Feature Articles

30 October 2004
Battery Inspection, Monitoring and Testing Services by Intertek
Batteries International - Mike Whitehead describes the different types of work undertaken by Intertek's Battery Technology Group.

01 December 2002
All set for Lift-off : ETL SEMKO tests £multi-million Micro-satellite
Update - Each year, natural and man-made disasters around the world cause devastation, loss of life, widespread human suffering and huge economic losses. Now, an international project, proposed and led by an ETL SEMKO customer, is about to change that...

01 December 2002
Going Large
Environmental Engineering, William Kimberley - ETL SEMKO is determined to be one of the most powerful forces in the testing world and is consistently updating its facilities...

01 December 2002
Wolfhart Hauser joins ETL SEMKO
Update - Esteemed expert brings 22 years of conformity assessment leadership...

01 December 2002
Electrical Safety in the US
Approval, William T Fisk - Electrical safety in the USA depends on an interplay of different organisations with laws, regulations, codes, standards and recommended practices...

01 November 2002
Not the new kids on the block….
HazardEx, Geoff Oliver - The test and certification market perceives Notified Body ETL SEMKO, a division of Intertek Testing Services plc, as comparative newcomers to the world of intrinsic safety...

01 October 2002
Tougher medical immunity
Approval, Don Sherratt - A new version of the EMC standard for medical devices was recently introduced in the EU, with much tougher and more wide-reaching immunity requirements. This is likely to have a significant impact on the design and development of this type of product.

01 October 2002
Enclosures in the Torture Chamber
Electrical Review - Electrical Review visited the ETL SEMKO division of Intertek Testing Services with enclosure manufacturer Cooper Crouse-Hinds to find out what’s involved in establishing an enclosure’s strengths – and its weaknesses...

01 August 2002
The Road to the EU Markets made simple : ETL SEMKO Lights the way to the European Market for all Gas Equipment Manufacturers
Update, Chris Davey - ETL SEMKO has developed a customer-orientated infrastructure throughout its European, Asian and North American laboratory network that provides local CE marking services to gas appliance manufacturers...

01 May 2002
Calling a HALT to Warranty Costs : Where does it fit in the Development Process
Engineering Technology, Clive Patten - To be competitive in today’s marketplace, manufacturers not only need to get the right products to market at the right price - and in record time - but also at the highest level of quality. Failure to achieve any of these elements can have a dramatic impact upon the company’s profits, but particularly on quality where the cost of warranty repairs and replacements can be particularly high...

01 May 2002
Software Evaluation - Are we avoiding it?
Engineering Technology, Clive Patten - Maybe it is time to look more closely at how we should test software...

01 May 2002
A Catalyst for Innovation?
HazardEx, Geoff Oliver - There is little doubt that the door is now open for manufacturers to introduce innovations, which move outside established explosion safety standards, and this is where the ATEX Directive could have its greatest impact writes Geoff Oliver, Certification Manager at ITS ETL SEMKO, UK...

01 May 2002
Improving shielding effectiveness
Approval, Jon Bearpark - Measuring transfer impedance gives a good indication of shielding effectiveness, and techniques have been developed to focus on the weak points of an enclosure - the seams. Testing different enclosure types allows the effectiveness of various gasket types to be evaluated...

01 April 2002
Medical Devices Safety Update
Approval, Geoff Hines/Tony Cuthbert - The following article, whilst clarifying some of the issues relating to the 2nd edition of EN60601-1, also highlights significant changes that have been introduced into the 3rd Edition 2nd Committee draft of IEC60601...

01 March 2002
Software Evaluation adds value to products
Update, Clive Patten - Ultimately, the better the software verification programme, the lower the risk of field failures and the higher the quality of the product. With the potential for such an impact on a company’s reputation and financial bottom line, there really is no need for a crystal ball to predict that software verification will be considered as vital a part of the product approval process as safety and EMC testing...

01 January 2002
Software Verification : Should we be testing software?
Approval, Clive Patten - In reality, software could pose the greatest safety and reliability risk. Now that we have so many everyday products with embedded software in them - from microwave ovens to washing machines and probably every piece of medical equipment - maybe it is time to look more closely at how we should test software...

01 January 2002
The Need for Software Verification
Approval, Clive Patten - Testing product hardware for safety and reliability is an everyday activity. But could software pose a greater risk? With so many products relying on embedded software, it could be time to consider how we verify software functions...

01 December 2001
Signs of Healthy Batteries
BSEE, Mike Whitehead - Mike Whitehead gives advice to people who are responsible for the reliable operation of sealed lead-acid stationary batteries for providing emergency power.

01 December 2001
The Pitfalls of Testing Accessories
Approval, Nick Jones - Nick Jones at Intertek Testing Services (ITS) ETL SEMKO highlights the typical pitfalls manufacturers encounter when common electrical accessories are subjected to safety type testing...

12 November 2001
Just Gassing
Trading Standards Today, Chris Davey - Unapproved and second-hand gas products could pose a significant hazard to the consumer...

01 November 2001
Product Testing & Certification for the Global Market
Engineering Technology, Tony Cuthbert - In order to function as an efficient, effective and reputable testing laboratory a considerable investment has to be made in the test facility, its equipment and staff...

01 October 2001
Notes from a Batteryman's Casebook : Avoiding the Pitfalls
Batteries International, Mike Whitehead - For independent battery specialists, the investigation of batteries and battery installations suffering a premature loss of performance or sudden failure has been one of their mainstream activities over many years, and still remains so today...

01 October 2001
Machinery Directive Update
Approval, Geoff Oliver - It is not uncommon for a body notified under a number of European directives to hear many comments about CE marking. Perhaps the most frequent of these is a general comment that, as far as the Machinery Directive is concerned, very few European member states are policing the application of this directive very closely...

01 September 2001
Poor Enforcement Perception
Approval, Geoff Oliver - The perception that the Machinery Directive is not enforced has resulted in patchy implementation of the Directive by some companies. But compliance is as much about product quality and reliability as it is about meeting regulations...

01 July 2001
NEBS Testing for US Telecoms
Approval, Clifford Jones - ETL SEMKO USA - Maintaining reliability throughout the United States' telecommunications network has come a long way from the days of electro-mechanical switching systems...

01 June 2001
Stay Within the Law - with design techniques for safety
Approval, Geoff Hines - As with all safety electrical standards there is a common theme or philosophy that is embodied within IEC/EN61010-1 and IEC/EN60950. Not only, as the title suggests, all the safety aspects of products that fall within their respective scopes, but also...

01 June 2001
Environmental Testing v Company Profitability
Electronic Manufacturing International, Clive Patten - Have you looked at your Warranty costs lately...?

01 March 2001
Exploding Machine Concerns - extended scope of ATEX Directive
Approval, Geoff Oliver - When the 'new approach' ATEX Directive (94/9/EC) was first introduced in 1998 it was received by manufacturers with a mixture of resistance and concern about its scope. Many manufacturers argued that the system under the 'old approach' explosive atmospheres directive was ...

01 February 2001
Environmental Testing - how quality can make a profit
Approval, Clive Patten - Warranty claims, repairs and returns can amount to 4% of a company's turnover. It seems only sensible to reduce these costs as far as possible, and life testing could be one solution. However, as Clive Patten of ETL SEMKO explains, testing a product to destruction may not be the best approach...

01 October 2000
Noise Pollution Clamp-down : 'No man is an island...' John Donne (1571-1631)
Approval, Jeff Hollings - Pollution, in its broadest sense, continues to be a subject much talked about at all levels, be it local concerns over the interaction of industry and population or at an international level between neighbouring countries.