UL Standards Development Process

[raider1]

Instead of hijacking an existing thread I felt it would be beneficial to create a new thread with information on the UL Standards Development Process.

UL has extensive information on standard development that can be found on UL's Website that can be accessed HERE.

So first UL Standards are Copyrighted Material. This means that to have access to the full Standard a person must purchase the Standard from UL. A Scope of UL Standards is available to the public HERE. That link is to the UL Standards Catalog, if you know the Standard number you can enter it into the search bar and it will bring you to that Standards Scope page.

UL Standards are developed under a process that provides for participation and comment from the affected public as well as industry. The process takes into consideration a survey of known existing standards and the needs and opinions of a wide variety of interests concerned with the subject matter of the standard. Manufacturers, consumers, government officials, industrial and commercial users, inspection authorities and others provide input to UL

In the US, UL is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as an audited designator. In 2013, UL was accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) as a nationally recognized Standards Development Organization (SDO) able to develop National Standards of Canada (NSCs) and National Adoptions of Canada (NACs).

UL's Standards Technical Panels (STPs) serve as the consensus body for both American National Standards (ANS) and National Standards of Canada (NSC).

UL uses its Standards Technical Panels (STP) process for consensus standards development, which has been approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The intent is that standards developed under the STP Process will be designated as ANSI standards.

For those Standards in which ANSI approval is not desirable or practical UL generally employs the STP process without pursuing ANSI approval. In those cases where the development of such a Standard does not employ the STP process, UL ensures stakeholder engagement is integral to the process.

STPs are a central part of the process by which UL develops and maintains its Standards. An STP is a group of individuals, representing a variety of interests connected to the UL Standard, formed to review proposals for new Standards or revisions to existing Standards.

All persons directly affected by an STP topic may apply, but STP membership may be limited due to the need to balance panel viewpoints, the size of the STP, or other considerations. There are no membership dues associated with STPs.

HERE is a link to a PDF that goes into great detail about UL's Standards Development and Maintenance Program.

Chris

 

[tom baker]

UL is not the only testing agency but they do the best job overall. I see their reps at IAEI meetings and they are often on our local code change committees.

 

[raider1]

UL is not the only testing agency but they do the best job overall. I see their reps at IAEI meetings and they are often on our local code change committees.

Tom,

Yes, UL is very dedicated to providing resources for electricians, inspectors, engineers and other stakeholders in the electrical industry. We have a dedicated team of Regulatory Engineers that attend many different meetings in the electrical industry. I cover the Northwest Section of the US for Regulatory Services and will be attending lots of meetings in Washington. I will be presenting on Health Care Facilities at the January Meeting of the Puget Sound Chapter of the IAEI.

Chris

 

[wwhitney]

So I think the question that prompted this thread was "are the proceedings and comments to the STPs publicly available?"

Cheers, Wayne

 

[raider1]

So I think the question that prompted this thread was "are the proceedings and comments to the STPs publicly available?"

Cheers, Wayne

UL provides public notice of, and the opportunity to comment on, all proposals. UL notifies the public of its intent to develop a new standard, revise a standard or publish approved requirements through notices on CSDS (Collaborative Standards Development System) and in ANSI Standards Action.

You can review the proposals for all ANSI regulated Standards at Standards Action on ANSI's website. You can use the Search feature to find older editions of the newsletter that have links to older public review editions of proposals.

As far as getting a report of a STP meeting, I believe that you have to be a registered CSDS member. There is no charge to be register on the CSDS system but to get full access I believe that you need to subscribe to the Standard which includes a fee. If you are not interested in becoming a subscriber to a UL Standard, you can also purchase access to an individual CSDS Work Area, free of charge, for a proposal that is of particular interest to you.

For more information or to register for the CSDS you can go HERE

Chris

 

[texie]

UL is not the only testing agency but they do the best job overall. I see their reps at IAEI meetings and they are often on our local code change committees.

True, UL is by no means the only NRTL. But in most cases when another NRTL evaluates a product it must be to a certain standard. That standard is likely to be a UL standard.

 

[jumper]

In the past I have heard the terms listed, certified and such for UL.

What are the differences?

Does it matter in terms of the definitions of listed, approved, and identified used in the NEC?

 

[GoldDigger]

In the past I have heard the terms listed, certified and such for UL.

What are the differences?

Does it matter in terms of the definitions of listed, approved, and identified used in the NEC?

UL is trying to switch over to use of "certified" as being a wrapper for UL listed, RU identified, etc., which makes it hard to tell what the actual qualifications of a part are. And NEC still requires "listed" wording, although some AHJs mat choose to accept "certified" .
I wrote to NEC about this issue and their reply basically said they if they choose to use "Certified" going forward the NEC just needs to deal with it.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[raider1]

In the past I have heard the terms listed, certified and such for UL.

What are the differences?

Does it matter in terms of the definitions of listed, approved, and identified used in the NEC?

GoldDigger was pretty close with his comment.

The enhanced UL Certification Mark can be used on both UL Listed and Classified products and is intended to make it easier and simpler for stakeholders to understand the scope of UL’s certifications of a specific product. The enhanced UL Certification Mark makes it possible to bundle multiple UL certifications for multiple geographies into a single Mark design. Today, this mark is used for products certified to U.S., Canadian, European and Japanese requirements. This Mark utilizes a unique identifier to enable stakeholders to search UL’s Online Certifications Directory at www.ul.com/database to quickly review detailed certification information.

All currently existing versions of UL’s Listing and Classification Marks remain valid and should continue to be accepted as an indication of certification.

UL expects the transition to the enhanced Mark to happen over time, so you may not see it in the immediate future. For more information, please go to www.ul.com/markshub and select “Resources.”

The UL Listing Marking appearing on a product typically consists of four required elements:
•UL in a circle symbol
•Word Listed
•Product name or company name/file number
•Issue/serial number or alphanumeric control number

Chris

 

[raider1]

UL is trying to switch over to use of "certified" as being a wrapper for UL listed, RU identified, etc., which makes it hard to tell what the actual qualifications of a part are. And NEC still requires "listed" wording, although some AHJs mat choose to accept "certified" .
I wrote to NEC about this issue and their reply basically said they if they choose to use "Certified" going forward the NEC just needs to deal with it.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

The 2017 NEC Section 110.3(C) does a lot to help remedy this issue.

(C) Listing. Product testing, evaluation, and listing (product
certification) shall be performed by recognized qualified electrical
testing laboratories and shall be in accordance with applicable
product standards recognized as achieving equivalent
and effective safety for equipment installed to comply with this
Code.
Informational Note: The Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) recognizes qualified electrical testing
laboratories that perform evaluations, testing, and certification
of certain products to ensure that they meet the requirements of
both the construction and general industry OSHA electrical
standards. If the listing (product certification) is done under a
qualified electrical testing laboratory program, this listing mark
signifies that the tested and certified product complies with the
requirements of one or more appropriate product safety test
standards.

By including the term Product Certification behind the term Listing it helps to clarify that "Certified" means the same thing as "Listed".

Chris