The iNARTE Informer – February 2011

GOODBYE TO AN OLD FRIEND

In December 2010, our long time colleague and administrator of the iNARTE EMC program in Japan, Teru Kawahara, retired from KEC. We were pleased to be able to visit him and present him with a certificate of Honorary Lifetime Membership.

WHAT’S NEW FOR 2011

One new thing that happened was that New Bern, NC did get a white Christmas this year, although somewhat late in the day.
Not really “white” by the standards that many readers will have seen, but pretty good for us down here.

Looking forward to 2011, there are a number of really interesting things we are working on, some of which are too early in development to discuss, so be sure that you visit our web site regularly and also keep up to date here in IN Compliance.

• The 2011 schedule of ACLASS internal auditor training and iNCLA examinations will be published next month. Last year we visited the Atlanta and Chicago areas, so look for a different set of venues this year.
• The ESD Association will be offering a number of their Essentials for ESD Programs tutorials this year. This is a two day program that is a concentration of the most valuable information extracted from their traditional ten session tutorials. Each Essentials tutorial is accompanied by an iNARTE ESD Certification examination on the third day. The first of these events was held in Shenzhen,China in January, the next will be in Anaheim from February 8^th to 10^th. Follow the links at http://www.esda.org/index.htm#education to register.
• This year the Asia Pacific EMC Week, APEMC 2011, is on Jeju Island, off the south coast of South Korea, from May 16^th to 19^th. iNARTE will be there for the event and will offer a workshop, a trial examination and a full examination day at the end of the week. Attendees can register for any of the iNARTE examinations. Candidate training prior to the event will be offered by RAPA (EMC training) and CORE INSIGHT Inc. (ESD training).
• Closer to home we have the IEEE EMCS 2011 symposium in Long Beach, CA, the ESDA symposium in Anaheim and the IEEE PSES symposium in San Diego. So, in the second half of the year you can spend time in the sunshine state, catch some rays and get iNARTE certified all in the same week.
• By the time of the IEEE EMCS 2011, from August 14th to 19th, iNARTE will be offering not only our traditional EMC Engineer and Technician Certifications, but also we should have the new EMC Design Engineer Certification program rolled out. After August, all candidates can register for this new credential and be examined at any of the above mentioned symposium events, or at any of the regular iNARTE Authorized Test Centers.

iNARTE CERTIFIED EMC DESIGN ENGINEER LEVELS

Last month, we introduced the concept of a new EMC Certification offering intended specifically for engineers working in electronics design fields as opposed to EMC testing areas. There has been a very enthusiastic response to the new program, and we are working hard to flesh it out and get it ready to offer in 2011. Here are the concepts and logistics of the program so far:

• There will be Certified EMC Design Engineers only,no Technician options will be offered.
• There will be three levels of Certification:Engineer, Senior Engineer, and Master Engineer
• Engineer level applicants should have a bachelors degree in an appropriate engineering or science discipline, but do not need work experience.
• Senior Engineer applicants should have the above credential and at least one year of working experience. Applicants holding a masters degree may be exempted from the work experience time.
• Master Engineer applicants should have Engineer credentials and three years of design working experience or a masters degree and two years experience.
• Certified Engineers can apply to upgrade as they gain experience.

As with all new iNARTE programs, there will be a twelve month “Grandfather” period, during which time experienced practitioners may apply for certification without examination. Such applications will need to be supported by verifiable references from three referees who have knowledge of the applicant’s work.

THE DESIGN ENGINEER EXAMINATION

The EMC Design Engineer examination is proposed to consist of two Parts, each Part is required to be completed in three (3) hours. Part 1 will be compiled from questions considered to be basic technology. There will be 30 multiple choice questions in Part 1 and all 30 should be attempted. Part 2 will consist of 40 questions, some basic technology and some more specialized. Thirty of the forty questions in Part 2 should be attempted.

Passing levels will be an average of 70% between the two Parts.

Applicants will be required to compile two (2) new questions that iNARTE can use in future examinations. New questions will be reviewed for suitable depiction of current technology and practices before being accepted. Questions should be developed in one or more of the following categories:

• EMC/EMI Theory
• Mathematics of EMC
• Electronic Circuitry
• EMC and Printed Circuit Boards
• Methods of Communication
• Safety standards
• Laboratory Management
• EMI standards
• EMS Standards
• Measurement Techniques
• Countermeasures Techniques

Questions should be appropriate for examination at the level for which the applicant seeks certification and are preferred to be drawn from personal experiences rather than plagiarized from text books.

Next month we will start our 2011 series of “Questions of the Month” and we will feature questions that are suitable for inclusion in the new EMC Design Engineer program.