SGS & TIA will host proposed Toy Safety Certification Program at ABC Kids Expo

-- Kids Today, 8/26/2008 9:15:00 AM

SGS Consumer Testing Services, a division of the SGS Group and a world-wide verification, testing and certification company, and the Toy Industry Assn., will host a complimentary seminar on the TIA’s proposed Toy Safety Certification Program at the ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Sept. 9.

The presentation, called “TSCP: Making It Simple,” is designed to help toy industry stakeholders gain a clear understanding of why the Toy Safety Certification Program is being developed, who it will affect, when it will be introduced, and what it entails for all aspects of the industry. The seminar will also explain the connection between the TSCP and the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act that is expected to mandate some form of certification by toy manufacturers.

Presenters will be Chuck Coletta, P.E., SGS technical director, and Chuck Rogers, senior technical director of the TIA’s Toy Safety Certification Program. The goal is to educate toy manufacturers, retailers and others involved in the toy supply chain on the measures the toy industry is taking to reform its safety regulations.

“Stakeholders in the industry will need to understand this proposed program, as well as how the TSCP links with aggressive new federal legislation (HR 4040) and anticipated rule making by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission,” Coletta said.

“TIA is committed to the safety of children and has been proactively developing the Toy Safety Certification Program. We are going beyond what will be required by the new federal legislation to address potential problems before product is produced,” Rogers added.

Topics covered during the seminar will include:
• How the proposed standards will affect and work with designers/brands, manufacturers, testing laboratories, certifiers, retailers and consumers.
• Detailed TSCP adherence requirements including a design review and risk assessment, factory audit assessment, product testing, and product certification.
• How companies can prepare for the proposed TSCP standards by identifying the person or company that will conduct a design review and risk assessment of their products, reviewing their laboratories’ accreditation status for relevant testing, engaging in preliminary discussions regarding TSCP with factories producing their products, and maintaining awareness of the TSCP program requirements.
• How TIA will support the implementation of the TSCP.

The seminar will be held at 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (Pacific) in Room S-225 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. More information is available here.