First time buyer(for lack of a better wording)

[Jmadamek]

I just recently started working for a company that does a lot of contracted work. We recently had a company ask us to build them some UL certified junction boxes(in accordance to UL 50), and after navigating through the UL site for a few hours, I have a few questions about the process that someone more experienced with the process would know.

From what I gathered, this is the general process to getting UL approval.

1. Buy the standard from

http://www.comm-2000.com,

with UL 50 coming in at $800 or $1600.
2. Fill out the "Request a Quote" form on the UL website.
3. After receiving a quote and starting the process, talk with one of their engineers about the project.
4. Build as many samples of the item that they request for testing.
5. Receive approval and have future follow up reviews.

Is this fairly accurate? How much would steps 3-5 generally cost(in another thread someone mentioned about $5k for the CSA equivalent of this approval)?

Thank you for the help.

 

[Noway2]

Based on previous experience, the process sounds about right. Recently, I have heard that UL has been transitioning to more of a fixed price structure for their projects where about $24K seems to be a common figure for product testing and approval.

Following the initial approval, UL will want to periodically send a representative to the location where the devices are manufactured and / or used to ensure that the devices being used are the sames ones that were approved. They will also want to verify the controlled documents that were used during the approval process to make sure that they are still valid and correspond to what is being made.

Due to costs, ETL (and CSA) seem to be gaining ground on UL. Many times the requiremetn is for approval by a NRTL (nationally recognized testing lab) which does not specifically mean UL. However, if you go one of these routes, especially the ETL and want to use the part in a UL product, good luck. In my humble opinion there seems to be a pricing and turf war going on between the testing labs.


The other thing that appears to be happening is that UL is focusing heavilly on tri-national standards where there is unification of the standards for Canada, the US, and Mexico.

 

[LynnB]

Reviving a semi-old thread, and based on limited experience, but thought others might find this correction useful:

In the OPs list, item #3:

3. After receiving a quote and starting the process, talk with one of their engineers about the project.

needs a correction. You cannot get past customer service and actually talk to a planner or engineer until UL receives your deposit. And talking to the customer service rep will not produce any useful information*.

So:

1. Buy the standard from

http://www.comm-2000.com,

with UL 50 coming in at $800 or $1600.

2. Fill out the "Request a Quote" form on the UL website.

3.1 Receive a quote

3.2. SEND A PO#

3.3 RECEIVE AN INVOICE

3.4 PAY THE DEPOSIT

3.5 talk with one of their engineers about the project.

4. Build as many samples of the item that they request for testing.

5. Receive approval and have future follow up reviews.

If anyone knows a way to shortcut this process, and talk to someone who actually knows something early in the process, please post up.

*For instance, I received a quote for 20 WEEKS for UL1604 cert. The one time we have gotten 1604 in the past it took seven weeks.

When I asked why so long, customer service told me that it is a ‘rough estimate,’ and during project planning I could get a more precise timeline. When I asked if we could submit two identical units so that they could test in parallel and accelerate the process, I was told maybe, but I would have to talk to a planner about that. And, again, I can’t talk to a planner until we send them money, which (at least in our case) equals half the quote (~$15K).

 

[geerhed]

Jmadadek:

Just a few side notes.

First, make sure you buy UL 50 12th Edition Non-environmental Conditions. UL 50E is really for equipment boxes, and UL 50 11th will require a retest in 5 years anyway. I recommend buying it from IHS.com.

Second, once your company has the box Listed, you are a UL client. This will allow you to get UL standards free online. You will have a Follow-up Services auditor assigned. He will inspect the factory/product (probably quarterly) to ensure you are building exactly what you had registered, and are maintaining your records properly. You will be charged $300-$600 per visit.

The quoting group doesn't have any real information. They pull the price from a matrix, and standard turn-around is 10-12 weeks. I don't know your location, but all the West/Rocky Mountain UL 50 work is going to the San Jose site. I don't have any experience with their performance yet. A junction box should go through in 8 weeks max.

Make sure you have 50% more test units available as backup.

Good luck to you. There is no short-cutting the process, but the certification time will primarily depend on your UL handler.

By the way, TUV is a good alternative to UL. I strongly discourage ETL. CSA also does US certification, but I've never had a project engineer spec a certification other than UL for electrical equipment.

Doug

Let us know how it goes.

 

[DominicRamirez]

I took a one day UL48 class(UL University) for less than $400 and received a free copy of the UL48 standard.
I also just recieved a quote of $3300 for an electronic communication device.

 

[geerhed]

Dominic - what kind of signs do you make?

 

[nornrich]

All,

What you are overlooking here is that UL isn't the only game in town. UL is the owner of the standards, but they are only one of many National Registered Testing Laboratories. You can have other testing laboratories certify to a UL specification at lower costs and better customer service. You might want to check out TUV, MET and others and get a competitive quote on the certification.

Regards,

Rich......

Richard Nornhold, PE