Underwriters Laboratories Inc. celebrates the 100th anniversary of its first safety standard. UL, whose familiar Mark appears on billions of products each year, is one of the world’s leading standards writing organizations. UL has published more than 880 Standards for Safety since 1903 — the not-for-profit company was founded in 1894 — for products ranging from fire-rated building materials to information technology equipment to electrical household appliances.
“UL has played an integral role in establishing the U.S. safety system by bringing together experts from varied fields to develop product safety standards,” says Robert A. Williams, UL’s director of Standards. “As a result, UL Safety Standards are recognized for establishing the basic safety principles in North America.”
UL’s first Standard for Safety — UL 10A for Tin-Clad Fire Doors — has grown into the 886 current UL standards, each developed and maintained with input by UL engineers in conjunction with industry, government agencies, regulatory authorities, members of academia and consumer advocates.
“As a fellow standards development organization, ASTM International has worked closely with UL over the years. Together, both of our organizations help ensure public safety and confidence, reduce costs, and improve the quality of products on the market today,” says Ken Pearson, vice president of Technical Committee Operations for ASTM International. “We commend UL on its 100 years of success in standards development and look forward to many more centuries of consensus-based standards.”
According to Williams, the future of UL as a standards developer will rely on keeping pace with emerging technology, anticipating new challenges and market demands, responding with flexible and efficient processes for developing standards and remaining committed to UL’s historic mission of public safety.
UL continues to focus on its public safety mission by participating in or leading more than 200 international technical committees in an effort to harmonize U.S. standards with international standards. These activities seek to provide safe products to the global marketplace and global market access for UL’s customers. More than 17 billion UL Marks appear on products annually.
UL will continue to mark its 100th anniversary in standards development during this year’s World Standards Week, Sept. 29 through Oct. 2. For more information on UL Standards for Safety, visitwww.ul.com/info/standard.htm or contact Robert Williams at +1-919-549-1977.
