We live in a world in which electronic devices help enable the conveniences of everyday life – Lights, TVs, cell phones, household appliances, computers, just name a few; naturally, electrical and electronics product safety has become a priority concern. In striving for greater consumer safety, mandatory technical standards and compliance requirements have been developed at both the national and international level.
EMC issues have been around since the early days of telegraphy, and rules preventing radio interference and equipment malfunction quickly became necessary. The result has been a succession of EMC standards and regulatory procedures worldwide.
For manufacturers, compliance to national and international product safety standards and EMC requirements has become the key differentiating factor for products to be sold successfully in target markets.
VSCB GMA specialists can guide you through country-by-country safety and EMC requirements while tailoring a global regulatory strategy, leveraging CB certificates & reports and EU CE marking certification in combination with our local testing resources to get your product certified in target markets.
Countries where we most frequently help customers include (but not limited to):
· USA: NRTL certification for safety, FCC for EMC
· Canada: NRTL certification for safety, ISED for EMC
· EU countries: CE marking to cover applicable directives, including safety Low Voltage Directive and EMC Directive
· China: CCC certification, including both safety and EMC evaluations
· Japan: PSE diamond and circle certification; voluntary VCCI EMC certification
· S. Korea: KC safety certification and EMC registration
· Brazil: INMETRO certification, including both safety and EMC evaluations
· Taiwan: BSMI certification, including both safety and EMC evaluations
· Singapore: CPS CoC & LOA
· Australia/New Zealand: RCM (safety, EMC, EME, and Telecommunications)
· India: BIS safety certification
· Malaysia: SIRIM ST COA
· Indonesia: SNI certification
· Vietnam: TCVN safety DoC and EMC DoC
· CIS countries: EAC CoC & DoC, including both safety and EMC evaluations
(Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan)
· Ukraine: UkrSEPRO including Safety and EMC
· Serbia: KVALITET R&TTE CoC (safety, EMC, RF)
· Argentina: IRAM S-mark
· Brazil: INMETRO certification for safety and EMC
· Chile: SEC for safety and EE
· Colombia: SIC safety RETIE, RETILAP, RETIQ
· Mexico: NOM certification for safety and EMC
· Israel: SII and MOE, for safety and EMC
· Saudi: SALEEM CoC and SASO IECEE RC for safety certification
· Kuwait: KUCAS TER & TIR for safety
· UAE: ECAS CoC
· Nigeria: SONCAP CoC for safety
· S. Africa: LOA for safety, SABS for EMC
Product safety and EMC certifications in North America and EU countries
In North America, manufacturers must depend on an independent third-party organization to provide safety certification for their electrical apparatus and components.
USA:
For Safety, a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) is recognized by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and functions to provide independent evaluation, testing, and certification of any electrically-operated or gas- and oil-fired product based on product safety standards developed by U.S. consensus standards organizations such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and Underwriters Laboratories (UL).
OSHA laws and regulations can be found here:
https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs
Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories by OSHA can be found here:
https://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/nrtllist.html
For EMC, The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) establishes the compliance regulations for radios, digital devices, and other unintentional radiators. It does not regulate immunity, except in a few special cases. Typical emissions standards are found in Parts 15 (RF devices) and 18 (ISM equipment). Some applications of digital devices are exempted from the FCC’s technical standards, as is the case with test equipment, transportation vehicles, appliances, utilities or industrial plants.
https://www.fcc.gov/general/equipment-authorization-measurement-procedures
Canada:
For safety, the electrical apparatus covered by the Canadian Electrical Code shall be certified to SCC recognized product safety standards. SCC’s mandate is to coordinate and oversee the efforts of Canada's national standardization network, which includes organizations and individuals involved in voluntary standards development, promotion, and implementation in Canada.
SCC’s Accreditation Services branch accredits conformity assessment bodies, such as testing laboratories and product certification bodies, to internationally recognized standards. Conformity assessment is the practice of determining whether a product, service, or system meets the requirements of a particular standard.
SCC regulations and standards can be found here:
https://www.scc.ca/en/standards
Certification bodies accredited by SCC:
https://www.scc.ca/en/accreditation
For EMC, the regulation of EMC in Canada is similar to that in the US. Industry Canada (formerly IC, now ISED) establishes the compliance regulations for radios, digital devices, and other unintentional radiators. Typical emissions standards are ICES-003 (ITE) and ICES-001 (ISM equipment). Some applications of digital devices are exempted from IC technical standards, in a manner similar to that of the FCC.
https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/ceb-bhst.nsf/eng/h_tt00012.html
Europe CE marking – broad certification scope for safety, EMC, radio, etc.
CE marking is a compulsory requirement and “passport” for manufacturers bringing their products into the European Economic Area (EEA).
Manufacturers play a crucial role in ensuring that products placed on the European Economic Area (EEA) are safe. It is the manufacturer’s responsibility to identify applicable directives (based on product group), carry out conformity assessment, set up the technical file, issue the EU declaration of conformity, and affix the CE marking to their product. Only then can this product be traded on the EEA market.
If you are a manufacturer, you must follow these 6 steps to affix a CE marking to your product:
1. Identify the applicable directive(s) and harmonised standards
2. Verify product specific requirements
3. Identify whether an independent conformity assessment (by a notified body) is necessary
4. Test the product and check its conformity
5. Draw up and keep available the required technical documentation
6. Affix the CE marking and draw up the EU Declaration of Conformity (27 KB).
These 6 steps may differ by product as the conformity assessment procedure varies. Manufacturers must not affix the CE marking to products that don’t fall under the scope of one of the directives providing for its use.
For products that present higher safety risks such as gas boilers, safety cannot be checked by the manufacturer alone. In these cases, an independent organisation, specifically a notified body appointed by national authorities, has to perform the safety check. The manufacturer may affix the CE marking to the product only once this has been done.
CB scheme as a base for International Certification (product safety)
The CB Scheme is an international program created by the International Electrotechnical Commission for Electrical Equipment (IECEE) for the mutual acceptance of product safety test results based on internationally-accepted product safety standards. The CB Scheme relies on a global network of CB testing laboratories (CBTLs), who are responsible for testing products to applicable technical standards. Product test results are then submitted to national certification bodies (NCBs) in CB Scheme member countries, who can authorise legal access to CBTL-tested products without additional testing.
Currently there are more than 50 CB Scheme member countries around the world, including European Union (EU) Member States, the U.S., China, India, Korea, Russia, etc. They are representatives of the national electrotechnology communities. There is only one MB per country. They comprise a wide representation from industry, electrical regulatory authorities and standards bodies, as well as conformity assessment interests.
Manufacturers using the CB Scheme can potentially gain access to every CB Scheme member country without the need for expensive, duplicate testing.
Countries participating in the CB Scheme can be found here:
https://www.iecee.org/members/overview/