Product approvals in Mexico

14 environments with explosive atmospheres

It's surprising how many products need Ex certification because they operate in hazardous or potentially explosive atmospheres. Thanks to the IECEx website for this list of 14 environments where Ex certification may be needed:

5 ways to fail Low Voltage Directive (LVD) testing

Although Low Voltage Directive (LVD) safety testing is perceived as much simpler than EMC or environmental testing, it should not be ignored during CE certification.

Flammable atmospheres - A change to the ATEX Standards for zone 2 equipment

Many different electronic systems need to operate in potentially explosive atmospheres. It's not just designers of specialist equipment: chemical plant control systems; equipment for petrol station forecourts and even products that operate where dust could cause an explosion all need to meet the EU ATEX Directive or international IECEx requirements.

A guide to reliability testing, part 1 - HALT

Many people see reliability testing as a black art. Engineers create a test setup that replicates the stresses of years of normal use in a matter of hours - how can they know their testing correlates with use in the real world?

A guide to reliability testing, part 2 - HASS

HASS (Highly Accelerated Stress Screening). Like HALT, HASS is most commonly applied to electrical and electronic assemblies. Assuming a robust design, i.e. one that has been enhanced and validated through the use of HALT, then only component variability or manufacturing process variations will introduce latent defects.

A guide to reliability testing, part 3 - Environmental Stress Screening

ESS (Environmental Stress Screening). ESS is a generic term for a production screening process using one or more environmental stresses in order to precipitate latent, manufacturing-induced defects.

About TRaC

TRaC is a market leading UKAS accredited test company comprising three Centres of Excellence and three regional test laboratories in the UK and a partner facility in Japan.  TRaC offers unrivalled testing, regulatory and compliance services to the defence and commercial sectors.

Acceleration testing

Using a floor mounted centrifuge TRaC can achieve constant acceleration level of up to 70g.

Achieving certification for countries that don't have a strong test infrastructure

Many countries have their own specific requirements for certification of products, but don't always have the infrastructure to test to these standards. This presents a problem - how can you get certified if no one in the country can test your product?

Acoustic performance testing

TRaC offers both Acoustic Performance testing and Voice Quality testing.

Acoustic shock testing

Under the LVD directive for CE marking all products incorporating acoustical interfaces require acoustic shock testing. This tests is called up in IEC60950:2005 for Europe.  If the product is intended for connection in North America then UL60950:2007 testing would be appropriate.  The test requirements for UL60950:2007 are more onerous and require additional surge tests (short duration test) to ensure the maximum sound pressure level at the acoustic interface meets the relevant requirements.

Acoustic testing

Services for the Aerospace Industry

TRaC services help you comply with a range of aerospace standards and guide you through the rigorous process and requirements of the aerospace market.

Altitude Testing

Our accreditation for altitude testing includes to BS EN 60068, DEF STAN 00-35, DEF STAN 07-55, MIL STD 202, MIL STD 810 and RTCA DO 160 standards. 

Message from the CEO - An exceptional first year for TRaC

Our evolution into TRaC was completed in January; a journey of over three years sees the formation of an internationally renowned, focused and driven regulatory and compliance company.

Analogue testing

TRaC provides analogue telecoms testing services for many voiceband products, from simple telephones, modems, Caller Line Identity (CLI) and fax machines, to complex Private Branch eXchanges (PBX).

Analysis Services for the Aerospace Industry

Avionics, Landing Gear, Aero Structures, Aero Engines, Composite Structures, Space Systems

Analysis Services for the Automotive Industry

Crash & Impact Analysis

Analysis Services for the Defence Industry

TRaC are working with the UK's leading defence companies to assist them in developing products which meet the severe demands placed upon them.  Whether it's weight reduction, reliability, survivability or strength and fatigue issues, our engineers can help.

Analysis Services for the Nuclear Energy Industry

Safe production of nuclear power is perhaps one of the biggest issues facing nuclear engineers that design and operate nuclear power plants.

Analysis Services for the Oil and Gas Industry

Qualification of oil, gas and process pipelines and plant

Analysis Services for the Rail Industry

TRaC has worked on a variety of Rail projects over the years with projects covering both physical testing and simulation analysis. Typical projects include impact analysis, thermal analysis together with shock and vibration. The TRaC team has experience of analysing whole vehicle structures for the Rail industries.

Analysis tools

Our comprehensive suite of software tools include:

Analysis Validation

"Very often physical validation is critical to ensure the reliability of a simulated model." TRaC can test your physical parts in order to acquire data which can be used to develop the simulation.

And you thought your EMC tests were difficult!

All electronics engineers are familiar with EMC testing, generally viewing it as yet another challenge to be overcome by good design.

ATEX certification

The European ATEX product directive (94/9/EC) for hazardous location (hazloc) equipment became mandatory in July 2003. It is a CE marking directive, which is sometimes referred to as the 'ATEX product directive' or 'ATEX 100'. This is a two stage assessment process:

Automotive EMC Directive

The principal challenge is for the UK's automotive manufacturing industry to align its technology, product and business performance to deliver customer value in a global industry subject to relentless cost-cutting pressures.

Services for the Automotive Industry

TRaC deliver a comprehensive range testing and computational analysis of vehicle components and full vehicles to meet the EMC and environmental qualification, reliability and legislative demands of the automotive market. TRaC have developed the capabilities to support our clients homologation needs, from assessing in-car entertainment and communications systems, validating the robustness of electric and hybrid electric vehicle technologies, virtual test track simulation of mechanical stress, through to full vehicle electromagnetic compatibility testing on our rolling road. Our testing, validation and certification give our customers confidence in product safety, product reliability, product interoperability and compliance with essential legal requirements before the product goes into service.

Bench handling testing

Many products sustain failure before application in the field, as a result of stress faced during the manufacturing, delivery or installation process.

Bluetooth^® Qualification and Testing Services

TRaC provides a range of testing, regulatory and consultancy services to help you gain approval for your Bluetooth products anywhere in the world and to ensure a fast and cost effective route to market.

BQE (Bluetooth^® Qualification Expert) Services

TRaC offers the services of a Bluetooth Qualification Expert (BQE) to complement the Qualification process.

Bluetooth^® Qualification

In order for a Bluetooth product manufacturer to use the Bluetooth logo and employ Bluetooth IP they must ensure that their product had been suitably qualified. TRaC is a Bluetooth Qualification Test Facility (BQTF) and can provide the complete compliance service for all of your qualification requirements including:

Bluetooth^® Regulatory Testing

In addition to Bluetooth Qualification testing, it is very important to ensure that any Bluetooth product satisfies the regulatory requirements of the country or community in which it is to be marketed.

Worldwide Bluetooth^® Approvals

TRaC are leaders in the approvals field and possess an extensive network of contacts worldwide in over 140 countries.

Bounce Testing

Many product failures can occur during transit. Whereas conventional shock and vibration tests can replicate stresses induced during transportation of a secured cargo, bounce testing in contrast simulates an environment of loose cargo in wheeled vehicle transit.

Broadband compliance testing

Standards compliance is the most widely accepted method to demonstrate CPE interoperability. TRaC has the ability to test to international standards such as the ITU-T, and Broadband (DSL) Forum TR standards. Listed below are just a few of the many standards that TRaC can test against in order to ensure that your CPE is compliant.

Broadband Forum TR-069

The Broadband Forum (formerly DSL Forum) TR-069 technical report specifies a protocol that is intended for communication between an Auto-Configuration Server (ACS) and Customer Premise Equipment (CPE). The ACS is a server within the service provider's network that has the ability to control and monitor a CPE with the TR-069 protocol.

Testing against Broadband Forum requirements

The Broadband Forum was formerly known as the DSL Forum. It is a consortium of approximately 200 leading industry players from telecommunications, equipment, computing, networking and service provider companies. In 14 years, the Broadband Forum has moved from defining the core DSL technology to delivering maximum effectiveness in broadband deployment and use.

TRaC and BSI: new agreement launches unique Test/Certification partnership

TRaC has announced that it is to collaborate with BSI in offering an approvals programme for equipment designed to operate in explosive atmospheres. Together, the two companies have a depth of expertise, and global reach, that is unrivalled in the field.

Call / Email us

Important contact details list if you have any questions about any aspect of our services, including any technical enquiries.

Caller Line Identity (CLI) testing

Caller ID (caller identification, CID), also called calling line identification (CLID) or calling number identification (CNID) is the ability of a product to display and record calling party information such as telephone number, date and time. TRaC offers testing to various specifications to ensure that this function of a device works correctly when connecting to various networks.

Can the CB scheme help your wireless product to market?

CB or not CB: that is the question. When you have worked in the telecoms and electronics approvals industry for many years, I think you tend to forget that to some people the compliance and approvals process can appear to be very complex. That's usually because it can be!

History of TRaC

In its present form, TRaC is a young company. But it stems from testing, validation and certification going back almost 61 years. TRaC is proud of that heritage and of the many milestones en route to today's leading position.

Careers at TRaC

TRaC offers a rewarding career in the diverse field of test and approvals which ensures manufacturers across a vast range of industry sectors can legally sell their products world wide.

CE Declaration of Conformity... is it worth the paper it's written on?

Here in the EU the CE marking directives allows self-declaration of conformity. So is this approach worth the paper on which the self-declaration is written? If you're selling to North America, the answer is probably "no".

CE Marking

Free movement of goods is a cornerstone of the single market. The mechanisms in place to achieve this aim are based on prevention of new barriers to trade, mutual recognition and technical harmonisation. 

CE Market Surveillance and Regulatory Enforcement Tighten in 2010

There has been a call by industry since the introduction of the various CE marking directives to take action when  a product is found not to be CE Marked, illegally CE Marked and do not satisfy the CE Mark requirements, therefore non-compliant.

CE marking of military equipment

The current UK EMC regulations (2006:3418) implementing EMC Directive 2004/108/EC do not have a specific exemption for military equipment.

Regulation of energy efficiency presents new certification challenges

There is a huge drive to improve energy efficiency from customers wishing to save on running costs, manufacturers trying to gain competitive advantage and also from governments.

Chipset Partnership Program

TRaC offers a specialised conformance and interoperability testing service for multi-vendor xDSL products.

Climatic Testing

The successful operation of an engineered component, system or product is affected by the surrounding naturally occurring climate or changes to that climate during its service life. Climatic testing, performed under laboratory conditions, accurately simulates a range of natural and man made conditions that are likely to be encountered by a product.

Cobham partnership

Reaching the fifth anniversary in 2009, the environmental test partnership between TRaC and Cobham plc's Flight Refuelling Ltd­, has proven to be a remarkable success for both parties, and has become TRaC’s benchmark for excellence in environmental test partnerships. Based on a truly collaborative approach, with TRaC adding more value to Cobham’s development and verification processes, the net benefits of this partnership have yielded annual savings in excess of 25% on vibration and shock testing.

Combined environmental test and analysis solutions

TRaC can offer a unique service of combined in-house expertise of environmental testing and computational analysis through Finite Element Analysis (FEA) methods.

Combined Environmental Testing

In designing more reliable products in a shorter time, there is tendency to simulate multiple environmental factors simultaneously. At TRaC we can combine temperature, humidity, vibration, shock, etc. with a functional test.

Combined Temperature, Altitude and Humidity Testing

With the altitude chamber facility we have at our Warwick site, TRaC can offer sequential environments of temperature, humidity and altitude and combined environments of temperature at altitude or temperature with humidity.

EMC training courses

TRaC provide training courses on a range of EMC and general approval requirement related subjects.

Communicating in hazardous areas

Radio communication has become a part of daily life in the UK, with a proliferation of new applications for voice and data appearing every year. But what if you need to use radio for communicating in a defined hazardous area? Mark Heaven offers some guidance on the raft of stringent legislation that apply.

Radio Module Integration - What do I need to do for compliance?

Technology is advancing at an incredible pace and this is particularly evident in the world of radio technology. Radio devices are being incorporated into all manner of products to provide a wide range of benefits and applications; from smart metering so that a consumer can monitor the amount of electricity they (or members of their family!) are using, to medical devices sending remotely gathered patient data, to a near field device that allows you to pay for your train ride.

How to make sure products comply with Noise at Work regulations

How do I make sure my products work within the limits set by the Noise at Work regulations?

Component Safety and Flammability Testing

Component safety testing

TRaC, Agilent Technologies Announce Comprehensive Bluetooth-Qualification Test System

SANTA CLARA, Calif. and HULL, UK, Oct. 13, 2009 - Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) and TRaC today announced the availability of TRaC's Bluetooth® test system, which uses Agilent's N4010A Wireless Connectivity Test Set.

TRaC announces comprehensive testing to satisfy Noise at Work Directive

TRaC, the leading provider of equipment test and certification services, has extended its capabilities in testing products against the requirements of the Noise at Work Directive.

CFD - Computational Fluid Dynamics

Analysis of Fluid Flow and Associated Heat Transfer using CFDesign.

Contact TRaC

Customer benefits

TRaC customers are welcome to witness their test programmes at any of our facilities, and are invited to use our customer lounges, where you can keep in touch with the office or use the Web, via our complementary internet wireless access, stay up to date with world events via the TV news, magazines or newspapers.

Dangerous products withdrawn from the EU market

Complying with the laws on safety that cover consumer products can be an intricate business, but one which it pays to get right. Get it wrong and you risk seriously damaging your corporate reputation.

DASS2 testing

Digital Access Signaling System 2 (DASS2) is a protocol for digital links to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). It was the first introduction in the UK to an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and was introduced before the ITU-T Q.921/Q.931 standards.

Data Acquisition

TRaC has a range of measurement instrumentation and data-logging equipment that is regularly employed to record in-service conditions such as vibration, temperature, load, displacement etc. This data acquisition is typically carried out "at site" and often involves recording a broad range of self-generated parameters on moving vehicles or rotating equipment.

DECT services

DECT technology has two parts, a portable part (usually in the form of a handset) and a fixed part (usually a based/charger unit). Usually a DECT device is of one type or the other. However most manufacturers supply both types as a pair of devices.

Services for the Defence Industry

TRaC Military / Aerospace facilities offer modern purpose designed test chambers and equipment. All laboratories are secure and have electronically controlled access therefore ensuring confidentiality for all our customers. TRaC has invested heavily over a two year period to be able to offer test facilities which compete and sometimes better others in the industry. All Military test chambers are located on one site within a large secure compound.

Designing for ZigBee - Understand the standards before developing wireless products

In a rapidly advancing world that appears to rely more and more on technology, it is evident that wireless technology is becoming one of the most essential of them all.

Differences between earthquake and vibration testing

What's the difference between earthquake and vibration testing?

Digital testing

 

Do I really need earthquake testing?

I'm meeting more and more engineers whose equipment is being subjected to earthquake testing. Even in the UK there is a risk of earthquakes; there is even a page tracking recent seismic activity on the British Geological Survey's website.

DPNSS testing

The Digital Private Network Signalling System (DPNSS) is a network protocol that is used on digital trunk lines to connect two Private Branch eXchanges (PBX) and it supports a defined set of inter-networking facilities. It was originally defined by British Telecom.

DSL interoperability testing

TRaC has offered DSL interop (interoperability) testing services since 1997 when the first regulatory DSL standards were introduced. The service offering has expanded from basic regulatory testing to full DSL interop testing (including TR-067 and TR-100), network consultancy and training. TRaC DSL services are now renowned throughout the world.

DSLAM Partnership Program

TRaC is an independent ISO 17025 accredited test laboratory offering a range of technical services principally in the field of test and verification of IT & Telecoms products. A particular specialised service is the conformance and interoperability testing of multi-vendor xDSL products.

Services for the Electronics Industry

We offer testing to the following standards applicable for Electrical electronics industry:

Electrical safety is still important!

We all use a large number of electrical items that work reliably and safely every day. As problems are so rare many people get blasé about the need for electrical safety regulations, but recently I saw some sobering statistics.

Electrical Safety Testing and Certification

TRaC can provide electrical safety testing for electronic / electrical products to meet the growing needs for worldwide compliance:

Electronics in explosive atmospheres - standards stop things going bang!

Many companies develop products that need to operate in explosive atmospheres - areas where flammable liquids, vapors, gases or combustible dusts are likely to occur in quantities sufficient to cause a fire or explosion.

EMC basic test standards

As with many technical disciplines, EMC is very complex and hence trying to define all the parameters, tests and limits into a single test standard would be very difficult. To overcome this and to provide some consistency across all product standards a hierarchy of standards is been developed. The diagram below illustrates this in the case of the information technology EMC standard for immunity (EN55024). The product specific standard is the one that a manufacturer complies with however it references a number of ‘basic’ test standards for the test methods, limits and phenomena.

EMC for Automotive

TRaC offer a complete solution to automotive EMC approval for the EU (through directive 2006/28/EC amending 72/245/EEC) and United Nations affiliated countries.

EMC for civil aviation and military aircraft

TRaC aerospace EMC division serves both commercial and military customers. The aerospace market is very competitive, dynamic and growing on a global scale. Products produced for the aerospace market could be asked to meet a variety of different standards from the Airbus ABD0100 series, Boeing D6-16050 series and RTCA DO-160 for civil aircraft requirements.

EMC for Commercial Markets

In the UK, commercial EMC emissions and immunity testing is carried out predominantly to comply with the requirements of the European EMC Directive as part of CE marking for the European Union.

EMC for consumer electronics / household goods

White goods are covered by the standards EN55014-1 (EMC emissions) and EN55014-2 (EMC immunity). These EMC standards are applicable to the majority of household appliances in addition, also to products that are similar or motor operated and are not covered by another specific standard.

EMC for defence standards

Stringent procurement requirements can cause difficulties for contractors and manufacturers resulting in on-going testing and the possibility of delay in meeting deadlines often incurring extra costs.

EMC for Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) equipment

The International standard covering ISM equipment is CISPR 11. This standard covers many types of equipment and is probably the second most common standard to CISPR 22.

EMC for IT and office equipment

Information Technology and office equipment are primarily covered by the EMC standards EN55022 (EMC emissions) and EN55024 (EMC Immunity).

EMC for medical equipment

Medical equipment is covered by EN60601-1-2. This standard is applicable to all medical equipment and systems covered by the Medical Device Directive.

EMC for multimedia equipment

Digital and analogue TV and radio broadcast receivers and ancillary equipment such as CD players and AV amplifiers are covered by the EMC standards EN55013 (emissions) and EN55020 (immunity).

EMC for telecoms and radio equipment

TRaC facilities offers a wide range of accredited Electro Magnetic Compatibility (EMC) and wireless testing services. Our experienced staff can assist with all EMC requirements for compliance testing to European and international standards, and can advise on pre-compliance investigative testing, which is invaluable in product development.

EMC for test and measurement equipment

Test and measurement equipment is covered by the EN61326-x-x series of standards, which are all based around, and refer back to the general requirements standard EN61326-1. The EN61326 standards are applicable to electrical equipment, operating from a supply or battery of less than 1000 V a.c. or 1 500 V d.c. or from the circuit being measured, intended for professional, industrial-process, industrial-manufacturing and educational use, including equipment and computing devices for:

EMC Heavy Vehicle Semi Anechoic Chamber

The large chamber located at TRaC's EMC centre of excellence in Malvern has been upgraded with new radar/radio absorbing material (RAM). This new Heavy Vehicle Semi Anechoic Chamber (HVSAC) has the added advantage of being dimensionally larger, with bigger access doors than most existing commercially available HVSAC chambers.

EMC testing of electronic sub-assemblies (ESAs)

The requirements of the directive for electronic (electrical) sub-assemblies (ESA) is based on what those products may be exposed to in normal use in terms of electromagnetic radiation. The overriding objective is to ensure that the electronic sub-assembly remains safe and does not cause interference. The following flow chart provides a decision tree of what is included within the scope of the directive and what is not.

EMC Pre Qualification

The most cost effective approach to product development is to qualify the prototype design, early in the development cycle, allowing a confidence in EMC performance. 

EMC Qualification & Compliance Management

Testing products and equipment to meet legislative requirements can be a challenge even for small items however the issue becomes much more complex when integrating a system together.

EMC Services

TRaC are market leaders in EMC test and qualification. The services we offer support a range of contractual and legislative requirements around the world.

EMC Test Services

Whilst there are many tests for EMC, they can be categorised as either emissions or immunity (also referred to as susceptibility). In essence the concept of performing emission tests (to limit the electrical noise) and immunity (to ensure that it is immune) provides a compatibility gap in the middle such that true electromagnetic compatibility is achieved.

No matter what the size or scope

EMC is becoming an increasingly important element of large infrastructure projects. From communications networks to transportation infrastructure to power generation, many projects require to use of dedicated EMC resources and expertise in order to ensure successful completion on time and to budget.

CE marking of defence equipment

The conditions of supply to defence customers is not well understood universally by all suppliers relating to product approval/qualification as there may be conflicting advice and multiple requirements. This paper highlights the issues regarding the supply of material to the UK's defence industry and highlights the requirements in the case of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC).

EMC Testing

TRaC provide an extensive range of EMC testing and consultancy services. We help you ensure that your product or installation is compliant with industry specific EMC standards for legislative, national and international approvals.

Emissions testing

Emission testing is an essential aspect of complying with all EMC legislation around the world.  The point of performing emission testing is protect the radio spectrum to enable radio services to operate and to ensure that electrical interference is minimised. Most interference testing however is a function of immunity testing.

EN 954-1 latest - extended to 2012

Following the recent "on/off" saga over the extension of EN 954, it has now been confirmed, following the EU Commission, Machinery Conference in Brussels that EN 954 will remain as an Official Journal listed harmonised against Machinery Safety Directive 2006/42/EC for the foreseeable future.

Energy efficiency testing for radio & telecoms equipment

Due to the growing number of international energy efficiency standards TRaC are now offering a range of Energy Efficiency Testing services.

Services for the Energy Industry

With over 30 years experience servicing global energy markets, TRaC’s expertise and capabilities deliver the highest levels of confidence and international recognition in qualifying equipment, plant and infrastructure to the most demanding industry and legislative standards.

ENERGY STAR programme gets tough

ENERGY STAR is a voluntary program for promoting energy efficient products like appliances and electronics to consumers in the United States, encompassing products in more than 60 categories. 

Environmental Engineering: Earthquake zone

Tremors below ground in Bristol are being used to help design buildings and equipment better able to withstand the forces of nature. Of all the harsh environments that products and structures have to be designed to withstand, an earthquake is one of the most extreme. The unpredictability, the repetition and the sheer scale of the forces unleashed in earthquakes makes them uniquely dangerous and difficult to prepare for.

Environmental Engineering: Innovate or die

Product development in a wide range of industries, from aerospace to wind power, means a healthy workload for one UK test house. In the face of recession, the business mantra of innovate or die has even more resonance than usual. Manufacturers face the choice of continuing to develop products or effectively giving up the ghost. So, with new products so important, the testing of these products – and the industry that carries out testing – should, theoretically at least, be a little insulated from the ravages of recession.

Environmental Testing

The ability of a product to withstand the environment within which it has to operate, be stored or transported is critical to its success. As one of UK's leading environmental testing laboratory TRaC can provide a comprehensive range of accredited commercial and defence environmental services for designers to evaluate and qualify the behaviour and performance of their products.

Environmental training

Increasingly, engineer turnover is becoming a problem for our test customers – where the "lessons learned" in previous qualification programmes are being lost, resulting in "new test failures" of "old test problems".

Training

We offer a number of workshops and training courses that can be tailored to specific requirements or developed as a bespoke solution to your training needs. The training courses can be provided within our facilities or can be held within your offices or local area with any number of attendees.

Equipment noise emission testing

In addition to TRaCs Acoutic and Voice quality services TRaC also offers enhanced testing services for measuring noise emitted by IT and Telecoms equipment.  Standards such as ISO 7779 and EN300 753 v1.2.1 detail test methodologies and limits for equipment noise.

Ethernet testing

Ethernet technology comes in two varieties, 10BASE-T and 100BASE-Tx. These are defined in IEEE standards IEEE 802.3i and IEEE 802.3u respectively.

EX Project Coordinator

Working as part of an engineering team, the EX Project Coordinator enables the progress of multiple, short duration projects. The role will use a custom-made on-line system and the coordinator inputs and retrieves information to manage the process. The EX Project Coordinator will need to report weekly progress against key performance indicators and flag up issues and variances to plan.

EX-cellent CE marking

EX product certification for Europe is governed by the ATEX equipment directive 94/9/EC under the European Commission's new-approach (CE marking) regime and is one of several directives or requirements relevant to equipment for potentially explosive atmospheres. Manufacturers may also have to consider the design, documentation, manufacturing and quality system implications for EMC, machinery safety, electrical safety and radio/telecoms compliance before applying the CE mark.

Explosive Atmospheres (Hazardous Locations) testing

Potentially explosive atmospheres (or hazardous locations) are made up of gases, vapours, mists or dusts. These atmospheres may be in commercial, industrial, military or aerospace environments.

Explosive atmospheres - product evaluation and certification

TRaC provides evaluation and certification of most types of electrical, electronic and mechanical equipment used in potentially explosive atmospheres. Standards used by TRaC for the evaluation include IEC, EN, UL and MIL/Aero standards. Detail about the standards used by TRaC in support of evaluation and certification is given below.

Explosive atmospheres - production control audits

Most certification schemes include some form of control of production within the rules of the scheme. This is true for hazardous location equipment where mandatory regional schemes (e.g. ATEX) and national schemes (e.g. hazloc) apply. It also applies to the voluntary IECEx certification scheme. We carry out production control audits under the ATEX and Hazloc schemes.

Explosive atmospheres - technical advice sessions

TRaC offers: introductory meetings at any UK location; a free 2 hour pre-application meeting at our Lancashire office; and paid for technical advice sessions at client's premises.

Explosive atmospheres testing for airborne applications

The commonly used explosive atmosphere test for airborne applications is taken from section 9 of RTCA DO-160F. The tests of section 9 are performed to demonstrate the ability of equipment to operate in fuel-air explosive atmospheres without causing ignition. The tests apply to all equipment designed for use in the vicinity of fuel-air explosive atmospheres associated with aircraft.

Explosive atmospheres testing for defence

The commonly used explosive atmosphere test for military applications is taken from MIL-STD 810F. The test of method 511.4 is performed to demonstrate the ability of equipment to operate in fuel-air explosive atmospheres without causing ignition. This method applies to all equipment designed for use in the vicinity of fuel-air explosive atmospheres associated with aircraft, automotive, and marine fuels at or above sea level (up to 12,200 metres).

Fatigue analysis

TRaC can solve your product failure issues

Fatigue Testing

The term "fatigue" is used to describe the failure of a component under a repeatedly applied stress. A high percentage of operating failures of machine elements are due to fatigue and experience has shown that for satisfactory correlation with service behaviour, full size or large scale specimens must be tested under environmental conditions as close as possible to those existing, or expected, during service.

The process of FCC (North America) Approval

Our Open Area Test Sites (OATS) and 3m metre semi anechoic chambers are FCC listed which enables both intentional and unintentional radiators to be tested and certified. As a Telecommunication Certification Body (TCB), we can issue FCC equipment authorisations – the legal requirement for radio products entering the USA. Providing a complete certification service under one roof  ensures our clients have a much faster time to market.

FEA Analysis Consultancy

TRaC provides leading engineering consultancy in static and dynamic structural analysis using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) techniques.  A typical stress analysis will involve finding accurate stress values either by hand calculations or FEA. Detailed fatigue assessments can be carried out to determine the components durability.

Femtocell services - TRaC Involved in Next Generation Technologies

TRaC's has been involved with the Femto Forum since its inception and is helping in the development of interoperable femtocell products. Femtocells are perhaps the most exciting products emerging in the communications market today. It is becoming clear that Femtocells will be deployed in a diverse range of communications infrastructure applications.

Finite Element Analysis - FEA

Leading Edge Software, Leading Edge Solutions

Five Tier Safety Service

TRaC's safety services are offered as a series of support choices. This tier structure approach provides at least one suitable option which will fit all budgets and ensure that safety compliance requirements are not compromised or neglected

Fluid Contamination Testing

Many products are required to operate in environments where they will be susceptible to accidental or deliberate fluid contamination ranging from coffee to aviation fuel to sunscreen cream. Where material degradation is a result of fluid susceptibility, this can lead to the premature failure of a product.

Four Things You Need to Know About Seismic Testing

The number of companies contacting me to enquire about Earthquake Testing has increased this year. Although most of the work is related to increased activity at the Nuclear Power Generating sites - such as the developments at Sellafield - I've also seen an increase in the number of enquiries from UK companies supplying overseas.

Fujitsu joins the TRaC Partner Laboratory Programme to Enhance Support for Companies Seeking European Certification

TRaC, the largest UK-based provider of testing, validation and certification, announces that Fujitsu General EMC Laboratory Limited has joined the TRaC Partner Laboratory Programme, enhancing services offered to manufacturers wishing to certify products for sale in the UK and Europe. This programme enables Fujitsu to provide CE certification to Japanese manufacturers with the support of TRaC's expertise.

Safety testing - General Product Safety Directive (GPSD)

General Product Safety Directive has been implemented in all EU countries, giving authorities the power to undertake a recall of consumer products without the co-operation of the manufacturer or retailer. General Product Safety Directive regulations cover traceability, batch marking and sample testing of products.

Getting safety people to write EMC tests - surely that's not safe?

Over recent years there have been a number of instances where the safety of electrical products has been comprised by EMC phenomena. Toasters are often used as an example: in the past when a toaster was "off", it really was off, but nowadays toasters are microprocessor-based, creating the possibility of a transient on the mains power supply initiating a toasting cycle which could present a serious fire risk.

HALT / HASS Seminar - Tuesday 5^th Oct 2010

To guide you in your product development, TRaC are hosting a Technology Insight Briefing that will both explain the concept, and provide a practical demonstration of HALT (Highly Accelerated Life Test) and HASS (Highly Accelerated Stress Screening).

Highly Accelerated Life Testing (HALT Test)

TRaC is proud to be the first UKAS accredited facility for Highly Accelerated Life Testing. Accreditation is specifically for our QRS - 410T HALT chamber from Screening Systems Incorporated.

Handset / Handsfree testing

Handset telephones / Handsfree telephone devices can be connected to a PBX or directly to the PSTN network. In various countries it is still a regulatory requirement for testing to be performed to gain market access. The regulatory testing will allow a product to be sold in the various regions for market access.

Harmonics and flicker testing

Harmonics and Flicker are requirements of the EMC and R&TTE Directives for Europe. The purpose of these standards is to limit the harmonics injected back into the AC low voltage power distribution system (EN61000-3-2,12) and ensure that the load of equipments does not cause an unacceptable degradation of lights connected to the supply (EN61000-3-3,11).

Hazloc certification

TRaC can provide equipment test and certification for the US and Canadian market through partnership arrangements with NRTL and SCC facilities in North America. Wherever possible, testing and assessment is conducted in the UK and usually alongside the procedures for ATEX product certification.

High Cycle Fatigue Testing

TRaC is proud to announce that we have recently been accredited by UKAS for High Cycle Fatigue (HCF) testing.

HMS Dauntless stays on TRaC

HMS Dauntless, the second of the Royal Navy's class of air defence destroyer arrived at Portsmouth Naval base for the first time in December. Dauntless is one of six new Type 45 destroyers which will provide the backbone of the UK's naval air defences for the next three decades.

A single source solution to meet all of your Testing, Approvals and Certification need

TRaC is the largest British test and certification company, providing a comprehensive service at seven locations across the country, as well as offering global reach through worldwide partnerships.

Home Office Approvals

Home Office approval requires a number of different types of tests to be performed to ensure that any evidence that the product generates will stand up to scrutiny in a court of law. In the case of mobile speed enforcement devices it also needs to be suitable to the rough treatment of things being thrown into the back of vans and cars on a regular basis. This means that the testing performed is particularly rigorous. The following headings are types of tests typically performed on products supplied to the Home Office.

How am I going to test that?

I've heard engineers say that the test and certification industry is dull, simply requiring the latest consumer item to be plugged into a standard test rig, but although there can be some repetition in the job, much of what we do is new, interesting and challenging.

Hydrodynamic Testing

Aircraft ditching survivability testing. TRaC's test expertise incorporates a wealth of experience in hydrodynamic fixed-wing and helicopter crash testing through access to world leading test specialists and test tank facilities, assisting in fixed-wing certification for over-water flight, and assisting manufacturers or airlines in obtaining certification to travel long distances over water.

TRaC Awarded IECEE Accreditation for In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Equipment

TRaC, a global leader in testing and certification services has announced that it has successfully expanded its IECEE CB Scheme Testing Laboratory (CBTL) capabilities. The new capabilities include product safety and conformity assessment testing and certification of In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) type products.

IECEE CB Scheme - CB Certification

Your route for international access and acceptance of your electrical/electronic products. The CB Scheme is an international system applying to the safety of electrical and electronic products so that they can readily access and be accepted in international markets.  It provides an excellent conformity assessment platform for manufacturers wanting to trade in global markets and whose products need to demonstrate third party conformity to relevant standards.

IECEx certification

Manufacturers of equipment designed for operation in hazardous areas and explosive atmospheres can simplify the process of marketing their products internationally, using the TRaC Test Laboratory and Certification Body services which are qualified under the IECEx System.

If WEEE's in, what's out?

BIS (the UK's government department for business, innovation and skills) has announced a radical reform to the way regulations in the UK will be implemented.

Immunity testing

Immunity (susceptibility) to electromagnetic disturbances is a requirement of most contractual and legislative requirements throughout the world.

Impact Analysis

TRaC's Stress team has worked on a variety of different projects which have focused on Impact.  We have analysed vehicle impacts for client to ensure products meet physical test criteria as well as impacts such as Bird Strike for a number of Aerospace companies.  TRaC also have physical testing equipment which can perform environmental and seismic events, together with.

Services for the Capital Equipment Industry

We offer testing to the following standards applicable for capital equipment industry:

Ingress Protection (IP) testing

IP testing at TRaC's UKAS accredited test laboratory can determine a products susceptibility to solid particle (including dust) ingress and liquid (water) ingress.

Is above 1GHz the new Wild West?

Is the spectrum above 1GHz open for anyone, just like the old Wild West?

Is the generic industrial emissions standard dead?

CISPR 11, the product specific emission standard for industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) equipment has recently been revised and reissued as Edition 5.0. In this process clarification has been provided regarding the scope of the standard.

Is UK really sharpening its teeth for CE Marking Enforcement?

The UK's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has recently started a consultation on how it will implement the New Legislative Framework into UK law.

ISDN Testing

TRaC provides a wide range of regulatory and non-regulatory ISDN testing services. TRaC can also provide bespoke ISDN testing solutions to help you analyze the performance of your equipment.

It pays vehicle manufacturers to play it safe

Complying with the laws on safety that cover both employees and consumer products can be an intricate business, but one which it pays to get right.

Japanese Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) Certification

The regulatory regime in Japan requires that manufacturers of telecom and radio equipment must submit appropriate test results to a Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) for assessment to obtain certification.

EMC Test Engineer

The successful candidate will have a background in electrical engineering and have the confidence to communicate effectively within our organisation and with our customers.

Latest amendment to the UK Def Stan 59-411

The latest amendment to the UK's EMC Def Stan 59-411 (published by the MOD in January 2008) gives specific attention to CE marking and provides advice for manufacturers on their responsibilities.

Lightning Test Standards for Aircraft

Modern aircrafts are highly vulnerable to lightning. Since safety is of paramount importance to the aircraft, the scope, levels and duration of many of the test requirements is far higher than would be expected for ground based equipment, not withstanding the unique environment itself.

Lightning testing

Lightning testing is required for equipment supplied to the aerospace industry and military aircraft. The increasing use of composite materials in the design of the aircraft superstructure, to reduce weight, means that equipment is more vulnerable to lightning effects. As a result the test standards has evolved and become more stringent. For new build aircraft, ALL equipment supplied must meet Safety of Flight (SOF) criteria, which includes lightning, prior to being installed and then full qualification testing. 

Safety testing for the Low Voltage Directive (LVD)

The Low voltage directive (LVD) 2006/95/EC is a CE marking Directive and applies to any electrical equipment designed for use with (either as an input or output) a voltage rating of between 50 and 1000 V for alternating current (A.C.) and between 75 and 1500 V for direct current (D.C.).

Low Voltage Directive - Declaration of Conformity

This document sets out the Declaration of Conformity requirements as specified under the Low Voltage Directive (LVD), 2006/95/EC.

Low Voltage Directive - Technical File

Compilation of an LVD Technical File. It is mandatory to CE Mark products that fall within the scope of this Directive and this must be supported by the correct documentation. This is provided for by the LVD in the form of a Technical File (TF) and the Directive specifies what this file must contain:

Low Voltage Directive - Test reports

It is mandatory to CE Mark products that fall within the scope of this Directive and this must be supported by the correct documentation. This is provided, in part, by the LVD in the form of a Technical File (TF).

Safety testing - Machinery Safety Directive (MSD)

The Machinery Safety Directive (MSD) 2006/42/EC requires designers, manufacturers and operators of machinery to be aware of their responsibility in providing safe machinery into the work place.

Services for the Marine Industry

Marine equipment on the whole is covered by International conventions regulated by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). These regulations are designed to ensure that ocean going vessels and equipment that is related to safety of life at sea (SOLAS) are approved to an internationally agreed level of safety.

Market sectors

Industry testing and Certification solutions  

Mechanical Testing

During its service life or transportation a product is likely to encounter dynamic environmental conditions such as vibration, shock, bounce and in some cases seismic conditions.

Services for the Medical Device Industry

From our modern and fully equipped, UKAS accredited laboratories, TRaC deliver a complete portfolio of services for medical devices and associated equipment, including Radio, EMC, Safety and Environmental testing to national and international product standards. In addition to this, the TRaC Approvals team can provide complete project and compliance management for truly worldwide market access.

Meeting the standards for defence supply

The conditions of supply to military customers, relating to product qualification and approvals, are not well understood. The picture is often confused by multiple requirements and conflicting advice.

The MET Certification Route

Accessing the United States (US) and Canadian market, quickly and legally, is a key driver for many TRaC Clients. Proving electrical safety will satisfy the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), the main federal agency charged with the enforcement of safety and health legislation in the US, and is an essential and mandatory part of accessing these markets.

Military CE Marking - Let's Work Together

It's over 40 years since Canned Heat sang "Let's Work Together", but this simple idea still proves difficult in practice. Even the application of CE marking can be inconsistent when you apply it to challenging applications such as military equipment.

Military environments warrant separate standards?

Is the military environment sufficiently different to commercial to warrant separate standards? Keeping up to date with standards and regulations is a challenge for a test lab, yet it must be a complete nightmare for a manufacturer who dips in and out of this world when the need arises.

Millbrook - Vehicle Testing and Development

Millbrook is one of the UK's leading centres for the enhancement of every aspect of vehicle quality and their performance. With the capability to evaluate and develop vehicles for almost any usage conditions worldwide, test reliability, refinement, safety and emissions, and homologate to any world standard.

Modems / Fax machine testing

Facsimile machine is a device for sending and receiving images of documents through the PSTN whereas a modem is specifically used to transmit data across the network. These devices have evolved over the years with additional functionality being incorporate to the fax devices such as wireless, CLI and handset telephony. The functionality of the device will determine the specifications applicable to the product. See below the general specifications for the interface connectivity requirements.

Multi-body Dynamics Simulation

Analysis of mechanisms and moving bodies using ADAMS

Navigating the approvals process for RF enabled medical devices

RF technology is now being found in all manner of devices. One of the industries that's seeing an increased interest is the medical industry with radio devices being incorporated into a wide spectrum of devices from heart rate monitors and blood pressure meters to weighing scales. There is even a bed occupancy monitor!

New automotive EMC test equipment

TRaC has purchased new automotive transient test equipment. TRaC customers can now benefit from testing automotive Electronic Sub-Assemblies (ESAs), with a continuous high current rating to the latest automotive transient specification ISO7637-2:2004, complementing the existing equipment.

New Centre of Excellence for TRaC Hull

As part of the ongoing investment in enhanced facilities at TRaC, TRaC has established a new centre of excellence in Hull. A full suite of services is now available from the centre, including worldwide approvals, telecoms, wireless, EMC, safety and environmental testing and certification.

New Defence Standard 61-5 Part 6

The new Defence Standard 61-5 Part 6 has been rewritten to keep pace with new operational demands on vehicle power supply systems encountered during recent operations and sees Issue 6 issued during February 2009.

Are you ready? The new EMC Directive 2004/108/EC becomes mandatory from 20 July 2009

Rob Hillyard, EMC Engineer at TRaC looks at the implications to manufacturers of the latest EMC Directive (2004/108/EC).

New EMC General Manager for TRaC Ringwood

Steve Youngman has joined the TRaC Group to run its EMC testing laboratory in Ringwood, Hampshire. Steve brings extensive EMC experience with him, having previously worked as a  UKAS laboratory manager for a number of years.

New EMC standard!

The United States Department of Defence has introduced a new EMC standard MIL-STD-461F that supersedes MIL-STD-461E.

New immunity standard for IT equipment, but is it any good?

The EMC immunity standard for information technology equipment, CISPR 24, has recently been published. This means that it will be converted into an EU standard (EN55024) in due course and will be used to demonstrate compliance to the EMC Directive for the immunity aspects of equipment.

Shock announcement; TRaC extends environmental test services

New investment adds Drop-test Shock Machine to extensive product test facilities. TRaC has further extended its environmental test capabilities with the installation of a Lansmont 95 shock test machine.

New recruits help to increase computer simulation capability at TRaC

TRaC Warwick has added two recruits, Anna-Lise Gras and Dr Andrew Lockyer, to an already strong Finite Element and Computational Fluid Dynamics team.

TRaC one of the first to offer new VDSL2 testing following new Broadband Forum standards

TRaC - testing consultancy of choice for major telecoms operators around the world - is today (10 December 2009) set to become one of the first laboratories in the world to offer testing against new standards announced yesterday by the Broadband Forum.

North American Safety Approval

We can provide access to any North American NRTL mark including UL, but due to lower cost, the reduced number of annual factory inspections and speed of service TRaC recommends the MET Mark.

On site testing

When products are fixed installations, complex or too large to transport and test in TRaC's extensive laboratory facilities we can offer a solution and carry out some testing and assessments on site at our customers facilities.

Our partnerships

 

Physical Agents Directive - Outdoor noise

According the DIRECTIVE 2000/14/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 8 May 2000 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the noise emission in the environment by equipment for use outdoors (outdoor noise) there is a requirement that the noise levels are determined and the necessary precautions (ear defenders, operating restrictions, etc) are put into place.

PABX testing

Private Automatic Branch Exchange is a telephone exchange normally serving a business, allowing calls to be made between connected telephones without passing through the PSTN. A PBX will also allow connection to various network interfaces such as PSTN, ISDN or SIP based applications for external calls.

PDH testing

PDH networks tend to follow either the European E1, E2, E3, ... format or the North American T1, T2, T3, ... format. Typically devices making use of PDH devices need to be assessed against the relevant regulatory requirements for EMC, Radio and Safety. In some markets Telecoms Performance also has to be assessed to obtain regulatory certification.

Pipeline Analysis

Qualification of oil, gas and process pipelines and plant

Roundtable Discussion Hosted by Steve Hayes at Platform Technology for Military Vehicles 2009

The Ministry of Defence, military platform manufacturers and military technology companies, come together in roundtable to discuss and determine how best to meet the Electromagnetic Compatibility challenge:

PMR and TETRA services

Private Mobile Radio (PMR) or Land Mobile Radio (LMR) in North America is a radio communications system which uses hand held, mobile and base station radios to comuncat audio or data.  These systems are sometimes based on such standards as MPT-1327, TETRA and APCO 25 which are designed for dedicated use by specific organizations.

Privacy Policy

TRaC* has created this privacy statement to demonstrate our strong commitment to privacy. TRaC* is deeply committed to respecting and protecting your right to privacy and takes your privacy seriously. We have very strict privacy policies and we strive to keep your personal information secure. To that end, we have prepared this privacy policy to disclose and describe our information gathering and dissemination practices for this website.

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