SGS Suggests to Play it Safe with a Risk Assessment of Toy Products

Costly product returns, recalls and other problems that often occur once a product has already been released on the market can be prevented through careful product design analysis and risk assessment a the earliest stages of product development and throughout the product’s life cycle.

Before lots of time and money is spent developing and manufacturing a toy, it is prudent to carry out a risk assessment to identify potential concerns, from concept to production. In the EU, all toys (www.sgs.com/toys) must undergo a hazard and risk assessment. Although this does not apply to all markets around the world, product design analysis and risk assessment enables you to develop toys that will meet the most stringent regulations and so enjoy the widest market access.
Adopting design analysis as part of their risk assessment and management process, manufacturers ensure that a toy is safe from the earliest stages and so save not only the costs of redesign and disposal of recalled products, but also protect their reputation as a reliable company and their brand’s image.

Complex requirements in the EU

Safety regulations in the EU oblige manufacturers to conduct a product hazard and risk assessment and to document the results before a toy can be placed on the market. This includes the necessary compliance with a host of standards and regulations. Responsible and forward-thinking manufacturers and retailers also voluntarily apply standards, sometimes well in advance of their becoming mandatory, as well as client specific requirements and essential safety features. The trend is for standards to become more stringent over time. So it is always wise to look beyond minimal compliance with standards to future-proof your products.

About SGS Risk Assessment Solutions

SGS offers specialist support for product design analysis, with services that include a feasibility analysis, product safety review, risk assessment, product line review, product specific research as well as benchmark/performance testing. One of the direct benefits of product design analysis is that toys will not only be better by design, but also meet consumer expectations and be subject to fewer recalls. This will improve the brand reputation and give a company the edge in a competitive marketplace.

SGS offers three product risk assessment (www.sgs.com/riskassessment) services at its toy testing laboratories around the world. These are: Quality and Safety Management, Product Design Analysis and Manufacturing Control.

SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With 67,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 1,250 offices and laboratories around the world.

To find out more about SGS Risk Assessment Services, contact us at the address below.

SGS Consumer Testing Services
Charlotte Strudwick
Product Integrity Engineering Manager
SGS United Kingdom Ltd.
Crossley Hall House, Thornton Road, BD8 0HH Bradford
United Kingdom

t +44 1274 367988
E-Mail: cts.media@sgs.com
Website: www.sgs.com/hardlines

This release was published on openPR.