Comprehensive and Certified Package Testing

Poor packaging design causes product damage and millions in lost revenue each year. Proper package testing can significantly eliminate this cost and reduce customer frustration━and we can help. The Compliance Management Group (CMG) is a Massachusetts-based test laboratory that has been trusted by leading manufacturers nationwide for more than 20 years.

We offer ISTA-, ASTM-, and Amazon-certified package testing services. Whether you are shipping a television or a medical device, we can determine potential shipment risks and help you prevent damage.

Accreditations

 
 

ISTA-Certified Testing

Our International Safe Transit Association (ISTA) package testing capabilities fulfill the following standards:

Non-Simulation Tests

1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1G, 1H(Click for More Info)

Non-Simulation Tests

Challenge the integrity of the product and package combination. Useful as screening tests but not designed to simulate environmental occurrences.

Partial Simulation Tests

2A, 2B, 2C(Click for More Info)

Partial Simulation Tests

More thorough screening test useful for refining preliminary designs. Not intended to be predictive of shipping performance.

General Simulation Tests

3A, 3B, 3E, 3F, 3H, 3K(Click for More Info)

General Simulation Tests

Provide a simulation of the damage-producing motions, forces, conditions, and sequences of transport environments. Useful as a predictive tool to understand risk of damage.

Enhanced Simulation Tests

4AB(Click for More Info)

Enhanced Simulation Tests

Customizing test plans that closely tie the tests and sequence to a user-defined pattern of distribution environment hazards.

Member Performance Tests

6-AMAZON.com, 6-SAMSCLUB, 6-FEDEX(Click for More Info)

Member Performance Tests

Created by an ISTA member or in cooperation with ISTA to establish unique requirements or to reflect their particular conditions of distribution. Useful in evaluating the effectiveness of packaging against hazards represented in their supply chain.

Development Tests

7D, 7E(Click for More Info)

Development Tests

Used in the development of transport packages by comparing the relative performance of two or more container designs but are not intended to evaluate the protection afforded packaged-products.

Our American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) package testing capabilities fulfill the following standards:

  • ASTM F88 Package Seal Strength Testing
  • ASTM F1886 Package Seal Integrity by Visual Inspection
  • ASTM F1929 Package Testing for Dye Penetration/Seal Leaks
  • ASTM F2096 Package Gross Leak Detection (Bubble test)
  • ASTM D4169 Package Testing of Shipping Containers and Systems
  • ASTM D4332 Standard Practice for Conditioning Containers, Packages, or Packaging Components for Testing
Our International Organization for Standardization (ISO) testing capabilities fulfill common ISO 11607 standards for terminally sterilized medical devices. CMG testing covers:

  1. Stability Testing (accelerated aging)
    Accelerated aging stability testing involves storing samples at an increased temperature to simulate real time aging in a shorter amount of time. Thus, initial stability testing can be performed in a shorter amount of time. Stability testing, such as accelerated aging, is necessary to prove product shelf life, as package integrity is lost over time as packaging materials or adhesives degrade.
  2. Peel Strength Testing
    Peel strength testing ensures that your packaging is capable of providing (and maintaining) a sterile barrier for your product by evaluating packaging for modes of seal failure. This test is carried out according to ASTM standards.
  3. Integrity Testing
    Package integrity testing is critical for determining the sterility and shelf life of a product or medical device. CMG package integrity testing includes an evaluation of dye leaks (ASTM F1929), bubble leaks (ASTM F2096), visual inspection (ASTM F1886), and other assessments of sterile barrier integrity.

As an ISTA-certified lab, CMG provides package testing in compliance with Amazon’s certification test methods. We offer ISTA 6 Amazon.com package testing in our Littleton, Massachusetts, package test lab, which is A2LA and ISTA Accredited.

How We Work

Unlike other labs, we do more than simply pass or fail a package’s performance. During testing, our engineers proactively identify issues, share initial results, and recommend modifications or solutions to help clients achieve their testing goal(s).

This feedback and guidance during the test process is the key to completing a test program in a timely, cost-effective, and successful manner.

Our package testing process follows this sequence:

1

Discovery

We hold an initial meeting or phone call to learn about your product, its characteristics, its applications, and geographical market territory

2

Planning

We devise an estimate and test schedule to achieve your goals.

3

Testing

We conduct tests and provide daily updates, along with proactive recommendations

4

Reporting

We provide a detailed test report with results and any modifications required to pass and fulfill the test standard.

Clients Include

 
Avid Corp
Bose
Boston Scientific
Curtiss Wright
Northrop Grumman