Home / Guides / Page 6
All guides A-Z
306 guides across 20 topics. Each one opens with a safety file: the subject, the safety goal, the evidence level and the first check. Page 6 of 8, guides 206 to 246.
05 Separating how bad a harm could be from how likely it is to happenProduct risk assessment - For a pointed garden trowel, severity asks what a slipping hand could suffer, while probability asks how often that slip happens in real digging, and mixing the two questions produces a misleading score. 01 Seven Comforting Myths That Leave Real Products at RiskProduct safety foundations - Many sellers trust myths such as the idea that a supplier certificate alone proves safety, when in practice safety depends on checking the actual product, its users, and how it will really be used. 03 Shared Work, Clear Edges: Splitting Duties Across a ChainEconomic operators and their duties - Sharing duties across a supply chain works when each handover names what was checked, what was passed on, and what remains open, so no duty falls between two businesses. 01 Short Runs, Same Rules: Safety for Seasonal and Promotional LinesProduct safety foundations - Seasonal and promotional products carry the same safety duties as permanent lines, even though they are ordered quickly, sold briefly, and often forgotten once the season passes. 12 Small Parts and Choking Risks in Children's Products, in DetailChildren's products - Checking for loose and detachable parts before and during use for a magnetic building tile set in a parent choosing toys for a toddler group: this guide explains small parts and choking risks in plain terms, shows how a part that only comes loose after weeks of play is handled, and sets out the checks and records that keep a magnetic building tile set findable after sale. 13 Smart home safety when hubs, locks, heaters and alarms share one household systemElectrical and connected products - Smart home safety means checking the household as a system, so a hub failure, a shared account or a routine does not switch on a heater, unlock a door or silence an alarm by accident. 13 Software updates that keep products safe instead of quietly changing what they doElectrical and connected products - Safe software updates change one thing at a time, are tested against the product safety behaviour, and give users a clear way back when an update goes wrong. 19 Spare parts and product safety: the small components that carry large consequencesSecond-hand, repaired and refurbished products - A spare part can restore a product or quietly change its safety, so this guide covers part suitability, original versus compatible parts, and the records that keep a repair's parts traceable. 15 Sports and leisure product safety: helmets, inflatables, bikes and outdoor play gear that must protect during funHousehold and everyday products - Sports and leisure safety means matching protective gear to the activity and the user size, checking it before every use, and replacing it after damage or a heavy impact, even when it looks undamaged. 04 Spotting Trouble Before It Spreads: Identifying Product HazardsIdentifying product hazards - Identifying product hazards means looking systematically at a product, its users, and its uses, and naming each way it could cause harm before those harms reach a customer. 02 Standards That Carry Weight: How Presumption of Conformity WorksApplicable rules and markets - Harmonised standards give a route to presumption of conformity, meaning a product made to the cited standard is presumed to meet the corresponding safety requirements, without the standard itself becoming the whole safety case. 01 Starting Small Without Cutting Safety CornersProduct safety foundations - A small seller or startup meets safety duties by scaling the method to the business, not by skipping it, so a one person shop checks fewer products but checks each one properly. 02 Stock Already on Shelves: Transitional Rules for Existing ProductsApplicable rules and markets - Transitional rules for products already on the market ask sellers to look at when a product was placed, what changed in the rules since, and what duties now attach to stock still being sold. 12 Strangulation Risks in Children's Products, in DetailChildren's products - Measuring cord danger from a climbing child's reach for a cot mobile with hanging cords in a nursery planner laying out a baby room: this guide explains strangulation risks in plain terms, shows how a cord that seems short until a child climbs and reaches it is handled, and sets out the checks and records that keep a cot mobile with hanging cords findable after sale. 20 Supplier audit basics for product safety: visiting, questioning and verifying without needing a big teamAudits, checklists and mistakes - A supplier audit is how a buyer verifies that a supplier's safety claims match its factory reality, so this guide covers planning a small audit, asking the right questions, checking controls on the floor, and following up findings. 08 Symbols and pictograms that say something useful at a glanceLabelling, warnings and instructions - Symbols on a cleaning spray bottle should warn at a glance, for example about eye irritation in a small room, but they work best beside short words, because a symbol alone can be read in several ways. 10 Talking to Market Surveillance Authorities Through a Responsible PersonResponsible persons and EU representatives - Answering authority questions from the file, promptly and in full for a set of gardening shears in a garden tools brand answering an authority enquiry: this guide explains responsible person and market surveillance communication in plain terms, shows how an authority question answered from memory instead of from the file is handled, and sets out the checks and records that keep a set of gardening shears findable after sale. 17 Telling the authorities about a recall: what to send, when, and in what formCorrective actions and recalls - Authorities need a clear, factual recall notification they can act on, so this guide covers the evidence to gather, the wording to use, and the updates that follow the first message. 18 Test purchases by authorities: the anonymous order that starts a checkSafety Gate and market surveillance authorities - Authorities often first meet your product as an ordinary online order, so this guide explains test purchases, what happens to the sample, and how a seller should respond when the order turns out to be official. 06 Testing a connected product again after its software changesTesting and standards - After a firmware update, a connected door sensor must be tested again for alerts, schedules, and sensor readings, because an update can reset a timer, silence an alert, or change how the sensor talks to its app. 06 Testing basics for a seller who has never commissioned a testTesting and standards - For a wooden puzzle board, testing basics mean deciding what question needs an answer, such as whether a piece splinters at a joint, choosing a check that answers it, and reading the result without claiming more than it shows. 12 Testing Children's Products: What Tests Show and What They MissChildren's products - Testing the product as sold and rechecking when anything changes for a ride on toy in a small brand sending samples for testing: this guide explains testing children's products in plain terms, shows how a single passed test treated as proof for the whole range is handled, and sets out the checks and records that keep a ride on toy findable after sale. 13 Testing electrical products in practice, from a bench sample to a home that uses the product dailyElectrical and connected products - Practical electrical testing combines bench checks, realistic use tests and sample checks across production, so a single good laboratory result is not mistaken for proof that every unit is safe. 13 The basics of electrical safety for everyday mains powered productsElectrical and connected products - Electrical basics come down to keeping live parts out of reach, keeping heat under control, and making sure a fault fails in a way that protects the person using the product rather than quietly getting worse. 07 The contents of a technical file, and why each part earns its placeTechnical documentation - A technical file for a fabric tote should hold its description, materials, stitching details, risk reasoning, and test notes, each earning its place by helping a reader understand or check the tote. 06 The difference between testing a type and testing a batch, and when each mattersTesting and standards - Type testing checks whether a design, such as a jam jar, works in principle, while batch testing checks whether a particular production run, such as a run of enamel mugs, actually matches that design. 10 The EU Responsible Person Explained in Plain TermsResponsible persons and EU representatives - Having an EU based business that holds the file and answers questions for a bamboo toothbrush set in a bathroom goods seller entering the EU market: this guide explains the EU responsible person in plain terms, shows how a responsible person who has never seen the product file is handled, and sets out the checks and records that keep a bamboo toothbrush set findable after sale. 02 The EU Rulebook in One Walkthrough: Which Law Covers Your ProductApplicable rules and markets - EU product safety rules form a general framework with sector rules sitting beside it, so a seller first checks the general regulation and then asks whether a sector rule also applies to that product type. 03 The Middle of the Chain: What Distributors Owe Under GPSREconomic operators and their duties - Distributor duties under GPSR centre on care before making a product available, checking identification and labelling, storing products properly, and acting promptly when a safety issue emerges. 06 The moments when an old test result stops being good evidenceTesting and standards - An old test result for a lunch container stops being good evidence when the material, supplier, shape, or use changes, because the result describes the container that was tested, not the container now being sold. 05 The order to work through when you assess a consumer product from scratchProduct risk assessment - Assessing a ceramic pour over dripper in order means first describing the pour, the sink, and the hands involved, then tracing how hot liquid could spill, and only then deciding what to change or warn about. 14 The toy safety directive explained for sellers who are not lawyersToy safety - The toy safety directive sets the sector rules for toys in the EU, covering safety requirements, manufacturer and importer duties, and the conformity process, sitting alongside the general product safety framework rather than replacing it. 09 The Traceability Records Worth Keeping, and the Ones That Waste Shelf SpaceTraceability and identification - Keeping only records that answer which unit, which batch and which buyer for a cast iron frying pan in a cookware retailer with a back room archive: this guide explains traceability records in plain terms, shows how a filing cabinet full of papers nobody can search is handled, and sets out the checks and records that keep a cast iron frying pan findable after sale. 02 The UK After the EU Rules: A Plain Overview for SellersApplicable rules and markets - UK product safety rules form their own framework with its own regulators and guidance, so a seller who knows EU rules still needs to check UK expectations separately for products sold in the UK. 02 The US Market in Plain Terms: Rules, Recalls, and RegulatorsApplicable rules and markets - US product safety rules run through federal regulators and recall systems that differ from EU arrangements, so a seller entering the US market needs a separate map for regulators, reporting, and labelling. 03 The Warehouse in the Middle: Fulfilment Provider DutiesEconomic operators and their duties - Fulfilment service providers owe care over storage, packing, and handling that can affect safety, and over cooperation when a product needs to be identified, withdrawn, or traced. 04 Tiny Parts, Big Danger: Choking and Small Parts HazardsIdentifying product hazards - Choking and small parts hazards occur when a detachable or breakable part fits a small airway, so the check focuses on part size, attachment strength, and how a child might break or bite a product apart. 04 Together They Change: Hazards When Products Are Used TogetherIdentifying product hazards - Hazards when products are used together appear only in combination, such as a mat that slips on a polished floor, a charger that overheats a case, or a cleaning product that reacts with another surface. 04 Too Loud, Too Long: Hazards from Noise and VibrationIdentifying product hazards - Hazards from noise and vibration come from sound levels and shaking that damage hearing or strain hands and arms over time, so duration, distance, and protective habits matter alongside the product itself. 04 Too Many Hazards, Too Little Time: How to PrioritiseIdentifying product hazards - Hazard prioritisation when many hazards compete means ranking by severity of harm and likelihood for real users first, then tackling the highest combination before polishing lower risks. 14 Toy instructions and warnings that adults read and children benefit fromToy safety - Toy instructions and warnings work when they speak to the adult who buys, assembles and supervises, use pictures for assembly and battery steps, and place the hazard message where it is seen before play begins.