed to ensuring cybersecurity of our products in accordance with the following policies.

1. Secure by Design

We aim to develop secure products by incorporating cybersecurity from the product planning, development, and design phases.

2. Ensuring Cybersecurity Throughout the Product Lifecycle

We will comply with the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) and establish processes to ensure cybersecurity throughout the entire product lifecycle, from product planning, development, and design through manufacturing, operation, maintenance, decommissioning, and disposal.

3. Supply Chain Security

We will work to reduce cybersecurity risks throughout the supply chain, including procured components and software, as well as outsourced activities.

4. Rapid Response to Vulnerabilities

We will establish and operate processes for the identification, assessment, reporting, remediation, and disclosure of vulnerabilities.

Vulnerability Reporting

If you discover a vulnerability in any of our products, please contact us using our inquiry form.

Please provide the product name, serial number (XX0 0000000: three alphanumeric characters followed by seven digits), and details of the vulnerability, including the observed behavior, steps to reproduce, and any suggested mitigations.

Disclosure of Vulnerability Information

If a vulnerability is confirmed in any of our products, information about the vulnerability will be published here.

Currently, there are no confirmed vulnerabilities.

 

CA Prop 65

CA Prop 65 Warning Page

What is CA Proposition 65?

Proposition 65 became law in November 1986, when California voters approved it by a 63-37 percent margin. The official name of Proposition 65 is the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986.