Cynthia Esher

MCAA Positions
NRTL Mark & Audit Frequency
What
Who we are …
What’s our goal today …
What’s our Position …
 Use of NRTL Mark on certified products
 Reducing the frequency of facility audits
Feedback
The Measurement, Control &
Automation Association is the North
American trade association of leading
companies who manufacture and
distribute a wide variety of process
controls, field measurement and
analysis instrumentation, systems
and software used in industrial
process control and factory
automation around the world.
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Recorder-Controller, Inc. (Illinois, 1940)
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Recorder-Controller Section of Scientific Apparatus
Makers Association (SAMA)
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Process Measurement & Control Section of SAMA
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Measurement,Control & Automation Section of SAMA
Group of Associations
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Measurement, Control & Automation Association
(Virginia, 1994)
...By Any Other
name
Manufacturers
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ABB Instrumentation Division
Acromag Inc.
Ametek Measurement & Calibration Technologies
Anton Paar USA
Ashcroft Inc.
Automation Products Group, Inc.
A-W Lake Company
Azbil North America
Badger Meter - Racine
Berthold Technologies USA LLC
Bronkhorst USA Inc.
Brooks Instrument
Burkert Fluid Control Systems
Burns Engineering Inc.
Cameron Measurement Systems
ControlAir, Inc.
DocBoss
Dwyer Instruments
Emerson Power & Water Solutions
Emerson Process Management
Emerson Process Systems Business
Endress + Hauser
Extrel CMS
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FasTest, Inc.
Festo Corporation
Fisher Controls International LLC
Fluid Components International
Gems Sensors & Controls
Georg Fischer signet LLC
GF Piping Systems
Great Plains Industries, Inc.
Hach Corporation
Ham-Let USA
Hawk Measurement America
Hoffer Flow Controls, Inc.
Honeywell International
Invensys Process Systems
Iwaki America Inc.
Kessler Ellis Products
K-Patents Inc.
Krohne, Inc.
Madison Company
Magnetrol International
McCrometer
Meriam Process Technologies
Metso Automaton
MANUFACTURERS
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Micro Motion, Inc.
Mid-West Instrument
Mitsubishi Electric automation, Inc.
Monitor Technologies LLC
Moore Industries International, Inc.
Orange Research Inc.
Palmer Wahl Instrumentation Group
Pepperl + Fuchs Inc.
Phoenix Contact Inc.
Precision Digital Corporation
ProComSol, Ltd.
Pyragon Ind.
Pyromation, Inc.
Red Lion Controls
Reotemp Instruments
RJ Global WIKA LLD
Rosemount Analytical Liquid Division
Rosemount Flow
Rosemount Inc.
Schneider Electric, Telemeter & Remote SCADA
Siemens Industry, Inc.
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Sierra Instruments Inc.
Sierra Monitor Corporation
Smart Sensors Inc.
SOR Inc.
SpectraSensors, Inc.
Spirax Sarco
SSP Corporation
StoneL
Teledyne Hastings Instruments
Tel-Tru Manufacturing Co.
Thompson Equipment Company
Thuemling Instrument Group Inc.
Ultra Electronics NSPI
United Electric Controls Co.
UWT Level Controls, LLD
Vega Americas Inc.
Venture Measurement Company LLC
VorTek Instruments
WIKA Instrument Corporation
WIKA Process Solutions LP
Channel Partners
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Andon Specialties
Applied Measurement & Control, Inc.
Branom Instrument Company
Carotek Inc.
Centro, Inc.
Compass Controls & Instrumentation, Inc.
Control Management Technology
Cross Company
Daitron Inc.
Dave Allert Co.
Dave Ray & Associates
DynaTech Control-solutions
Engineered Sales Co.
Ernie Graves Company
Flowmaster Inc.
Fluid Flow Products, Inc.
FLW Southeast, Inc.
Forberg Scientific, Inc.
GSI Automation
Gilson Engineering Sales, Inc.
Heartland Controls
Hile Controls of Alabama, Inc.
Instrumart
Instruments Direct
IPT Group
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Ives Equipment Corporation
Jasper Engineering & Equipment Co.
Lesman Instrument Co.
Miller Energy, Inc.
Miller Mechanical Specialties, Inc.
Moody-Price LLC
NSI Neal Systems Inc.
Petro-Chem Equipment
PR Electronics
Precision Fitting and Gauge Company
Process Controls Corp.
Ritec Enterprises Incorporated
Robert S. Hudgins Company, Inc.
R. STAHL Inc.
Rust Automation & Controls Inc.
Smith Instrument
Sterling Engineering solutions
SW Controls, Inc.
TALON Technical Sales
Transcat
Valin Corporation
V-F Controls, Inc.
Wilson-Mohr
Womack Machine Supply Company, Inc.
PRESS / Consultants
Flow Research, Inc.
✤ Global Automation Research
✤ ISA - International Society of Automation
✤ RB Marketing Communications
✤ SellTiS LLC
✤ Spitzer & Boyes
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Industry Partners
CSA International
✤ Intertek Testing Services NA, Inc.
✤ MET Laboratories
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Who???
Measurement and Control Instrumentation:
➡Temperature
➡Pressure
➡Flow
➡Level
➡Weight
Recorders, Indicators, Controllers
Control Valves and Regulators
Physical or Chemical Property Continuous Measuring
Devices/Analyzers
General Purpose Control Systems
Industrial Automation Controls
Telemetry Equipment
Signal Conditioners
Digital Electronic Data Processing Equipment/
Computers
Software
Calibration Equipment
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UL 347: High-voltage Industrial Control Equipment
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UL 508: Electric Industrial Control Equipment (including control panels and boxes)
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UL 698: Industrial Control Equipment for Use in Hazardous (Classified) Locations
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UL 913: Intrinsically Safe Apparatus and Associates Apparatus for use in Class I, II
and III, Division 1, Hazardous (Classified) Locations
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UL 1002: Electrically Operated Valves for Use in Hazardous (Classified) Locations
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Explosion-proof and Dust-Ignition-Proof Electrical EQuipment for use in Hazardous
(Classified) Locations
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UL 1604: Electrical Equipment for use in Class I and II, Division 2
and Class III, Hazardous (Classified) Locations
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UL 61010B-1: Electrical Measurement & Test Equipment
Part 1--General Requirements
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UL 61010C-1: Process Control Equipment
Major Standards for
our Industry
What’s Our Pain?
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Customers often think they need a product certified by a
specific NRTL; that limits our market choices
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Customers say their insurers require product certification by a
specific NRTL; that limits our market choices
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Audits of our facilities, our production practices and our
product specifications consume time, money, and human
resources and divert focus from our true business
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Quarterly audits limit our market choices as we seek to
minimize the interruptions/cost
What we Believe
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Worker and Product Safety is assured through the application of
appropriate safety standards by accredited conformity test facilities
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OSHA’s program to accredit laboratories under the Nationally
Recognized Testing Laboratory banner insures that laboratories have
the requisite skills and knowledge and apply the proper test practices
to certify products.
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Some NRTLs test to a very broad range of standards while others have
been accredited more narrowly.
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The breadth of accreditation has no bearing on the quality of a lab’s
certification where accreditation has been granted. i.e. no one NRTL is
better than any other NRTL.
“NRTL Approved”
❖ Customers should have assurance that products are
safe for the use intended.
❖ Customers would benefit if they understood that “NRTL
Approved” stood for that assurance.
❖ Few understand that there are numerous testing
laboratories that could provide such assurance.
❖ NRTLs should also include their brand in such a NRTLapproved mark--many have worked hard to achieve
brand awareness.
“NRTL Approved”
3-8 year phase in to require the “NRTL-Approved” labeling
depending on product life cycles.
We support branding by NRTLs and the inclusion of those
brands in information about what safety standards a
product meets.
Assurance more like the CE Mark in Europe
Audit Frequency
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All of our members whose products require certification
must undergo semi-annual audits of their manufacturing
facilities, manufacturing process and even product
specifications (sometimes retesting against those
specs) for every product or class of products they sell.
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At least 2 times a year; often Quarterly
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Most of our members also maintain ISO 9001 quality
certifications which requires constant maintenance of
documentation and annual inspections of the
manufacturing process.
ISO 9001 Certification
ISO certification requires manufacturers to selfaudit (and document) the internal process
✤ It forces companies to correct deviations from
the original production plans
✤ Ensures ongoing consistency and adherence to
the original specification
✤ Very detailed and well documented
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Audit Frequency
Redundant
✤ Costly
✤ Time consuming
✤ Diverts attention of skilled employees from
manufacturing activities that could actually
make money and create other jobs
✤ Provides no discernible public benefit
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Audit Frequency
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For any company maintaining an ISO 9001
Quality Certification
Reduce semi-annual audits to biennial
✤ Reduce quarterly audits to annual
✤ EXCEPT if the NRTL suspects activity that
could pose a danger
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Audit Frequency
The audit frequency is an internal OSHA
policy, not a regulation
✤ We asked OSHA to change their internal
policies
✤ They said that NRTLs have the ability to audit
UP TO twice a year or UP TO four times a
year and NRTLs could make the judgment on
a case-by-case basis
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Audit Frequency
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What we recognize:
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An annual (or biennial) audit will be more
comprehensive than semi-annual or quarterly audits
and will require higher fees
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The fee is only a part of the expense that
manufacturers experience
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Puts US manufacturers in line with the rest of the
world – ATEX/IECEx/VAR and VAN
Feedback ...
Thank you.