During this two-and-a-half-day course, participants will take a journey through the product safety process, from product conception to recalls and returns. The program includes organizational culture and ethics, legal and regulatory considerations, the difference between compliance and safety, and more. Participants will get hands-on group practice doing a pre-sale risk assessment and a post-sale incident investigation.
Our diverse team of instructors are experienced product safety professionals who will bring real-world examples to each topic area so that participants will walk away with more than theoretical knowledge of these critical concepts and best practices.
When: September 11-13, 2024
Where: Hosted by Fisher-Price, East Aurora, NY
Investment: $1900 with multiple discounts available (can be combined)
$150 discount for current SPSP members
Transportation, lodging, and dinners are the responsibility of the participant.
Discounted hotel room block available at the Hampton Inn in East Aurora, NY, walking distance to the Fisher-Price campus. More details below in the “Logistics” section.
Program Registration Closed August 28, 2024
Please email info@productsafetyprofessionals.org to be added to the waiting list to be notified when we offer this program again.
Jump To:
DAY 1 – September 11
8:30-9:00 Introduction to course and introduction of participants, Don Mays and Heather Bramble
9:00-9:45 Product Safety Organization and Culture, Joe Mohorovic
Appropriate model for large, medium, and small size companies; centralized vs. decentralized management; corporate vs. divisional safety functions; litigation
Risk tolerance
9:45-10:45 Product Safety Management, Heather Bramble
Product safety policy, safety committee, cross-functional teams
Building an in-house team
Policies and procedures for safety, quality, and compliance
Applying product safety management to suppliers
Education and training
10:45-11:00 Break
11:00-12:00 Pre-Sale Issues: Design for Safety, Ken d’Entremont
Risk assessment–design review, hazard analysis and engineering evaluations, competitive analysis
Foreseeable and unforeseeable misuse
Techniques for avoiding defects and safety hazards
Safety hierarchy–design vs. guards vs. warnings
12:00-1:00 Lunch
1:00-1:45 Pre-Sale Issues: Testing, Rick Rosati
Compliance: Standards and regulatory requirements
Working with third-party labs
Human factors considerations
1:45-2:30 Pre-Sale Issues: Legal Considerations, Cheryl Possenti
Legal definitions and issues
Personal injury litigation: theories of liability and defenses
Joint and several liability
Optional safety and selling products with different levels of safety
2:30-2:45 Break
2:45-4:00 Pre-Sale Issues: Sourcing, Mark Hickok
Evaluating outsourced raw materials and design of components and finished products
Coordinating with manufacturing, purchasing, marketing, customer service, and field sales and service
Documentation of basis for final design decision
4:00-5:00 Pre-Sale Issues: Manufacturing Defects, Don Mays
Safety beyond compliance
Techniques for avoiding post-marketing safety issues
Industry best practices
Quality vs. safety–Acceptable defect rates and triggers for escalation
Traceability and coding of compensation
5:30-7:00 Networking cocktail reception for participants and instructors
DAY 2 – September 12
8:30-10:00 Pre-Sale Issues: Warnings, Instructions and Marketing Literature, Ken Ross
Standards and guidelines
Compliance with standards and laws in U.S. and abroad
New information delivery technology
Practical compliance issues–are warnings effective, competitive analysis
10:00-10:15 Break
10:15-11:30 Pre-Sale Issues: Risk Assessment Group Exercise, Ken d’Entremont + facilitators
11:30-1:30 Lunch and Fisher-Price tour
1:30-2:30 Post-Sale Issues: Monitoring and Incident Management, Larry Bell
Preparing for post-sale issues
Customer service
Data collection and analysis
Post-incident investigations (complaint trends, close calls, monitor ratings/reviews, customer service)
Post-sale risk assessment (ID hazard, consequences, probability)
2:30-3:15 Post-Sale Issues: Legal and Regulatory Compliance, Boaz Green, and Ken Ross
Recall plan
Legal requirements
CPSC and international reporting and corrective action requirements; dealing with CPSC and international agencies
Product liability considerations
3:15-3:30 Break
3:30-4:15 Post-Sale Issues: Legal and Regulatory Compliance (cont’d)
4:15-5:00 Post-Sale Issues: Recalls and Return Logistics, Chris Harvey
Implementing appropriate proactive and reactive programs including post-sale safety improvements and recalls
Communicating with retailers and consumers
Use of social media, third-party databases, and internet to perform corrective action
Documentation
DAY 3 – September 13
8:30-9:15 What is “acceptable” risk? What is ethical?, Ken d’Entremont
9:15-10:30 Post-Sale Group Exercise, Don Mays + Ken Ross + facilitators
Form safety committee, analyze post-sale data, decide whether to investigate, decide if report to the CPSC, decide on any post-sale corrective actions, prepare for litigation
10:30-10:45 Break
10:45-11:30 Present post-sale group decisions
11:30-12:00 Course wrap-up and concluding remarks, Don Mays and Heather Bramble
12:00- Optional lunch and tour at Bureau Veritas Laboratories, Rick Rosati
Additional Information
Reminder: The 2024 Fundamentals course will be conducted on site at Fisher-Price’s East Aurora campus near Buffalo, NY. All program participants completing the course will receive a Certificate of Completion from the Society of Product Safety Professionals.
Logistics
A block of hotel rooms has been reserved at a discounted rate at the Hampton Inn in East Aurora, NY, which is walking distance to the Fisher-Price campus. Rooms must be reserved by August 9, 2024. Book Here: https://bit.ly/2024FundamentalsHotelBooking
All participants are required to sign a confidentiality/non-disclosure agreement with Fisher-Price prior to commencement of the program.
A continental breakfast will be provided each day. Lunch and afternoon snacks will be provided the first two days. All this is included in the program cost. Travel cost, including transportation, lodging, and dinners, are not included.
There will be a hosted networking reception on the evening of Wednesday, September 11th.
Interested participants can also sign up for a free tour of the Bureau Veritas consumer product testing labs in nearby Buffalo on the afternoon of Friday September 13th.
Confidentiality
The program recognizes and respects the importance of confidentiality in a product safety environment. Participants are discouraged from sharing company confidential information. Instructors are asked to present instruction that does not violate confidences or confidential information. Individual attendee information is treated confidentially.
Course Survey
Following completion of the course, all graduates will be asked to participate in a course evaluation survey, which will provide an opportunity for individuals to think about their experience, and to speak to the program's strong points and identify areas for future improvement.
For more information contact info@productsafetyprofessionals.org or call 917-561-2906.
Larry Bell is the Director of Product Safety at BSH Home Appliances Corporation in Irvine, California. Leading the company's product safety compliance program, he chairs the Product Safety Committee and oversees processes including hazard analysis, risk assessment, and incident data analysis for products in North America. With a pivotal role in product liability subrogation and regulatory liaison, Larry ensures BSH maintains high standards in consumer safety.
Pre-Sale Issues: Manufacturing Defects
Heather Capell Bramble is the VP of Product Safety and Regulatory Compliance at Mattel. Heather is a seasoned product safety professional, senior policy advisor, compliance executive, and litigator who has spent her career analyzing the various ways laws and regulations affect the markets, individual companies, and consumers. Importantly, she has done so from both sides—as Senior Counsel for Amazon's Product Safety, Chief Counsel at the CPSC, and advising major international clients on issues related to consumer safety, consumer products, consumer protection, emerging technology, and legislative and government affairs.
Product Safety Management
Ken d’Entremont is a professional-engineer working as faculty in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Family & Preventive Medicine at the University of Utah. He teaches engineering courses in product safety and engineering ethics, system safety, industrial safety, and occupational and environmental health and safety (OEHS). Ken published a textbook titled “Engineering Ethics and Design for Product Safety”, which he uses for his product-safety course with an emphasizes on ethical decision making in designing safe products. Prior to academia, he was a Manager of Corporate Product Safety for Polaris, and a consulting engineer with Exponent (Failure Analysis Associates) and Triodyne.
Pre-Sale Issues: Design for Safety
Boaz Green is a seasoned consumer product lawyer. He has extensive experience advising and representing a wide range of companies on product safety compliance, policy, and enforcement. Before going back to private practice, Boaz was Chief Counsel to CPSC Commissioner Marietta Robinson.
Post-Sale Issues: Legal and Regulatory Compliance
Chris Harvey is Senior Vice President of Client Services at Sedgwick and leads a team of experts who provide comprehensive and customized solutions for clients facing product recalls, crises, or reputational risks across various industries, including consumer products, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, food and beverage, and automotive. Chris has over 19 years of experience in recall and crisis management and has successfully handled some of the most complex and high-profile cases in the field. He also serves on the board of directors and executive committee for ICPHSO.
Post Sale Issues: Recalls and Return Logistics
Mark Hickok is Vice President, Product Safety and Regulatory Compliance for Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation. He has been responsible for ensuring compliance with applicable standards and regulation for Milwaukee products, including UL, CSA, OSHA, FCC, DOT, and international safety compliance. He manages a team that performs hazard analysis reviews and technical literature activities. Mark participates in trade associations and standards making committees and is a member of numerous product design teams. Previous role as a Project Engineer for Underwriters Laboratories, Northbrook, IL. He holds numerous membership and affiliations including being a Certified Product Safety Professional™ (CPSP) and a Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator.
Pre-Sale Issues: Sourcing
Don Mays is a product safety consultant, President of SPSP, and Chairman of ASTM’s F15 Committee on Consumer Products. Through past employment with Samsung, Deloitte, Consumer Reports, and Intertek, Don has gained deep understanding of the product safety field.
Pre-Sale Issues: Manufacturing Defects
A board-certified product safety expert and former CPSC Commissioner, Joe Mohorovic provides guidance on product safety compliance, supply-chain interruption, product liability defense, expert testimony and dispute resolution.
Product Safety Organization and Culture
Cheryl Possenti is a founding partner of the law firm Goldberg Segalla LLP and has more than 35 years’ experience in the defense of complex personal injury actions. With a practice that focuses on product liability matters and related litigation, Cheryl helps clients navigate the regulatory terrain set forth by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and other agencies. A respected counselor to the makers of toys and other children’s products, small appliance manufacturers, and many others, Cheryl assists clients in maintaining CPSC compliance, manages product safety litigation, helps coordinate effective product recalls and advises on mandatory government reporting and the assessment of civil penalties.
Pre-Sale Issues: Legal Considerations
Rick Rosati has been at Bureau Veritas for almost 25 years in different roles—as a product engineer, lab manager, and now a Director and VP in the Technical Services department. Rick was a member of the board of directors of ICPHSO and a past president of the organization. He chairs several ASTM subcommittees and is the past chair (current vice chair) of the ASTM F15 executive committee for consumer products. Rick currently sits on the boards of directors of ASTM and AHFA.
Pre-Sale Issues: Testing
Kenneth Ross has been consulting and providing legal advice on product safety, product liability prevention, and regulatory compliance for over 40 years. He has written extensively and educated thousands of business people, lawyers, and law students on these subjects.
Pre-Sale Issues: Warnings, Instructions and Marketing Literature, and Post-Sale Issues: Legal and Regulatory Compliance
