Kelvin Smith Library
When designing a product or service it is critical to be aware of the standards, codes, and regulations applicable at local, regional, national, or international level. Having knowledge of specifications, testing, technical requirements, or the requirements for the conformity assessment measures can speed up the design process and the successful market access and market acceptance.
Market access is the ability to sell products and services on a specific market. Market access barriers include governmental technical regulations and the conformity assessment measures that the government requires to demonstrate compliance with these technical regulations. A technical regulation is a Government document that specifies product characteristics or their related processes and production methods. Compliance to technical regulations is mandatory.
Conformity assessment is the process demonstrating that a product, process, service fulfills the requirements described in a standard or regulation. The verification of conformity assessment is done through testing and/or inspection by an accredited third party lab.
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Market acceptance includes the private sector standards and the conformity assessment measures that businesses and consumers expect of a product. Standards are industry norms and specifications that provide guidance on how materials, products, and services are to be designed and manufactured. A standard is a repeatable, agreed upon, and documented way of doing something.
In the U.S., standards are developed through a consensus process and compliance is voluntary. However, failure to meet relevant private sector standards could result in inability to sell a product, interoperability issues, civil and criminal lawsuits, or inability to get insurance.
Learn more about how to identify the technical requirements expected of a product: