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Compliance Consulting
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When considering whether or not to employ the services of
a consultant or agent for product safety and certification, it is important
to understand what an agent is and, more importantly, what an agent is not.
In order to eliminate confusion, it is necessary to point out first what an
agent is not. An agent does not represent the safety organization. The
agent’s cost is a separate item and will not include any agency costs,
materials or the like, unless specifically negotiated. An agent cannot
provide a 100% guarantee that there will be no issues. So, what is an agent or consultant? What can they provide?
And, most importantly, why bother with an agent or consultant? These are all
valid questions that a manufacturer must understand and answer in order to obtain
the full benefit of an agent or consultant. First, what is an agent or consultant? One way to
characterize an agent or consultant is that the person is an employee on
demand. The agent is “employed” only as long as required to complete the task
of obtaining product certification. The agent’s fees are the only costs,
aside from normal reimbursement for travel, postage, telephone and other
related office costs. There are no fringe benefits for the company to pay.
Why not have a staff member or engineer handle the project? While an agent’s
cost might be viewed as high, it is far lower than the cost of employing a
full-time staff member with similar expertise. Many companies cannot afford
to employ a full-time staff member to handle product safety issues and
certification. And, most engineers generally do not have the kind of
expertise that can reduce issues and speed up certification. Employing an
agent to oversee agency certification and issues allows engineers and
designers to do what they do best. The agent works closely with the engineers
and designers during product development, suggesting materials, components
and constructions that will minimize or eliminate product safety issues. This
makes the most efficient use of the Engineering staff. What can an agent or consultant provide a manufacturer or
design firm? It can be put simply - expertise in product safety. Product
safety expertise is not a subject that is taught in school. It is only
learned from working with product safety engineers and product safety
organizations. An individual who has not only worked in the area of product
safety, but also in the area of development of product safety standards has
an advantage of additional insight as to the intent of many requirements. An
agent understands the “workings” of the safety organization and knows the
people necessary to make the work flow simple. The agent can speak the
language of the safety agency. The agent can work with staff members,
engineers and designers during product development to identify potential
product safety issues, and resolve them before they become real issues. This
can save a manufacturer a great deal of time and money. The agent can provide
a basic report and photographs, and develop a comprehensive test program. In
many cases, the agent may have access to a certified laboratory that can
conduct the required testing. The end result is a product approval that is
obtained faster and at a reduced cost. |
