Conformity Magazine - April 2008 - (Page 49)

he product approval process— testing and when required, certification— lies on the path between product design and market access. Like it or not, test laboratories and approval agencies are going to accompany you down the path from lab to market. Selecting the test laboratory you will work with is an important decision. If you are new to the process, what should you look for and what should you expect? It is easy at first to think of the lab’s job solely in terms of the testing that you need to get done, but there is a lot more to it than that. True, you’ve got a product and you will take it to a laboratory to see if it meets the technical requirements necessary for it to be sold—that is, you are going to get it tested. For the simplest types of products, that may in fact be all there is to it, but often there is a lot more involved. The regulations and standards that a product is governed by vary widely depending on the product type. Assessing Your Product Requirements The approval process will have two, and sometimes three basic steps: 1. Testing to standards (which may include inspection and constructional analysis as well as electrical and environmental performance tests) T 2. 3. Report generation Final certification and approval (where a third party does the final approval after review of the report and any additional required applications) For simple products, the first two are so closely linked that you might not even think of them as separate steps. For example, an ITE product intended for use only in the United States and powered by safe low voltage supplies such as batteries or a separately approved and listed “wall wart” transformer will only be subject to the FCC’s Part 15 requirements, and will need no safety investigation. For such a unit, the required lab service is a simple test and report, along with instructions on proper labeling. No additional third-party review and certification is involved. Once the product becomes a little more complex, or is more broadly marketed, the process becomes substantially more involved. If the product operates from mains power, safety becomes a concern. It must be evaluated against the appropriate safety standard (e.g., IEC 60950 for ITE, IEC 60065 for consumer electronics), and in the United States and Canada, must be approved by a nationally recognized laboratory. If the product deliberately transmits radio signals—such as a cordless telephone or a wireless LAN component – more complex testing and certification will be BE CURIOUS: A NEW COMPANY IS BORN. BE AWARE: AN ESTABLISHED EMC LEADER IS GAINING STRENGTH. Teseq for EMC Test Solutions: A new company combining tradition and experience with dynamic and innovative development. Teseq continues what Schaffner created, leading EMC solutions that are better by design! As an independent, management owned company, we focus with full commitment, profound know-how and continuous research on our core business: EMC test solutions and customized client support worldwide. Give us a challenge. Test us. Teseq, Inc., USA E-mail: usasales@teseq.com Tel: (888) 417-0501 Fax: (732) 417-0511 www.teseq.com formerly Schaffner Test Systems April 2008 Conformity 9 http://www.teseq.com http://www.teseq.com

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Conformity Magazine - April 2008 NewsBreaks Editor’s Note Mandatory Analog Cellular Service Ends FCC Releases Quarterly Reports on Consumer Inquiries and Complaints New Standards List Released for The EU’s Low Voltage Directive FDA Issues Notification on Unretrieved Device Fragments FDA Offers Guidance on Waivers for In-Vitro Diagnostic Devices ESD Open Forum Emerging Issues in Standards Challenges in Testing Design Fundamentals Focus on... New Products Product Reviews Premarket Approval Application Guidance Issued by FDA New Jersey Enacts Electronic Waste Recycling Regulations A New U.S. Standard for Workstation and Computer Design Might the CPSC Hold Retailers Accountable for Safe Products? CPSC Loses “Sole Toy Tester” CPSC Actions in the News IEC Standards Update UL Standards Update Telcordia Standards Update From Our “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up” Department Looking Back: Items from Past Issues of Conformity Advertisers

Conformity Magazine - April 2008

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