Cranage EMC and Safety Services

The US and Canadian markets for electrical and electronic products are conditioned to accepting product approval marks and safety certification from a Nationally Recognised Testing Laboratory (NRTL). These labs are also recognised by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) to provide evaluation, testing and certification of products.

Working with our Irish subsidiary company, Cranage Veritas, we can offer an NRTL certification service in conjunction with Metlabs. We are also authorised to perform factory inspections, which are required for your NRTL certification and approval. In preparation for exporting to North America or Canada, you will need to have a UKAS accredited test report with the appropriate country specific deviations. Cranage EMC and Safety can offer UKAS accredited testing (no. 1833) for a wide range of products, either in our laboratories or at your premises, and this is then used to create a Metlabs specific report ready for submission and review.

Acting under the authority of Metlabs, our NRTL Certification Agent will conduct an initial factory review, which includes a quality programme assessment and a review of the build process of a product. This is conducted after product safety testing to allow for any changes that may need to be made to the manufacturing procedures and processes. Our services also include the required six monthly factory inspections to ensure standards are maintained. This is a mandatory requirement that will allow you to maintain your licence with Metlabs.

Existing product approval arrangements can be easily transferred subject to passing a technical review. Products previously tested by Cranage and certified for use in North America include various items, such as scientific instruments, professional audio equipment, vacuum cleaners, commercial laundry equipment, bottle labelling machines, electric hair straighteners and various types of medical equipment.

If you are looking to import a product into the UK from America, we can assess the components to ensure they are compliant with UK regulations. Our service also includes advice on construction and regulatory requirements in order to sell your product to the UK market. Product documentation will be reviewed to ensure it is in accordance with UK requirements.

EMC is not a legal requirement for products sold on the US market. Radio-frequency emissions are regulated by the FCC but their standards and equipment authorisations do not comply with European or British regulations. Our compliance engineering team can advise on gaps or shorfalls and recommend appropriate action to meet EMC requirements.

A UKAS accredited report under the ILAC MRA agreement, provides test data from a test lab that has been assessed by an independent accreditation body. This serves as recognition in meeting international standards of competence. An accredited ILAC report is a globally recognised system, promoting free trade and reducing worldwide technical barriers. Cranage EMC and Safety is a signatory of the ILAC MRA scheme, meaning we can assist you in getting certification for global markets.

Through our wholly owned Irish subsidiary, Cranage Veritas, our Local Technical Representative Engineer (LTR) can provide CB product testing at the client premises throughout Ireland and the UK. CB testing is an International system allowing for the recognition of test results and certificates for electrical and electronic components. More than 50 countries take part in the scheme throughout the world, including Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Japan. The skills and experience of the LTR have been assessed by the National Certifying Body and accepted into their process for providing on site CB testing , this process follows the strict rules and guidance of the IECEE.

The UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking indicates a product conforms with the applicable requirements for selling within Great Britain and applies to most goods previously subject to CE marking.

Following the UK's exit from the EU, Cranage EMC and Safety is now a UK Approved Body (no. 2583). Our wholly owned Irish subsidiary, Cranage Veritas, is a Notified Body (no.2839) against the 2014/30/EU EMC Directive. This means they have been designated by the EU to assess products for conformity and can assist with the CE marking process.

Together with Cranage Veritas, we can assist you with a complete service from design conception, to pre-compliance and full product evaluation, including ensuring documentation and the Technical File is in compliance with the regulations for the appropriate country.

It is a Manufacturer's obligation to create a Declaration of Conformity (DoC) after testing, which forms part of the Technical File, and our engineers can offer advice and support on the content of these for both the UKCA and CE mark.

We understand the time and cost involved with creating a product that is safe for its intended use and compliant with the necessary regulations. Cranage EMC and Safety offers pre-compliance testing to help identify any potential issues, helping you to save time and money before full compliance testing.

The benefits of using our pre-compliance testing are:

• Test data can highlight areas of failure early on, allowing potential issues to be fixed

• Lowers long term testing and design costs

• Potentially reduce the time involved to get your product to the market

• We have a variety of EMC solutions available on site, to assist with problem solving

• Access to experienced and knowledgeable engineers, who will also be the same engineers that will conduct full compliance

• Compliance standards, test facilities and equipment are still used throughout this process

If your equipment is large or in-situ we can offer testing at your premises.

In-situ EMC tests and measurements are usually undertaken in support of a Technical Construction File (TCF) for the equipment that is being tested.

Although it would not be feasible to perform tests in full accordance with the relevant technical standards, the testing methodology and procedures used by Cranage EMC have been assessed and approved for product certification. Testing will be performed to simulate actual operating conditions. It may be necessary to assess more than one mode of operation to maximise emissions or determine worst case susceptibility.

Cranage EMC can offer the following testing at your premises:

1) Conducted Emissions covering:

BS EN / IEC 61000-6-3: 2007 +A1: 2011

BS EN / IEC 61000-6-4: 2007 +A1: 2011

BS EN 55011: 2009 +A1: 2010

Frequency range: 9kHz to 30MHz

2) Radiated Electric Field Emissions covering:

BS EN / IEC 61000-6-3: 2007 +A1: 2011

BS EN / IEC 61000-6-4: 2007 +A1: 2011

BS EN 55011: 2009 +A1: 2010

Frequency range: 30MHz to 1000MHz

3) Conducted Susceptibility covering:

BS EN / IEC 61000-6-1: 2007

BS EN / IEC 61000-6-2: 2005

BS EN / IEC 61326-1: 2013

Frequency range: 150kHz to 400MHz

Test level: up to 10V rms (96dBµA)

4) Immunity to Electrical Fast Transient Bursts on Power Lines, Control, Signal and Earth Cables covering:

BS EN / IEC 61000-6-1: 2007

BS EN / IEC 61000-6-2: 2005

BS EN / IEC 61326-1: 2013

Test level: up to ± 4kV

5) Immunity to Electrostatic Discharge covering:

BS EN / IEC 61000-6-1: 2007

BS EN / IEC 61000-6-2: 2005

BS EN / IEC 61326-1: 2013

Test level: ± 15 air discharge on user accessible non-conductive areas ± 8 contact discharge on user accessible conductive areas

6) Radiated Electric Field Immunity covering:

BS EN / IEC 61000-6-1: 2007

BS EN / IEC 61000-6-2: 2005

BS EN / IEC 61326-1: 2013

Frequency range: spot frequencies are applied

Test level: up to 10V/m

We are also able to perform testing to the below standards:

BS EN / IEC 61000-3-2: 2014 Harmonic currents up to 16A per phase

BS EN / IEC 61000-3-12: 2011 Harmonic currents up to 75A per phase

BS EN / IEC 61000-3-3: 2013 Voltage fluctuations and flicker up to 16A per phase

BS EN / IEC 61000-3-11: 2000 Voltage fluctuations and flicker up to 75A per phase

Prior to testing, some thought should be given to creating a test plan, which should contain or reference the following:

-Electrical and mechanical details of the equipment under test (EUT)

-Specific EMC standards to be used or procedures to be followed

-List of tests, severities and durations which relate to the EUT taking into account response times or operating modes

-Performance evaluation specifications

-Special test equipment required to operate or simulate EUT performance, eg. load banks, power supplies, measuring or control equipment, telecommunication services, etc.

-Reporting requirements for assessing performance or acceptance tests

-Method of reporting errors, measurement deviations or performance failures during testing

-A test programme showing anticipated timescales

-Details of support, eg. site electrician/operative to maintain or restore functionality, spares in the event of damage, etc.

-Details of external cables, eg. shielded/unshielded, purpose, utilisation, achievable lengths, etc.

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OUR SERVICES

Certification against North American and Canadian Standards

Importing to the UK from the USA

Global market requirements

UKCA and CE marking

Pre-compliance testing for product development

On-site (in-situ) EMC Testing

Economic Operator Registered for Customs Clearance

CRANAGE EMC AND SAFETY