An audit found the technical file describing a coil that the factory had replaced eight months earlier for supply reasons. The product was compliant, the replacement was equivalent in every measured respect, and the file was wrong, because nobody had re-issued it after the substitution. Six checks catch that class of problem, and all of them are documentary.
Charger compliance: six checks on the pack, not on the product
Check the revision, the standards, the holder, the component list, the marking and the market coverage.
The product may be perfectly sound while the pack that describes it has drifted, and a reviewer examines the description as much as the object. The six checks below are ordered by how often they fail, which is also the order in which they cost money when they are caught late.
The checks are the same whichever market the product is sold into, because every scheme expects a documented product to match the product that is shipped.
Check 1: the revision identifier matches the shipped product
Everything else depends on this line being correct.
Confirm that the report, the construction description and the label artwork all carry the same revision identifier, and that the identifier is the one the production line is building to. Where the factory uses its own revision naming and the brand uses another, the mapping has to be written down; a mapping that exists only in correspondence is not a record.
Check 2: the standards and the dates in the report are current
A report is evidence for the standard it names, at the version it names.
Confirm the standard and the edition referenced in each report against the requirement that applies to the product and the market today, and check the date of the test. Where a standard has been revised, the assessment is whether the product has to be evaluated against the new edition and whether the difference affects the tested parameters.
Check 3: the holder and the responsible party are named
The document has to say who is answerable for the product.
Confirm the name on the report, the name on the declaration and the name the marking carries. Where the brand appears on the product, the pack has to reflect that, and the third party’s name appearing in the file is the gap that most often stops a marketplace review. Where the product is imported, the importer’s role belongs in the same conversation, because some markets place obligations on the importer rather than on the manufacturer.
Check 4: the component list matches what the line receives
The approved list is part of the tested configuration.
Confirm that the components used in the tested build match the approved list and that what the line receives matches both. This is the check that catches the substitution which looks equivalent on a specification sheet and changes a measured parameter in practice. Where a substitution is unavoidable, it is assessed against the tested construction rather than recorded as a note in the file.
Check 5: the marking and the label agree with the file
Marking is a compliance artefact rather than a design element.
Confirm the content of the label: the model designation, the ratings, the marking required by the market, the responsible party and the language of the safety information. Confirm the position and the legibility on the finished product, not on the artwork, and confirm that the artwork revision in the file is the one the printer used.
Check 6: the pack covers every market on the list
Coverage follows the destinations, not the product family.
Confirm that each market on the shipping list is covered by the evidence in the pack, including the plug and adapter arrangement where those differ by region. Where a market is served by a second configuration, the pack needs evidence for that configuration rather than one report presented as covering the range.
| Check | What to confirm | Evidence | How it fails |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revision | File and production use the same identifier | Report, construction description, label | A quiet revision change |
| Standards | Correct standard and edition, with test date | Report references | A revised edition |
| Holder | The responsible party is consistent everywhere | Declaration and marking | A third party’s name in the file |
| Components | The approved list matches what is built | Component list and lot records | A substitution for supply reasons |
| Marking | Label content, position and language | Artwork and finished product | An artwork revision out of step |
| Markets | Every destination is covered | Reports per configuration | A second configuration uncovered |
How to run the check before a shipment
Two people and about an hour, once per programme rather than once per order.
The first person assembles the pack: report, construction description, component list, artwork and declaration. The second compares the pack against the production paperwork and a physical unit, and records the differences. The output is a short statement of what matched and what was updated, and it is the document that makes the next order a repeat rather than a reconstruction.
FAQ
Some suppliers say the file only matters if something goes wrong. Is that right?
A file is normally read before something goes wrong: at a marketplace review, a distributor onboarding, a customs query or an audit. Treating it as a reactive document is what produces the last-minute reconstruction that these six checks exist to prevent. A file is normally read at a marketplace review, a distributor onboarding, a customs query or an audit, rather than after a failure.
Who is responsible for keeping the file current?
The party named as the responsible party for the product. Where the brand appears on the marking, that obligation sits with the brand, even though the factory produces the underlying evidence, and the arrangement should be written into the supply agreement. The party named as the responsible party keeps it current, which where the brand appears on the marking is the brand.
Can one pack cover several product variants?
It can cover a range where the evidence explicitly covers each configuration, which means the pack identifies the configurations rather than generalising across them. A single report presented as covering variants it never tested is the gap a reviewer looks for. It can cover a range where the evidence explicitly covers each configuration, which means the pack identifies the configurations rather than generalising.
How often should the pack be reviewed?
Whenever the product changes, and at the start of a new channel or market. A calendar interval is a useful reminder, but the trigger is the change to the revision, the components or the destination. Review whenever the product changes and at the start of a new channel or market, because the trigger is the revision rather than the calendar.
Next step
Send the configuration, the markets and the documents you already hold to Wecent Group through the contact page. The reply identifies which of the six checks the pack already passes, which documents are missing and what the brand would hold at the end of the programme. Related reading: charger manufacturing services, OEM and ODM charger manufacturing and the factory floor. External references: EU CE marking rules, UK UKCA marking guidance, US FCC Part 15 rules, IEC Webstore, Intertek testing services and TUV testing services.
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