Before your product hits the shelves whether, in real-world brick and mortar stores or virtual ecommerce shelves, you need to make sure that it’s completely safe. Every single product that you have ever used, touched, or seen, has been through this process. Testing is very important because you need to know that you will not pose a danger to your customers and not face a lawsuit after lawsuit for something that endangers well being or even life. But this involves several different approaches and phases, so how do you go about it the right way?
You’re not alone
Rest assured that you are not alone! Your industry has regulatory bodies that you will run into, on your way to releasing your product. You will need your product to be certified and meet the criteria of authorities and regulators, who will give you a long list of things you must complete. They won’t hold your hand, but they will give you guidance. In the UK you can speak to UKAS, in the USA you can speak with CPCS. Both bodies are the standard-bearers for consumer goods safety. All things go through them and they can give you a lot of information that you can use to start your journey towards release.
Materials testing
Companies run into the issue of choosing materials that are capable of giving their products the quality they desire but also keeping the product safe. You may want a material that is strong and flexible but it could be toxic. It may not be toxic in normal room temperature conditions but it could become toxic during hotter weather. It might become toxic if exposed to direct ultraviolet light from the sun. These are things that you will find out with good chemical testing. This company is great at doing this, as they have an amazing laboratory which they use to test products, in the most severe and trying conditions. This way your product is put through the best testing in the industry and you have more of a chance of finding things that could have flown under the radar with other testing labs.
Pressure testing
Every smartphone you have ever owned has been crushed, bent, smashed and snapped in a testing lab. Why do this, when none of these issues could arise with a customer in real life? Well, it’s not just to see if their quality is up to scratch but to also see if something like that were to happen, that no harmful chemicals from the batteries or shards of glass from the back cover, would injure the consumer. It’s all about covering your bases and making sure that nothing is an overt risk. So performing pressure or crash tests on your products, whether it be a plastic lunchbox or a high-end wristwatch, is essential to health and safety.
Product testing is so critical to your success for two reasons. Your brand’s reputation among the industry for making quality and to avoid lawsuits from injured customers.
