A quality product needs good management

A closer look at EU legislation reveals the importance of international standards. In the area of product safety, they are not only omnipresent, but also have a legal character as harmonised standards. And this is also true in Switzerland. This is because it has largely adopted EU legislation in this area, which has the advantage that products approved in Switzerland are also recognised in EU countries.

A Swiss specialist body takes care of the jungle of standards
At first glance, the EU regulations on product safety have a simple structure: There are around 27 directives and regulations to which products are assigned - and these define the general health and safety requirements for products. But then it gets more complicated: around 5000 harmonised standards are legally "attached" to the directives. This means that, depending on the product, very specific standards apply. In Switzerland there is the Swiss Standards Association (SNV), which administers the international standards and makes them publicly available. The SNV does this on behalf of the Confederation and is the link to international standardisation. However, the SNV is also a private organisation that provides Swiss industry with access to the international standardisation organisations ISO and CEN. With more than 600 members, including companies and institutions, the association is a good example of a well-established "public-private partnership", of successful cooperation between the public and private sectors.

Products with safety defects must not be placed on the market
Only when a type of car is recalled because of defective brakes, carnival costumes are recalled because they are easily flammable or Nuggis are recalled because there is a risk of suffocation, do consumers realise that products are repeatedly checked for safety and compliance with regulations. In this way, the state exercises its legal mandate to monitor the market with control bodies. Manufacturers, distributors and importers have a personal responsibility and must deal consciously with the issues of product safety and product liability. Many a recall would probably not be necessary if they were more familiar with the regulatory provisions and normative requirements. For this reason, the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts is launching the new CAS course "CAS Product Lifecycle Management" in collaboration with the SNV. The topics covered include strategic issues, risk assessment, quality management, production safety and very specific topics relating to the stages of a product lifecycle. The program addresses not only product developers, but also management, employees of distributors, importers and especially CDOs (Chief Digital Officers), who have to organize and manage the product lifecycle over its entire useful life.

The processes must be thought through from the beginning
If new products meet the regulatory framework and the associated standards, there is nothing to stop them being launched on the market. But then comes the "aftermarket obligation". This means that a product must be monitored throughout its entire service life and digitized as part of Industry 4.0. Depending on the product, there are hundreds of measurement and test results, as well as feedback from sales, which must be documented and archived, for example, for defects, rework or recalls. This requires a product life cycle management (PLM) or "Life Cycle Management", which is ideally integrated into the overall management system. After all, quality products are ultimately also a result of companies whose management pays attention to quality, the environment, occupational safety and information security and takes into account the ISO standards on these topics.