Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a world leader in product safety testing and certification, announced on June 8 the launch of its new Power Quality Study service offering. This new service, available to customers of Data Acceptance Programs (DAP) and Manufacturer Test Laboratories (MTLs), offers an assessment of the power quality of a customer’s testing location.
“UL is delighted to provide this new service offering because it supports our public safety mission by helping to assure there is a suitable environment for testing products,” said Gary Savin, vice president and general manager for power and controls.
The DAP and MTL programs allow manufacturers to conduct their own testing or to contract with another testing facility to complete testing. However, DAP customers and International Electrotechnical Commission for Conformity Testing and Certification of Electrical Equipment (IECEE – CB) Manufacturer Test Laboratories (MTL) are required by ISO/IEC 17025 Clause 5.3 to monitor and control their test environments including power sources. When a customer lacks the technical ability or equipment to complete a power quality study itself, UL now offers an added service to complete the power quality study for the testing area.
A power quality study assessment confirms that the source of power meets minimum voltage regulation, frequency regulation and harmonic distortion requirements. With UL’s Power Quality Study service, a report is provided to the customer for their records and can be used to verify the power quality of the test environment for submitted test data.
Customers are required to conduct a power quality study if they wish to participate in UL’s DAP or MTL programs. UL customers may save time and money by having UL perform this service as opposed to outsourcing the work to another service provider or conducting the tests themselves. UL utilizes calibrated equipment and knowledgeable, experienced staff in performing power quality studies.
“UL is committed to providing our customers the fastest, highest quality and most customer friendly service possible,” said Savin. “Providing power quality studies further supports UL's goal of becoming a one-stop-shop for all of its customers’ testing and certification needs.”
Underwriters Laboratories is currently providing this service to customers across all industries within the United States. It has plans to expand internationally in the future and will notify its customers of that date in the future.
For more information on UL’s DAP program, visit: http://www.ul.com/dap. You can also contact UL’s Customer Service representatives at 877-UL-HELPS.
About Underwriters Laboratories
Underwriters Laboratories is an independent product safety certification organization that has been testing products and writing Standards for Safety for over a century. UL evaluates more than 19,000 types of products, components, materials and systems annually with 20 billion UL Marks appearing on 72,000 manufacturers’ products each year. UL’s worldwide family of companies and network of service providers includes 64 laboratory, testing and certification facilities serving customers in 98 countries. UL is also the only National Certification Body (NCB) for PV in North America and an OSHA-accredited Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL).
About Data Acceptance Programs (DAP) and Manufacturer Test Laboratories (MTL)
Data acceptance program (DAP) is a means for UL to accept externally generated test data in support of UL mark certification. UL currently offers four different types of data acceptance programs: Witness Test Data Program (WTDP), Client Test Data Program (CTDP), Third-Party Test Data Program (TPTDP), and Total Certification Program (TCP). The Manufacturer Test Laboratories (MTL) is a way for National Certification Bodies (NCBs) to accept externally generated test data in support of CB Scheme certification. UL offers four types of MTLs: SMT (Supervised Manufacturer's Testing), TMP (Testing at Manufacturer’s Premises), WMT (Witnessed Manufacturer’s Testing), and RMT (Recognized Manufacturer’s Testing).
