Principles of the PSC. For those who handle human and life-threatening products such as lasers, laser rangefinders, and motorcycle helmets

Hello. It is the moat of the caretaker.

In a previous article, I explained the minimum points that you should know as a business operator about PSE (Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Act) and Radio Act (technical suitability). This time, I will tell you the key points about PSC (Consumer Product Safety Act).

One of our strengths is that we handle authentication agency services in all genres such as PSC, PSE, and Radio Law. In some cases, there are two certifications required for one product, and such products can be handled with a single request.

Now, about the PSC. What seems to be relevant in the retail business of general operators at PSC is lasers and riding (motorcycle) helmets. As I will explain later, the items handled by PSCs are quite maniac, and it is quite difficult for general businesses to inspect them and put them in circulation, and I think that the main companies will be companies with a certain amount of capital.

However, I believe that just knowing what is actually covered by the PSC and how to conduct these inspections will greatly expand the scope of our business as a business operator.

What is the Consumer Goods Safety Act (PSC)?

A law that regulates various sales operators with respect to such products with the aim of "preventing the occurrence of harm to the life or body of general consumers." Established in 1973. Administered by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Simply put, dangerous products that are deemed to pose a particularly high risk of harm to the lives or bodies of general consumers designated by the ministry should not be sold that do not bear the PSC mark. The target products and regulatory contents are updated according to the changing times.

If you violate the PSC Law, there are various penalties such as imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of up to 1 million yen, or a combination of these.

By the way, PSC may refer to:
An abbreviation for Product Safety Consumer.

PSC is classified into two categories: specific electrical appliances and specific products other than special specified products.

So what is pse coverage?
Please see the figure quoted from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry page.

Citation: Outline of the Consumer Product Safety Act

Special specific products for infant beds, portable laser application equipment, hot water circulators for bathtubs, lighters,
There are specific products other than pressure pans and pressures for home use, riding helmets, climbing ropes, oil water heaters, oil heaters, and special specific products for oil stoves.

The PSC law has been strengthened year by year, but one of the reasons for this is that wikipedia is quoted as it is.

In 2006, in response to a series of serious accidents such as paloma water heater death accident, matsushita small gas water heater death accident, and gas instant water heater called defect problem of Matsushita electric FF type oil hot air heater, oil hot air machine and household shredder, jaw deformity[3] due to infant's fingertip cutting and pacifier, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry worked on revision of this Law, obligation to report on serious accidents, An amended bill was drafted that includes the provisions of public announcement, etc. by the competent minister.

There is.

In addition, fire accidents caused by lighters are also a problem, and we are often calling for winter NHK, such as never using oil stoves that do not display the PSC mark.

There are multiple PSCs, but as I mentioned at the beginning, I think that there are only a few products that are likely to be certified by general businesses and put into distribution. To be honest, we wouldn't handle, say, an oil stove ourselves. Of course, authentication itself is possible at all, so if you are interested, please contact us at any time.

Difficult points of PSC inspection

There are PSEs with the same ministries and departments, but the difficulty of PSC inspection is that the inspection of the production plant is imposed, and the inspection is limited to Japanese inspection organizations or related organizations.

In PSE, specific electrical appliances (rhombus PSE) require factory inspection, but it is also possible with foreign inspection organizations. However, psc's "special specific products" are only inspection institutions in Japan, so if production is an overseas factory, japanese inspectors must be dispatched here.

And now, most of the production is at overseas factories (mainly in China), so that alone is a serious burden. This is also raising the hurdles for the PSC.
In addition, "specific products other than special specific products" are also available at inspection institutions in China, but it is quite difficult to find such inspection institutions.

You are also required to purchase PL insurance.

However, it can be said that the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has imposed regulations to prevent serious accidents caused by PSC products. Try observing the product at home. The PSC mark is always displayed. Rather, those that do not display are illegal.

There are many unique gadgets using lasers

The photo shows a portable laser application device (laser pointer) that we have certified ourselves. It is a standard product used for seminars and study sessions, but in fact these products are subject to PSC.

As for portable laser application equipment, illegal lasers made in China have been a problem for a long time. Illegal lasers, such as unusually thick lasers and very long irradiation distances, which adversely affect the human body and other social infrastructure, have long been a problem.

On the other hand, although photographs cannot be posted due to portrait rights issues, the use of lasers is also expanding, such as gadgets such as laser distance gauges used at construction sites and in daily life, and laser thermometers that measure the temperature of irradiated objects.

In other words, the demand for laser PSC testing is expected to expand further in the future.

【Small Talk】Difficult story of carrying laser application equipment (laser pointer) inspection at our company

Our first certification was for portable laser application equipment (laser pointers). At that time, we had received information that laser pointers would definitely sell, and we had a desire to handle them in-house.
However, I found out that PSC inspection was necessary for that purpose, and without any information on certification, I found a factory in China and started certification, but at first there was only a real struggle.

The product samples provided by the factory are all pushed back by the inspection agency because the laser wavelength is different, and the inspection institution does not tell us the reason for the difference and the point of improvement, so we have to recreate a new sample while making an analogy here.

Now that we have the know-how, certification that originally ends in a few months takes a considerable amount of time due to the busy state of the factory, and the inspection agency says, "Since it will be the end of the fiscal year, why don't you liquidate it once?" We thought that it would be difficult to continue as it was, so we had the factory make a precise sample again, and we managed to pass it.

The subsequent factory inspection was completed successfully and the PSC inspection was passed. We were able to list it safely and it grew up as our main product.

This story is only a little touching, so if you are interested, please contact us.

The following is an image from our laser factory (China) during a factory inspection. It is difficult to imagine a Chinese factory with only words, but of course there is a solid reality.

Since we dispatch Japan inspectors to such places, certification is still quite a difficult task. However, if you finish it that much, the range of products you handle will expand dramatically.

Factory entrance

The president is on the left, the moat is in the middle, and the manager is on the right

Inspection scene

Inspection scene

Inspection scene

meeting

Beware of malicious illegal items! There is almost no way a Chinese operator can get a PSC

First of all, only Japanese corporations can apply for PSC inspections. In addition, as I have told you, since the inspection itself generates factory inspections of inspection institutions, it takes cost and effort, so it takes a lot of effort to perform PSC inspections properly. It is almost impossible for Chinese operators to do PSC inspections (alone).

Because of this, you may think that it is almost illegal when Chinese operators are selling PSC products, and rather it is better not to purchase the product.

In addition, specific items cannot be conveyed due to confidentiality obligations, but around the summer of 2019, it seems that a Chinese business operator that sold PSC-eligible products on Amazon without approval was hit by a crackdown by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

In that sense, the hurdles are high, but if you clear the PSC properly, it can be said that business opportunities are large, so if you are interested, please feel free to contact us.

I will also write about the PSC procedure in the next article.

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