Annual Reference Guide Archives - In Compliance Magazine

Best Practices in Product Safety Management

The elements of a program to deal with pre-sale and post-sale safety issues are well-known. But the specifics of what elements should be used and how by a particular manufacturer are often unknown. Therefore, the most important question that must be answered by any company manufacturing finished products or component parts is “What should my company do and how should I do it?”

New Lightning Hazards to Consider for Aircraft Certification

The evolution of E and H fields on aircraft struck by lightning is a complex process. An October 2014 in-flight lightning strike is reviewed in this article as an example that inspires a fresh look at how lightning E and H fields should be considered for indirect effects certification.

A Discussion on Low-Cost Printed Circuit Board Design

Low-cost designs are often an underserved and challenging part of a layout engineer’s career and getting increasingly complicated.

New Requirements for MOVs Used for Surge Suppression on AC Mains Ports

It is a common misconception that any product that complies with IEC 60950-1 will also comply with IEC 62368-1. A key goal of this article is to help readers of IEC 62368-1 understand the underlying safety concerns that the new requirements are trying to address.

The European Commission’s Latest EMC Directive Guidance

The European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, published its latest “Guide for the EMC Directive.”1 Updated to reflect the 2014 recast of the Directive, the Guide discusses various issues, not least what constitutes “inherently benign equipment” and “custom built evaluation kits.” This article reviews the content of the new Guide, highlighting key changes from the previous edition of the Guide published in 2010.

New Methods of Air Ionizer Performance Testing

This article defines ionization qualification and periodic verification test procedures for ionizers which are not addressed in STM3.1 or SP3.3, including air-assist bar ionizers, soft x-ray ionizers, an alternative method of room ionization, and non-airflow alpha ionizers.

The CE Marking as your Products’ Passport for the European Market

The CE marking is also called a “product’s passport” for the markets within the European Economic Area (EU Member States plus Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway) and in Turkey. It is the first indication that a product complies with the requirements under European Product Law.

Reproducibility of CISPR 25 ALSE Test Method

Accredited test laboratories, complying with the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 have to evaluate measurement uncertainty.

Skin Effect and Surface Currents

Understanding skin effect and surface currents saves us a lot of time and cost in the design of our product’s shielding and filtering, especially for tough EMC standards such as automotive, military or aerospace.

How to Stay Up to Date on The Ever-Changing Landscape of the Medical Electrical Device Regulatory World

This article focuses on medical electrical devices and three countries/regions of the world, the U.S., Canada and the European Union (EU). There are a lot of regulatory, quality system and standards changes happening in the medical device space in the last couple years and these will continue in the years ahead.