The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission gets some 400 product reports a year, says CPSC spokesman Alex Filip. The reports come in through the CPSC’s Safer Products website, www.saferproducts.gov, which it set up a year ago as an information portal for consumers.
In June alone, the CPSC site reported recalls on freezer gel packs from California Innovations; dumbbells from Nautilus; folding deck chairs from West Marine; convertible high chairs for children from Evenflo; and coffeemakers from Black & Decker.
In addition to consumers using the site to file reports, businesses access it for business intelligence.
“From a business standpoint you can see where competitors’ products are failing or not meeting customers’ expectations,” says Filip. Manufacturing missteps like short circuits or sharp edges can give one company an edge over the other.
“A good company is going to monitor any of its safety complaints; a great company is going to look at how other companies’ products are failing,” he adds.
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