Blog
CPCA Discusses Intro of a National Certification Mark for Canadian Product Safety
The Fall General Meeting for the Canadian Process Control Association was held yesterday at Terrace on the Green in Brampton, Ontario. One of the key topics was the forecast for the association. The focus was on Process, Instrumentation, and Automation equipment. The projection for US growth for 2012 is $6.61 Billion. That is a 2.4... Read More
PSES Symposium Reviews Smart Grid Equipment Safety Issues
Today is the second day of the Product Safety Engineering Society’s (PSES) 3-day IEEE Symposium on Product Compliance Engineering in Boston, Massachusetts. In attendance and taking notes is Rick Cooper, MET Laboratories’ Director of Laboratory Operations, Safety Laboratory. “Safety Considerations for Smart Grid Technology Equipment” was presented today by Don Geis of Alcatel-Lucent. Here are his... Read More
PSES Symposium Features Talks on Product Safety Recalls, Automotive EMI
Today is the first day of the Product Safety Engineering Society’s (PSES) 3-day IEEE Symposium on Product Compliance Engineering in Boston, Massachusetts. In attendance is Rick Cooper, MET Laboratories’ Director of Laboratory Operations, Safety Laboratory. Following are his summaries of the day’s two presentations. CPSC Keynote The keynote address was “Check, Double Check, and Don’t... Read More
TIA Outlines Testing & Certification Barriers in China, Mexico & Brazil
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) recently wrote a letter to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to comment on the 2011 National Trade Estimate (NTE) on Foreign Trade Barriers report. The letter focused mostly on testing and certification barriers in three countries: China, Mexico, and Brazil. Following are highlights of the letter. China The... Read More
ENERGY STAR Meeting Closes With Specification Updates
Yesterday was the last day of the ENERGY STAR Partner Meeting in Denver, CO. On the agenda was an overview of planned and pending specification updates for ENERGY STAR qualified appliances, including clothes washers, dishwashers, room air conditioners, and refrigerators-freezers. Also covered was the ambitious Super Efficient Dryer Initiative. Clothes Washers Revised criteria takes effect... Read More
ENERGY STAR Meeting Provides Electronics Product Update
With the completion of the lighting track at the ENERGY STAR Partner Meeting in Denver, CO, the attention turned yesterday to appliances and electronics. Here is a summary of the Electronics Product Update, provided by Katherine Kaplan of the Environmental Protection Agency. Consumer electronics and IT equipment now accounts for over 30% of energy savings... Read More
Chuck Graff Drops Bombshell on First Day of NEBS Conference
NEBS Guru Chuck Graff dropped a bombshell today, the first day of the 16th annual Verizon NEBS Conference in Scottsdale, AZ. He announced his retirement. All the other presentations about the broadband and wireless network, smart grid, ATT’s overview, energy efficiency, and even the presentation on evaluating product change paled in comparison. Chuck’s official title... Read More
ENERGY STAR Partner Meeting Reviews New Testing Requirements
Yesterday was the first day of the 2010 ENERGY STAR Partner Meeting in Denver, Colorado. Following are some notes that we took during the day’s sessions: Inaugural Event This is the first time the Partner Meeting has combined appliances, electronics & lighting in one event. There are over 400 registered attendees, a record. Here are... Read More
Manufacturers to Improve Appliance Efficiency, in Exchange for Concessions
In a surprise move, an appliance manufacturers group has teamed with energy efficiency and environmental groups to push for significantly beefed-up efficiency standards for refrigerators, freezers, washers, dryers, air conditioners and dishwashers. Here’s why: Efficiency upgrades are bundled with: The hope for a 3-year extension of the manufacturers’ tax credit A petition this month to... Read More
First Blood Diamonds. Now Blood Electronics?
To product safety and electromagnetic compatibility compliance, add another regulatory hurdle for electronics manufacturers. To assure “conflict minerals” are not imported from the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring conflict areas, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registered companies will have to start documenting the source and purpose of Congo-related raw materials. The affected minerals include:... Read More
