WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW:
SUBSCRIBE TO MAGAZINE
Exhibiting &
Event Topics
EXHIBITOR
Magazine
Find It
Marketplace
EXHIBITOR
LIVE
EXHIBITOR
Education Week
EXHIBITOR
eTrak
CTSM
Certification
EXHIBITOR
Insight
EXHIBITOR
Awards
News
Network
Advertise
With Us
Topics
Planning
& Execution
Planning
& Management
Show & Space
Selection
Booth
Staffing
Transportation
Logistics
Vendors
& RFPs
Case
Studies

 

exhibitor q&a
Help!
electrical
Most exhibiting manuals include rules about the safety listings required for all electric equipment in a booth. So what do these safety-listing abbreviations, such as UL, ETL, and CSA, actually mean?
Not surprisingly, few exhibitors fully understand what these pesky abbreviations mean. At their core, UL, ETL, and CSA marks are all stamps of approval for a certain level of product safety. Underwriters Laboratories Inc., an independent nonprofit organization, develops standards for safety, tests products against these standards, and certifies those that pass muster as UL certified, aka UL listed.

Issued by Intertek Group PLC, the ETL mark (previously a mark issued by Electrical Testing Laboratories, hence the ETL name) is an alternative to the UL and CSA marks. Intertek tests products against the applicable UL standards before deciding whether to issue the ETL mark. Similarly, the Canadian Standards Association is a nonprofit association that tests products against the UL standards to ensure public safety.

The CSA, UL, and Intertek Group testing facilities are all Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories (NRTLs), a United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) designation given to testing facilities that provide product-safety testing and certification services to manufacturers. If a product (not just one or more components) has been fully tested and has one of these marks that is applicable to the entire product, it means that the product and all of its components have been tested as they are used in connection with one another and have been deemed to meet the applicable safety standard for that particular product.


— Rob Cohen, vice president of sales and product development, Display Supply & Lighting Inc., Itasca, IL
Help Wanted
Send your tough questions about exhibiting to Linda Armstrong, larmstrong@exhibitormagazine.com.

you might also like
 
Join the EXHIBITOR Community Search the Site
TOPICS
Measurement & Budgeting
Planning & Execution
Marketing & Promotion
Events & Venues
Personal & Career
Exhibits & Experiences
International Exhibiting
Resources for Rookies
Research & Resources
MAGAZINE
Subscribe Today!
Renew Subscription
Update Address
Digital Downloads
Newsletters
Advertise
FIND-IT
Exhibit & Display Producers
Products & Services
Supplier to Supplier
All Companies
Compare
Get Listed
EXHIBITORLIVE
Sessions
Certification
Exhibit Hall
Exhibit at the Show
Registration
ETRAK
Sessions
Certification
F.A.Q.
Registration
EDUCATION WEEK
Overview
Sessions
Hotel
Registration
CERTIFICATION
The Program
Steps to Certification
Faculty and Staff
Enroll in CTSM
Submit Quiz Answers
My CTSM
AWARDS
Sizzle Awards
Exhibit Design Awards
Portable/Modular Awards
Corporate Event Awards
Centers of Excellence
NEWS
Associations/Press
Awards
Company News
International
New Products
People
Shows & Events
Venues & Destinations
EXHIBITOR News
© Exhibitor Group | The Leader in Trade Show and Corporate Event Marketing Education PO Box 5996, Rochester, MN 55903-5996 | (507) 289-6556 | Need Help? Ask Scott