In 2014, over 70 million cars were recalled worldwide and this trend is increasing. In the USA, four times as many cars were recalled as were sold new during the first half-year of the previous year alone. Product safety is becoming increasingly more important. Not only the expectations of end users are increasing. Significant increases in the complexity of products and the growing flood of legal regulations worldwide represent a major challenge not just for manufacturers, but to an increasing extent also for suppliers and sub-suppliers.
This situation motivated the Schaeffler Group to initiate a network that now includes 13 companies and receives enthusiastic support from the VDA (German Association of the Automotive Industry), VDMA (German Engineering Federation) and ZVEI (German Elec-trical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association). The "Product Safety Network" is run under the auspices of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). The member companies have a broad portfolio of technical and electrical or electronic prod-ucts. The focus is on the sectors passenger transportation and machine construction and plant engineering in particular. The goal of the network is to continuously improve product safety in the interest of consumers. This is a complex issue because a regular exchange of information between original equipment manufacturers, suppliers, sub-suppliers and legislative bodies is considered advisable.
1. Product Safety Conference at Schaeffler
The network's first Product Safety Conference took place at the Schaeffler Group in Her-zogenaurach. Klaus Rosenfeld, CEO of Schaeffler AG, emphasized in his opening speech: "Product safety will become increasingly important in the next few years. From our point of view, this is one of the major challenges for the future. The 'Product Safety Network' will make a decisive contribution to successfully overcoming this challenge - also in the interests of consumers." Joachim Geiß, a senior government official from the BMWi, read a greeting from Federal Minister Sigmar Gabriel and presented the legal boundary conditions, the so-called new legislative framework. The objective is to create a standard benchmark and thus create equal conditions for all producers.
Questions such as "What characterizes a safe product" or "What are the typical product safety pitfalls in global markets?" were discussed in workshops. Bernd Kraemer, Vice President Product Safety at Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG said in an initial sum-mary: "An interdisciplinary, globally agreed and standardized terminology in product safety is a significant key element and an achievable goal for sustainable improvements in the topic areas discussed". The prerequisite for further work in the network has therefore been defined. The results of the first Product Safety Conference will be published in the form of a statement and recommended actions on the platforms of the supporting associations for interested companies.
The Product Safety Conference takes place twice a year at the members of the Product Safety Network on a rolling basis. The second Product Safety Conference will take place in the 4th quarter of 2015 at Continental AG.
The "Product Safety Network" has been supported by the following companies so far:
- Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. KG
- Continental AG
- Elektrobit Automotive GmbH
- Faurecia Autositze GmbH
- Getrag GmbH & Cie KG
- GKN Driveline
- Johnson Controls GmbH
- Kiekert AG
- Knorr-Bremse AG
- Mahle GmbH
- Robert Bosch GmbH
- Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG
- ZF Friedrichshafen AG
The following associations support the network:
- VDA
- VDMA
- ZVEI
This situation motivated the Schaeffler Group to initiate a network that now includes 13 companies and receives enthusiastic support from the VDA (German Association of the Automotive Industry), VDMA (German Engineering Federation) and ZVEI (German Elec-trical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association). The "Product Safety Network" is run under the auspices of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). The member companies have a broad portfolio of technical and electrical or electronic prod-ucts. The focus is on the sectors passenger transportation and machine construction and plant engineering in particular. The goal of the network is to continuously improve product safety in the interest of consumers. This is a complex issue because a regular exchange of information between original equipment manufacturers, suppliers, sub-suppliers and legislative bodies is considered advisable.
1. Product Safety Conference at Schaeffler
The network's first Product Safety Conference took place at the Schaeffler Group in Her-zogenaurach. Klaus Rosenfeld, CEO of Schaeffler AG, emphasized in his opening speech: "Product safety will become increasingly important in the next few years. From our point of view, this is one of the major challenges for the future. The 'Product Safety Network' will make a decisive contribution to successfully overcoming this challenge - also in the interests of consumers." Joachim Geiß, a senior government official from the BMWi, read a greeting from Federal Minister Sigmar Gabriel and presented the legal boundary conditions, the so-called new legislative framework. The objective is to create a standard benchmark and thus create equal conditions for all producers.
Questions such as "What characterizes a safe product" or "What are the typical product safety pitfalls in global markets?" were discussed in workshops. Bernd Kraemer, Vice President Product Safety at Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG said in an initial sum-mary: "An interdisciplinary, globally agreed and standardized terminology in product safety is a significant key element and an achievable goal for sustainable improvements in the topic areas discussed". The prerequisite for further work in the network has therefore been defined. The results of the first Product Safety Conference will be published in the form of a statement and recommended actions on the platforms of the supporting associations for interested companies.
The Product Safety Conference takes place twice a year at the members of the Product Safety Network on a rolling basis. The second Product Safety Conference will take place in the 4th quarter of 2015 at Continental AG.
The "Product Safety Network" has been supported by the following companies so far:
- Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. KG
- Continental AG
- Elektrobit Automotive GmbH
- Faurecia Autositze GmbH
- Getrag GmbH & Cie KG
- GKN Driveline
- Johnson Controls GmbH
- Kiekert AG
- Knorr-Bremse AG
- Mahle GmbH
- Robert Bosch GmbH
- Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG
- ZF Friedrichshafen AG
The following associations support the network:
- VDA
- VDMA
- ZVEI
