Pogovor s strokovnjaki
Intervju: Joanna Janicka, Testiranje igrač v laboratoriju
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Joanna Janicka Business Development Manager J.S. Hamilton, Testing toys and children care articles in laboratory.
Laboratorij J.S. Hamilton iz Poljske ponuja celovito testiranje igrač in otroških izdelkov. Poleg igrač nudijo storitve za različne panoge: prehrana, plastika, kemikalije in druga področja.
Laboratory J.S. Hamilton from Poland offers comprehensive testing of toys and baby products. In addition to toys, they provide services to various industries: food, plastics, chemicals and other fields.
What types (wooden, electronic, textile, etc.) of toys are you testing?
Kakšne vrste (lesene, elektronske, tekstilne itd.) igrač testirate?
According to the definition of a Toys, it is a product for children under 14 years of age or a product that has a fun function and can be attractive to children in terms of play. Therefore, as a laboratory, we must be prepared to analyze all kind of materials. As of today, there are no toys that we would not check.
According to our accreditation, we can carry out chemical tests for many legal requirements in material like: plastic, cardboard, wood, water-bearing toys or recently popular SLIME toys.
We also have the possibility to test toys under the mechanical and electrified requirements to ensure comprehensiveness of our customers.
What type of children*s products do you test?
Kakšne vrste otroških izdelkov testirate?
Children’s articles are defined by the general safety directive 2001/95/ EC and, in large part, have specific requirements such as:
EN 1400 Soothers for infants and young children,
EN 12586 Product for mounting the pacifier,
EN 14350 Drinking equipment,
EN 14372 Cutlery and feeding utensilsand many others.
The above requirements most often consist guidelines regarding mechanical and chemical safety.If the product is dedicated to children, it is best to contact our Laboratory department directly, where we will select the appropriate legal requirements and help you choose the scope of the necessary requirements.
Sometimes it is difficult to define a given product because of its appearance, application or innovation – is it a toy or an article for children…
Are you an accredited lab? What does that mean? Ali ste akreditiran laboratorij? Kaj to pomeni?
Yes, we are an accredited laboratory.
Each EU Member State has an authority that supervises and verifies accredited laboratories. Through the accreditation of the laboratory, we understand the fact that each analysis performed in it meets the highest requirements and is performed in accordance with the highest quality standards. In addition, through membership in ILAC, the results issued by our laboratory are accepted throughout the world in member countries.
What should a toy manufacturer in Slovenia do, to be able to test a toy in your laboratory? What should they deliver for the perfect application and where?
Kaj mora proizvajalec igrač v Sloveniji narediti, da lahko da testirati igračo pri vas? Kaj vse vam mora dostaviti za popolno vlogo in kam?
We must ask ourselves at what stage of production we are, whether we have a product that we want to verify whether we are at the stage of its creation.
Most often, we ask to send us samples for veryfication or to send a complete product documentation (photos, description of used materials, color versions, etc.). In addition, the manufacturer must specify the target markets and the purpose of the toy. The more information we have, the more precise the quote will be.
Most EU countries are based on the law of the community. Particularly, we check toys for the EN 71 series standards; REACH, POP regulations. Articles for children schould comply with the standard devoted to it and the requirements for the material used for its production. Sometimes we can encounter situations that given country eg Germany or France have additional legal requirements.After receiving the above information, the Producer receives a research proposal from us.
What are your advantages?
Kakšne so vaše prednosti?
First of all, we try to be close to manufacturers and importers in order to help them solve problems related to legal requirements.
In Poland, we are a member of the Polish Toy Association (http://www.toys.pl) where we do trainings and seminars for Toys manufacturers and Children care articles producers. In addition, most analyzes are carried out in Poland, which is why we have direct contact with our experts. Thanks to this, you can talk about the results with persons that know your product.
We are also open to cooperation and we are very happy to invite our clients to our laboratories, where you can directly see the laboratory itself.
The toy did not pass the test. What are the most common mistakes that make a toy inappropriate?
Igrača ni opravila testiranja. Katere so najpogostejše napake, da pride do neustreznosti igrače?
I would divide here fails on those related to mechanical requirements, flammability and those related to chemical requirements.
In accordance with EN 71-1 – the most frequently encountered are the lack of appropriate markings and warnings. Small items in toys under 3 years of age – also quite commonIn case of EN 71-2 – textiles and cardboard often fail to undergo testing.Regarding to chemical requrements – the biggest problems we encounter in elastic materials such as rubber or plastics. An addition in the product that leaves a trace – crayons, paints or plasticine are surpassing.
Lately on the market we struggle with exceedances for the migration of EN 71-3 in SLIME type toys.Thanks to our many years’ diligence, we are able to select the highest risk materials with regard to the parameters chosen for it.
For which countries (European, America, China, etc.) are your tests applicable?
Za katere države (Evropske, Ameriko, Kitajsko itd.) veljajo vaši testi?
We carry out anlyzes mainly for the requirements of EU member states. However, there is no problem for us to also test for compliance with ASTM, Prop 65 or CPSIA.
Do you have any suggestions or advice for Slovenian toy manufacturers? What should they pay special attention to?
Ali imate kakšen predlog oziroma nasvet za slovenske proizvajalce igrač? Na kaj morajo biti še posebej pozorni?
I think that the greatest attention should be paid to products imported from outside of Europe. Unfortunately, most articles with fails are imported from outside the EU. In case of such products, it is extremely important to receive from the manufacturer full documentation, test results and to carry out random checks of the products received here.
Would you like to highlight something special?
Ali bi želeli izpostaviti še kaj posebnega?
If you have any questions, it’s best to contact us directly.
J.S. Hamilton Poland Sp. z o.o.,
ul. Chwaszczyńska 180, 81-571 Gdynia
TRŠAŠKA 202, 1000 LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA
Ana Garjetović
Quality Expert
Tel.: +386 70 779 031
Email.: agarjetovic@hamilton.com.pl