We require an on-site audit of the lab. 3rd party accreditation bodies aren't perfect. I've found cases where the documentation was in good shape, indicating that the assessor understood ISO/IEC 17025, but the test setups were wrong, indicating that either the assessor didn't understand the EMC standards or the lab went back to the way they were used to doing the test after the assessor left. I have a checklist of common areas of concern in the lab that I use. I can take a 5 minute walk-through and generate enough check-marks to keep me busy at the computer for an hour or two writing the report. Know the standards that apply to your product. Know them in detail. You'll be amazed at what you find in the labs.
Ghery S. Pettit -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Gartman, W. Richard Sent: Friday, August 30, 2013 11:43 AM To: [email protected] Subject: 3rd party labs due-diligence PSES network, I am looking at do due-diligence assessment of 3rd party labs that we use for EMC, Wireless, and product safety testing. There are the standard lab certifications: IEC17025, A4LA, NVLAP, IECEE CB Scheme, etc. I get many 3rd party reports from labs, that have the proper certification and reference standards in them. What I am looking for is, what beyond these certifications do you look for in a lab to consider it acceptable? Check list, on site/facility reviews? Do you do the due-diligence assessment or is it "paper exercise". At what point do you feel sufficient due diligence has been done (acceptable risk tolerance level)? Any comments or perspective are welcome. Thank you. W. Richard Gartman, MS, CSP Product Stewardship Manager Texas Instruments, Education Technology Office: 214-567-7927 Email: [email protected] www.education.ti.com/us/productstewardship www.ti.com/ccr - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> David Heald: <[email protected]> - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> David Heald: <[email protected]>
