Standards for Testing and Conformity Assessment: Electronics and Telecommunications

For new electronic product development, conformity may be the first and last thing to consider in the design process. In the beginning, engineers must choose appropriate components and design the product to meet mandatory requirements of safety and voluntary levels of quality to maintain consumer confidence. At the end of the design cycle, the final product itself must undergo testing, either through third party assessment or review and inspection by its own staff.

IHS, one of the largest holders of digital assets related to official engineering documents, can guide companies through the complex process of quality and safety assessment, no matter what type of electronic or telecommunication project, no matter where in the world the target market lies.

From environmental concerns of large-scale electrical or telecom infrastructure --including methods of equipment surveillance, testing, or auditing -- to consumer quality standards for miniature electronic devices that must pass inspection, registration, certification, or accreditation procedures, IHS experts can help engineering enterprises navigate the labyrinth of the compliance process.

At the start of project planning, when raw materials and components built by outside suppliers are procured for a new project, methods of performance and quality testing can easily be located from IHS, which serves companies with online references from the appropriate Standards Development Organization (SDO). Testing criteria can be reliably assembled from guidelines from such cooperative associations such as:

• American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM)
• Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)
• International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
• International Standards Organization (ISO)
• Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA)
• European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)

When the final product is assembled from reliable components and materials, the manufacturered item itself becomes the subject of scrutiny, whether in terms of functionality, performance, compatibility, safety, environmental effects, or durability.

IHS gives companies access to the important conformity criteria used by third-party assessment organizations, such as Underwriters Laboratory, compliance rules set by Federal agencies for markets in the U.S., or those developed by over 370 SDOs worldwide. Specification and standards documents related to assessment and testing include not only the benchmark measures of quality and safety, but also the detailed methodology of test procedures themselves. If inspection occurs in-house, engineers have all the materials they need to collect exacting and reliable test data.

When conformity and compliance are the major barriers to market, specifications and standards define the workflow of engineering from start to finish. With IHS Specs & Standards service, your company can have all up-to-date compliance criteria delivered online to each engineering workstation. Information specialists at IHS provide the expertise to find the documents needed to procure reliable materials, design to specification, and manage testing and inspection, as well as achieve final certification and approval for electronic products.

Contact a helpful IHS representative today to discuss how IHS can serve your needs.
 
Speak with an IHS Subject Matter Expert call 1-888-752-0334, outside US/Canada 303-397-2892.