The ACCC alleges, based on independent testing it commissioned, that the e-cigarette products sold by Social-Lites and Elusion did in fact contain carcinogens and toxic chemicals found in conventional cigarettes, including formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acrolein.
Source: ACCC takes action against e-cigarette suppliers for alleged misleading “no toxic chemicals” claims
The affected batteries have the potential to overheat.
Risk of fire and burn hazard.
Source: HP PPS Australia Pty Ltd—HP Notebook Computer Batteries
Where does the line fall between an acceptable ‘work experience’ or ‘internship’ arrangement and an actual ‘employment relationship’ requiring payment?
The RCM is now mandatory for electrical safety in Australia and New Zealand On March 1, 2013, Australia’s Regulatory Compliance Mark (RCM) commenced the transition to replace the C-tick and A-tick …
This paper and companion presentation were written by Paul W Robinson, Australia, and presented to the IEEE Symposium on Product Compliance Engineering (ISPCE) in Orange County, May 2016 …
Source: Regulatory Compliance Mark (RCM) for Australia and New Zealand | paulspiece.com
| New Electrical Equipment Declared Articles (New Zealand) |
 |
| Energy Safety has revised the lists of High-risk and Medium-risk Declared Articles under the Electricity (Safety) Regulations. These are published in two Gazette notices dated 17 March 2016. These notices fully supersede the previous notices issued in 2006. The definitions that apply are principally those agreed and documented in AS/NZS 4417.
…. Additions are being made to the list of High-Risk Declared Articles in preparation of the full implementation of the Electrical Equipment Safety System (EESS) scheme. The additions are all Australian Level 3 (the equivalent of New Zealand’s High Risk) declared articles. Energy Safety has undertaken modelling that confirms these products require intensive control in an aligned regime. |
USB-C is good news for consumers and companies alike because it helps standardize the very different kinds of ports and adaptors that tech firms have traditionally used for their products. But low quality and cheap cables have flooded the market, causing more harm than good by frying laptops and phones so that they can’t be used again. Finally, it seems that major distributors like Amazon are waking up to the issue and clamping down …
The newsletter covers the following topics:
ISPCE 2016 Newsletter link: http://2016.psessymposium.org/newsletter-0
Luca Mari with assistance from Joanna Goodwin, provides a general introduction to the role of terminology in scientific and technical communication, and particularly to definitions, a critical component of standards documents
The single Regulatory Compliance Mark (RCM) was introduced on 1 March 2013 with a three-year transition period to 29 February 2016.
The RCM illustrates a product’s compliance with all applicable ACMA standards—telecommunications, radiocommunications, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and electromagnetic energy (EME).
Suppliers must register on the online national database and start using the RCM by 1 March 2016.
Products that have already been labelled with the C-Tick or A-Tick can continue to be supplied until labelled stock has been exhausted.
Source: Single compliance mark—end of transition period approaching!
Extract from a letter from Apple to its customers about a US court order threat to its iPhone encryption:
Specifically, the FBI wants us to make a new version of the iPhone operating system, circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered during the investigation. In the wrong hands, this software — which does not exist today — would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession.
The FBI may use different words to describe this tool, but make no mistake: Building a version of iOS that bypasses security in this way would undeniably create a backdoor. And while the government may argue that its use would be limited to this case, there is no way to guarantee such control.
The Threat to Data Security
Some would argue that building a backdoor for just one iPhone is a simple, clean-cut solution. But it ignores both the basics of digital security and the significance of what the government is demanding in this case.In today’s digital world, the “key” to an encrypted system is a piece of information that unlocks the data, and it is only as secure as the protections around it. Once the information is known, or a way to bypass the code is revealed, the encryption can be defeated by anyone with that knowledge.
The government suggests this tool could only be used once, on one phone. But that’s simply not true. Once created, the technique could be used over and over again, on any number of devices. In the physical world, it would be the equivalent of a master key, capable of opening hundreds of millions of locks — from restaurants and banks to stores and homes. No reasonable person would find that acceptable.
The government is asking Apple to hack our own users and undermine decades of security advancements that protect our customers — including tens of millions of American citizens — from sophisticated hackers and cybercriminals. The same engineers who built strong encryption into the iPhone to protect our users would, ironically, be ordered to weaken those protections and make our users less safe.
We can find no precedent for an American company being forced to expose its customers to a greater risk of attack. For years, cryptologists and national security experts have been warning against weakening encryption. Doing so would hurt only the well-meaning and law-abiding citizens who rely on companies like Apple to protect their data. Criminals and bad actors will still encrypt, using tools that are readily available to them.
Source: Customer Letter – Apple
IEEE Symposium on Product Compliance Engineering (ISPCE)
The Mission of the ISPCE it to provide a forum for product safety engineers and design engineers to discuss and disseminate technical information related to product safety, to enhance personal product safety engineering skills, and to provide product safety engineering outreach to engineers, students and others with an interest in this field as well as the related fields of product safety regulatory compliance.
2016 Preliminary Program: http://2016.psessymposium.org/program
Registration: http://2016.psessymposium.org/registration
Source: Welcome | Conference Starup
What are the defects?
There is a risk that the rechargeable battery pack may overheat cause smoke or may ignite.
What are the hazards?
If the defect occurs, there is a risk of a fire or a burn hazard to consumers and to the CF-S10 Panasonic Toughbook Computer
Source: Panasonic Australia Pty Ltd—Rechargeable Battery Pack CF-VZSU61U
“Australian consumers must be able to rely on the safety of goods supplied to them by retailers. By failing to recall and remove products from its shelves for some time after it became aware that the products were defective, Woolworths misled Australian consumers and placed their safety at risk. The significant penalties imposed in this case reflect the serious nature of Woolworths’ conduct.” Mr Sims said “In the future, companies generally must do more to detect unsafe products and remove them from their shelves. The Court has ordered Woolworths to implement an upgraded, dedicated product safety compliance program, and its quality assurance processes will be monitored by an external auditor”.
“Apple has determined that, in very rare cases, the two prong Apple AC wall plug adapters designed for use in Continental Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Argentina and Brazil may break and create a risk of electrical shock if touched. These wall plug adapters shipped from 2003 to 2015 with Mac and certain iOS devices, and were also included in the Apple World Travel Adapter Kit.”
See details at the Source: Apple AC Wall Plug Adapter Exchange Program – Apple Support
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