Agency Factory Inspection & Annual Fees

Moe Lamothe, P.Eng, Lamothe Approvals Inc.

All of the agencies (CSA International, UL, TUV, etc.) have mandatory factory inspections that are intended to ensure the integrity of products they have approved.

In general, equipment certified to US standards must have 4 factory inspections per year.  Equipment certified to Canadian standards must have at least 2 factory inspections per year.  Equipment certified for Europe (GS mark or Bauart mark) are required to have only one factory inspection per year.   CE marking for Europe does not require factory inspections because it is a self-declaration mark. 

Estimated costs per factory inspection vary depending on the location of the factory, the type of equipment, and the agency conducting the inspection.  Each factory inspection may cost anywhere from US$ 100 to about US$ 500 plus traveling expenses for the inspector.   

Total annual costs are also charged by each agency.  In addition to the factory inspection costs, expect to pay anywhere from US$ 500 to US$ 2,000, but these costs may be higher depending on the agency, type of equipment, number of files/licenses and number of factories. 

Each agency sets many of their own policies but they must also conform to the regulators guidelines. Some of these are covered below.  

USA Regulatory Requirements

In the US, OSHA (Occupational Health and Safety Act) has regulatory control over all equipment used in the federal workplace. OSHA initially sets a mandatory minimum of four follow-up inspections per year, but based on good experience with the factory, the number of yearly inspections can be reduced. A number of factors determine this, including an acceptable Quality Management Program such as ISO9000.

All electrical safety approvals must be done by an OSHA accredited NRTL (Nationally Recognized Test Lab). Typically, ANSI/UL standards are used to show compliance with applicable safety requirements.  

Canadian Regulatory Requirements

In Canada, the SCC (Standards Council of Canada) has regulatory control over the accreditation of agencies authorized to grant safety approvals for electrical equipment. Such agencies show a ‘c’ to the lower left of their logos to show compliance with Canadian electrical safety standards.  

Typically, CAN/CSA standards are used to show compliance with applicable safety requirements.

TUV (European) Regulatory Requirements

In Europe, the individual states NOTIFY the EU as to which agencies are qualified to do approvals, hence the term Notified Bodies. Separate logos are typically used for the European approvals.  

Typically, IEC/EN standards are used to show compliance with applicable safety requirements.

Inspection Scheduling

Normally, inspectors will arrive at your facility unannounced and you are required to let them view your factory test procedures, product in production and components intended for inclusion in approved products.  

Inspections are done at your factory location and this can be anywhere in the world. Local inspectors are often contracted to do the inspections.  

Remember that your end-of-line factory test must be operational at all times. This is typically a dielectric, hi-pot or earthing strength tester plus a ground continuity indicator. For US and Canadian approvals, a simple continuity check is all that is required (the exception is grounding through a PCB where a 25A is usually required). For Europe, the EN requirements are that a 25A ground continuity test be used. The factory test equipment must have a valid calibration sticker.  

All production must be tested unless you have an agreement to do sampling only tests or your product does not require a factory test.  

Initial Factory Inspections

UL has an initial factory pre-production inspection for all new factories.  Unless the factory has already been inspected by UL, there is a one-time inspection of the production QA system at each factory listed. Approximate cost is US $120 per hour + travel costs. (UL inspection in Canada is CDN $150 + travel costs).

CSA does not normally conduct an initial factory inspection. They depend on the normal factory inspections instead.

TUV has an initial factory pre-production inspection.  Unless the factory has already been inspected by TUV, there is a one-time inspection of the production QA system at each factory listed. The cost is US $1,500 + travel costs.

Moe Lamothe is the president of Lamothe Approvals Inc. (Georgetown, ON, Canada). He can be reached at info@lamotheapprovals.com.

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The copyright for all of the text, tables and illustrations remains with Lamothe Approvals Inc. Permission is granted to print or reproduce this document provided that it properly attributed to Lamothe Approvals Inc.

Prepared May 2003