Approval Specialists Forum and Blog

The following draft standards are available for you to comment on. The closing date for comment on these draft standards is 7 September 2009.

DR09914CP, AS/NZS 3820:200X  Essential safety requirements
for electrical equipment

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This Standard was prepared by the Joint Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand Committee QR-012, Conformance Marking to Regulatory Requirements to supersede AS/NZS 3820:1998 on publication. The Standard was prepared in response to a proposal from the Electrical Regulatory Authorities Coordinating Committee.

The objective of this Standard is to provide a set of outcomes-oriented criteria for the safety of electrical equipment, primarily for use by electrical regulators in relation to products for which regulatory approval before sale is not required (non-declared articles). For electrical equipment that is required to be approved by regulators before being placed on the market (declared articles), there are specific regulatory requirements additional to the general requirements given in this Standard.

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To download a free copy of DR09914CP, AS/NZS 3820:200X  Essential safety requirements
for electrical equipment, CLICK HERE

DR09915CP, AS/NZS 4417.2:200X Specific requirements for electrical safety regulatory applications

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This Standard was prepared by the Joint Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand Committee QR-012, Conformance Marking to Regulatory Requirements, to supersede AS/NZS 4417.2:2001 on publication. This Standard was prepared in response to a proposal from the Electrical Regulatory Authorities Council, the Australian Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers Association and the Consumer Electronics Suppliers Association.

The objective of this Standard is to provide the basis for a uniform Australian/New Zealand regulatory compliance marking scheme primarily for electrical products (which may be extended to other classes of products in future).

This part of the Standard deals with electrical safety regulations in Australia and New Zealand. These regulations are undergoing a transition both in the means by which compliance is demonstrated, and in terms of harmonization between Australia and New Zealand. To date in Australia, marking of products with the number of the certificate of approval or certificate of suitability has been the usual means of indicating compliance. It is understood that electrical regulators will continue to accept such marking for a period, in parallel with the use of the RCM.

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To download a free copy of DR09915CP, AS/NZS 4417.2:200X Specific requirements for electrical safety regulatory applications, CLICK HERE

DR09916CP, AS/NZS 4417.1:200X General rules for use of the mark

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This Standard was prepared by the Joint Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand Committee QR-012, Conformance Marking to Regulatory Requirements, to supersede AS/NZS 4417.1:2000 on publication. This Standard was prepared in response to a proposal from the Electrical Regulatory Authorities Council, the Australian Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers Association and the Consumer Electronics Suppliers Association.

The objective of this Standard is to provide the basis for a uniform Australian/New Zealand regulatory compliance marking scheme, primarily for electrical products (which may be extended to other classes of products in future).

Specifies the requirements for the use of a trademark, called the Regulatory Compliance Mark (RCM), on electrical and electronic products to indicate compliance with regulations applicable to aspects of the product as covered in other parts of this Standard.

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To download a free copy of DR09916CP, AS/NZS 4417.1:200X General rules for use of the mark, CLICK HERE

DR09917CP, AS/NZS 4417.3:200X Specific requirements for electromagnetic compatibility regulatory applications

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This Standard was prepared by the Joint Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand Committee QR-012, Conformance Marking to Regulatory Requirements, to supersede AS/NZS 4417.3:1996 on publication.

The objective of this Standard is to provide the basis for a uniform Australian/New Zealand regulatory compliance marking scheme primarily for electrical products (which may be extended to other classes of products in future).

This part of the Standard deals with electromagnetic compatibility regulatory requirements in Australia and New Zealand. The requirements are now fully harmonized.

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To download a free copy of DR09917CP, AS/NZS 4417.3:200X Specific requirements for electromagnetic compatibility regulatory applications, CLICK HERE

DR09918CP, AS/NZS 4417.4:200X Specific requirements for radio apparatus regulatory applications

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This Standard was prepared by the Joint Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand Committee QR-012, Conformance Marking to Regulatory Requirements, to supersede AS/NZS 4417.4:1999 on publication. This Standard was prepared in response to a proposal from the Electrical Regulatory Authorities Council, the Australian Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers Association and the Consumer Electronics Suppliers Association. This Standard, Part 4 of the series, was prepared following discussions between industry groups represented on Committee QR-012, the Australian Communications and Media Authority and the New Zealand Ministry of Commerce.

The objective of this Standard is to provide the basis for a uniform Australian/New Zealand regulatory compliance marking scheme primarily for electrical products (which may be extended to other classes of product in future). This Part of the Standard deals with the use of the Regulatory Compliance Mark to indicate that a piece of radio apparatus complies with the relevant radio apparatus regulations in Australia and New Zealand.

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To download a free copy of DR09918CP, AS/NZS 4417.4:200X Specific requirements for radio apparatus regulatory applications, CLICK HERE   

As of 20 July 2009, EMC Directive 2004/108/EC will be in force, replacing EMC Directive 89/336/EEC.   

For products marketed in the European Union (EU) after 20 July 2009, all the applicable technical documentation and Declaration of Conformity (DoC) should be updated to include this new directive.

We will provide further analysis of the new directive in a separate post.

On June 30 the CEO of Standards Australia, John Tucker, sent out an email talking about the global financial crisis blah blah, and how bad things were.   Well they seem particularly bad at Standards Australia to the point where they are having trouble adhering to their raison d’etre.  The progress of standards making has ground to a snails pace and the safety standard for IT and Telecomms equipment, AS/NZS60950 is a prime example.  More about 60950 later.

The lack of income for Standards Australia and therefore long term viability for Standards making in this country shouldn’t be any surprise.  SA used to receive income from selling the standards that volunteers put together (hard not to make money right ??), then back in 2003 they carved off the money making side into a company called SAI Global.   

Standards Australia were given a “corpus of funds”, aka a wad of cash, the idea being to invest it wisely and make standards from the interest received on their investments.  SA also entered into an agreement they would later regret, that made SAI Global the exclusive publisher of Australian Standards.

Evidence of regret….

http://www.standards.org.au/downloads/090623_Final_Arbitrator_clarifies_effect_of_publishing_agreement.pdf”>

Cue the global financial crisis and while I have no idea where SA put their money, it obviously wasn’t in BHP or Rio Tinto shares, as they appear to have lost a truckload of cash.  So much so that they’ve made project managers redundant and put the brakes on the progress of many standards, including the long awaited revision of AS/NZS60950 (based on IEC60950).

IEC60950 2nd edition was published in 2005 and here we are mid 2009, 4 years and counting,  awaiting the AU/NZ version.  According to Adrian O’Connell *, the General Manager Operations of Standards Australia, Project 6053 Amdt 2 to AS/NZS 60950:2000 Safety of information technology equipment “…will be placed on hold pending the availability of resources or a change in development pathways. While Standards Australia will do its best to complete this project/s prior to the closure of the Standards Australia funded pathway on 30 June 2010, it is possible that resources may not become available for us to do so. Any current project not completed by 30 June 2010 will only proceed on a funded basis.”

This has interesting implications for the ACMA, the electrical regulators and other bodies that reference AS/NZS60950 as evidence of compliance.  IEC60950 2nd edition 2005 is being tested to by hundreds of product manufacturers and for the forseeable future they will need to produce 2 totally different versions of the standard, the 1st edition covering AU/NZ requirements and the 2nd edition to satisfy EU. 

Interested to receive comments from any observers out there as to how this will play out and what future, if any, lies in store…will Standards Australia be making Standards in Australia ?

Martin.

 

The responsible authority, KATS (Korean Agency for Technology & Standards) previously revised regulations for Quality Management & Safety Control of Industrial Products to include safety requirements for such lithium cells and batteries from 1 January 2009. Mndatory certification is intended to reduce the risk of explosion and fires caused by batteries to consumers.

• Primary and Secondary batteries covered include Portable lithium secondary cells with power densities greater than 400Wh/h
• Batteries made from portable lithium secondary cells (Ex. battery for MP3, electronic dictionary, PMP, laptop, Digital camera)
• Portable lithium secondary cell and battery pack with navigation function irrespective of power density

Exclusions cover car batteries, industrial, medical, and button type.   Contact us about fast and low cost battery testing in our Korean partner lab.

Effective July 15, the US Administrative Council for Terminal Attachments (ACTA) increased its fee for processing Telephone Terminal Equipment (TTE) for inclusion to the Part 68 database to USD$525.00 per submission.  

This fee is in addition to the fee charged by the TCB (Telecommunications Certification Body).  TCBs issue registration numbers for equipment meeting requirements for 47 CFR Part 68 – Telephone Terminal Equipment (TTE) based on Austest reports to TIA-968.  Austest provides a 1 stop service for FCC testing for both telecommunications and FCC subpart 15B and 15C and submission to our preferred US TCB in order to obtain both ACTA listing for USA and Industry Canada listing.

Following from the recent successful transition of Austest Melbourne’s ISO 17025 accreditation from NATA to A2LA, Austest Sydney has achieved A2LA (the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation) accreditation for a wide range of safety, EMC, telecommunications, and safety energy standards.  

A2LA is a signatory to several multilateral mutual recognition arrangements including the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), the Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC), and the InterAmerican Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC).  A2LA and NATA (National Association of Testing Authorities) are both signatories to the ILAC and APLAC MRA’s, and thus, the acceptance of testing and calibration results from each organization are mutually recognized by each party. These agreements facilitate the acceptance of test reports between A2LA-accredited laboratories and 46 economies around the globe, including Australian and New Zealand safety regulators and the ACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority).

“In order to continue the rapid growth of our testing business and to provide our customers with accredited reports accepted throughout the world, A2LA was an obvious accreditation partner for us and have demonstrated a high degree of professionalism, coupled with a willingness and flexibility of approach that has been truly refreshing and supportive”, said Martin Garwood, Managing Director of Austest Laboratories.

As of June 30, 2009, A2LA had accredited a total of 2,051 organizations in a wide range of fields, including testing and calibration laboratories, product certification bodies, inspection bodies, medical laboratories, reference material producers, and proficiency testing providers.  Austest Sydney is now pleased to be added to the list of A2LA accreditations as an Electrical Testing Laboratory.

Welcome to the product compliance blog for the Approval Specialists Group inc Austest and Harvest Labs.  This site aims to provide a rapid Q & A for product compliance issues concerning manufacturers, importers and exporters and will over time expand to cover a wide range of countries and their unique approvals requirements.  

There doesn’t seem to be too many avenues for product compliance engineers to discuss testing and approval issues, or for us to bang the drum about issues that get up our nostrils.     Here you can add your 2c worth about product approval issues that concern you.  You will most probably find that other people have the same questions and you’re not alone.

Enjoy,

Martin.