Feature: ESF Product Safety Conference 2024 Time for Change


With a theme of Time for Change, the 2024 Electrical Product Safety Conference brought together experts and industry leaders to examine all the latest crucial issues impacting the safety of electrical products.


H


osting the conference this year was Susannah Streeter, who has presented


flagship global business shows on TV and radio in a broadcasting career spanning two decades and now provides expert analysis to the world’s media as part of her role as Head of Money and Markets for Hargreaves Lansdown retail investment platform.


“Over the last decade and a half, regulation has been a dirty word. But regulation supports growth and supports businesses to bring new products to market.” The first session saw a panel discussion about what is needed by the regulator and market surveillance authorities to support businesses while also protecting consumers within a new regulatory regime. And this was followed by an examination of the challenges in making e-micromobility safer from cradle-to-grave, and the need for a collaborative approach.


Electrical Safety First, CEO Lesley Rudd, giving the opening address


The potential impact of the Bill was also


addressed in the opening keynote speech from Justin Madders, Minister for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets at the Department for Business and Trade, who told delegates it would “give us the power we need to keep pace with the technology revolution”.


Conference host Susannah Streeter


The Product and Metrology Bill A major focus of the day was the new UK government’s approach to ambitious product safety targets highlighted in the 2024 King’s Speech, and how it will advance the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill. In her address to the conference, Lesley


Rudd, chief executive of Electrical Safety First, highlighted that the Bill has “the potential to be revolutionary in many ways”. She said: “It could start to finally address the


twin threats of unsafe e-bikes and third-party sellers selling dangerous goods online. The Bill will have implications for manufacturers, retailers, retail platforms, regulators, and consumers but the devil will be in the detail.” “Our goal is to ensure this legislation is


robust enough, leaving no gaps for future bad operators or dangerous products when it comes to consumer safety and protections.”


10 | www.ierdaily.co.uk


Minister Justin Madders giving the Keynote address.


He said: “The Bill arms the UK with the tools to


tackle safety challenges and is the vehicle to enable us to handle new challenges. It is important that we deliver change as the world is getting more complicated. Government and industry can be most effective when they work together.


PEOPLE MAKE THE DIFFERENCE


Safety Innovation Award 2024 The conference also saw the announcement and presentation of the Safety Innovation Award 2024 to The Faraday Institution for its Safebatt Project, with the winning entry being interviewed on stage.


Winter 2024 Among the distinguished line-up of speakers


were Sarah Smith from the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) at the Department for Business and Trade, Wolfgang Weber, who heads eBay’s Global Regulatory and Criminal & Regulatory Investigations teams, and Alan Sellers, co-host of the BSI’s The Standards Show podcast.


Changing tide of global markets The afternoon sessions started with a look at the potential impacts of significant changes to online marketplace regulations, with enforcement on the cards for the UK and already underway globally. And the day was rounded off with a glimpse into a changing world – including the rise of connected products, digital product data, the race to net zero and how to empower consumers.


Safety Innovation Award 2024 Winner - The Faraday Institution for its Safebatt Project


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