CPSC Earns "Hammer" Award for Fast Track Product Recall Program

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) staff today received its fourth "Hammer" Award from Vice President Albert Gore's National Partnership for Reinventing Government (NPR) for the Fast Track Product Recall Program. This award honors federal employees for significant improvements to customer service and for making the government work more efficiently.

"The Consumer Product Safety Commission has taken a common-sense approach to the way government operates," Vice President Gore said. "This new initiative created by front-line employees enhances product safety for American consumers."

Under the Fast Track Product Recall Program, a company suspecting a product could be hazardous can voluntarily report it to CPSC and propose a plan for recall. If the CPSC staff considers the firm's plan satisfactory and finds no other cause for concern in its review, it approves the plan and works with the firm to expedite the recall to begin within 20 days of the initial report to CPSC. This saves the government and companies time and money, and gets dangerous products out of the marketplace in a matter of weeks instead of months.

"By working cooperatively with industry for their mutual benefit, CPSC has improved its effectiveness, cut red tape and speeded up recalls," said CPSC Chairman Ann Brown. "Getting hazardous products out of consumers' hands faster saves lives and prevents injuries."

By law, companies are required to report the discovery of a potential product defect to CPSC. Under its standard procedure, CPSC staff's first step is to determine whether there is a defect that might result in injury. If there is a defect, the staff then negotiates a voluntary recall or repair program with the company. This process can take 90 to 120 days. Under the Fast Track program, there is no preliminary determination of a defect and the product is recalled within 20 working days.

Since CPSC instituted the pilot program in August 1995, it has approved more than 228 expedited recalls affecting nearly 19 million potentially defective product units. The Commission voted March 24, 1997 to make the program permanent.

Companies have reacted positively to the new Fast Track program. "This is overall a very good program -- very smart," said Peter Winik, an attorney who has represented a number of manufacturers involved in the Fast Track program. "It is a more streamlined process for companies and the government."

"Getting the Hammer Award is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff who are continually striving to improve our service to the American people," Brown said.

The $6 hammer mounted on a plaque, with a little red, white and blue ribbon and a handwritten note, is a symbolic answer to the $600 hammer of yesterday's government.