In a global economy you have to look beyond national boundaries – particularly if you are concerned with counterfeit or unsafe electrical products.
This is why the Electrical Safety Council (ESC) will be giving a presentation at the next International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organisation (ICPHSO) symposium, in Brussels, this month.
The theme for the event, which will be held on 16-17 October, is ‘Setting the Agenda for International Collaboration’. Martyn Allen, Head of the ESC’s Technical Division, will be presenting the case for using social media to alert the public to unsafe products, as well as helping to improve the effectiveness of product recall procedures.
“Our intention is to show how regulatory bodies and manufacturers are increasingly using social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter and social forums, to communicate with the public when an unsafe product has been identified”, explains Martyn. “It isn’t simply a case of putting out a tweet or developing a Facebook page – with so much data out there and the real danger of ‘information overload’, we have to ensure that essential information gets to the people that need it and that they then take appropriate action”.
Drawing on case studies from Australia, the USA and the UK, Martyn hopes his presentation will help generate ideas for best practice guidance in using social media to support product safety market surveillance strategies.
In the coming months, the ESC will also be launching a dedicated product safety campaign, which will be looking at current product recall procedures and product traceability, and how they can best be improved.
For more information, please visit our website at www.esc.org.uk. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter or join our Linkedin group.