Electrical Testing

To place vehicle components on the market anywhere in the world they are normally tested and approved by an appropriate authority. Most countries insist on proof of compliance with national or international standards, regulations or directives covering safety and/or environmental performance. Working with BSI, obtaining the proof you need may be quicker and simpler than you imagined.

The requirements – Approval for the UK and Europe involves testing samples of the product and assessing the manufacturer’s quality system to ensure that ongoing production meets the appropriate requirements such as ECE Regulations or EU Directives.

Where experience counts – BSI has established an unrivalled reputation and experience in the testing of vehicle components for over 30 years. Being independent of government, manufacturers and trade associations means a BSI Test Report is completely impartial and total confidentiality is guaranteed – an important consideration in the competitive field of vehicle component manufacture.

A “one-stop” shop – Manufacturers wishing to market vehicle lighting, reflectors or mirrors within Europe can take advantage of the streamlined approvals service operated by BSI with the UK Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA). BSI deals direct with the manufacturer throughout the process, with the VCA issuing an internationally accepted certificate. This quick turn-round service can be extended to include type approval for other markets such as the USA, through the Automotive Manufacturers Equipment Compliance Agency (AMECA). In an industry where time is of the essence, BSI offers you a fast route to success.

Services Provided:

VCA approval of Exterior Lighting 
VCA approval of Exterior Rear View Mirrors 
VCA approval of Retroreflective Devices 
VCA approval of Electrical/Electronic components for EMC Directive 95/54 
VCA approval of Vehicle Glass Products

Society of Automotive Engineers and Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards approval for components for US market

BSI provides a flexible service for product testing and can give valuable assistance with pre-production assessments and new product development. BSI engineers have years of experience in liaising with regulatory authorities, whilst at the same time working closely with industry on a commercial basis.  

Since 1979, BSI has supported the global Medical Device Industry through the provision of a comprehensive range of testing and certification services. BSI’s medical and laboratory devices testing specialises in safety and essential performance testing. Test programmes can be tailored to selected specifications and sub-clauses to meet the individual needs of clients

The extensive range of testing services provided covers active and non-active devices. Types of testing includes Electrical safety testing.

BSI’s partnership approach offers manufacturers and importers the opportunity to discuss all applicable standards, directives for CE marking and product certification Kitemark with our in-house experts relating to the safety requirements for medical and laboratory devices.

BSI test reports and certificates are recognised globally as independent proof of compliance with standards and other specifications thereby meeting local regulatory requirements. Test results may form part of your Technical File required for CE marking. 510k reviews enable products to be exported to the USA.

BSI can assist manufacturers through the research and development phase of their products. Our fully equipped test laboratories can be utilised for development or full compliance testing to suit your needs.

We can take your products to their operating limits to see how they will perform once exposed to real life functional extremes.

BSI  provides comprehensive independent environmental testing services to industry, individually tailoring client’s environmental requirements to assist product development and verification programmes. BSI can perform confidence testing or full qualification approval on manufactured products ranging from single components to full systems. This testing supplies results that will provide your product with the competitive edge.

Typical environmental tests include:

• Vibration
• Climatic cycling
• Thermal shock
• Mechanical shock
• Corrosion
• Solar exposure
• IP - Weather and dust

All products whether industrial, domestic or military are susceptible to stress inflicted on them by the environment in which they operate. Before placement on the market it is essential you know how your products will perform under these conditions. Field failures and product recalls can have a devastating effect on new product launches.

We can evaluate prototypes, reducing the risk of field failures when the product is launched. We can stimulate the conditions of the product usage and transportation, plus we can provide advice on failure trend analysis to aid product refinement.

Environmental testing can also be included as part of product compliance testing for Kitemark and CE marking.

The lighting laboratory is one of the original facilities set up when the BSI Laboratories were opened in 1959 and was developed to support the approval of vehicle lighting for the Ministry of Transport.

Benefiting from the support of 22 additional laboratories and our certification departments on site, BSI is now able to offer a complete compliance service to the lighting industry including:

• CE marking support including type testing to European and International Standards with “Short Format BSI Test Reports” to further reduce the cost. In addition to this BSI are able to provide a comprehensive technical file assessment service.
• Photometric evaluation of a huge variety of lighting products including TM5, TM10 and TM14 measurement of luminaires with our state of the art LMT Goniophotometer. Our 30-meter photometric range is used to evaluate types of products such as, vehicle lighting including Reg 65 special warning lights, life jacket lights, road traffic furniture, bicycle lights and retroreflective materials. Environmental testing or lighting products is also well support at our Hemel Hempstead site with IP testing, climatic, temperature and vibration testing all available in our excellent Environmental laboratory.
• Kitemark certification schemes are available for selected lighting products and reports from other test organisations can be taken into consideration to achieve this prestigious quality mark.

BSI can test a lighting product in our accredited laboratory and if the product complies with the requirements of the IEC standard applied, a Certification Board report can be issued. This CB certificate may then be submitted to another attesting National Certification Board who in turn will issue its own national certification mark through a far simplified procedure.

BSI is a signatory to the CENELEC Certification Agreement. The CCA scheme offers mutual recognition between European certification bodies for testing and ongoing product/factory surveillance of electrical and electronic products. This agreement is accepted throughout the EC, EFTA and much of Eastern Europe.

The ENEC mark for lighting products is also available from BSI to complement the Kitemark if required or as a stand-alone certification depending on your market requirements.

BSI has established an unrivalled reputation and experience in the testing of vehicle lighting, reflectors and mirrors, having been a VCA accredited photometric laboratory for over 30 years.

In an industry where time is of the essence, this quick turn-round service can be extended to include type approval for other markets such as the USA, through the Automotive Manufacturers Equipment Compliance Agency (AMECA).

The Lighting Technology laboratory has UKAS accreditation for both testing and calibration and carries second generation standard lamps supplied by the National Physical Laboratory to support our Calibration Service for all types of lighting and colorimetric measuring equipment.

With short lead times, competitive quotes, excellent facilities, flexible testing programmes and unrivalled experience why not benefit from the BSI Brand yourselves and gain a world recognised BSI Test Report or Kitemark for your lighting products.

In addition to all this BSI has the support of our Standards and Management Systems Division to offer a fully comprehensive, total solution to all your compliance requirements, no matter what your intended market may be

The cables laboratory assesses a variety of cables to over 100 published standards and specifications. These standards have been written by British, European and international standards bodies, however the laboratory also undertakes test commissions based on manufacturers specifications.

The cables laboratory carries out many different tests from accelerated ageing of cable material to weight testing, including the following:

• Armoured and PVC- insulated for power distribution       
• Low smoke and corrosive gas emission cables            
• Fibre optic cable  
• Lift cable (up to 450/750V)
• Mineral insulated cables
• Insulation tapes
• Vehicle cable
• Flexible supply cord and cable
• Adhesive insulating tape

The laboratory facilities can be hired out for development work and our expert testing staff have many years experience of cable testing to national and international standards and will advise you on legislative requirement for your intended market.

As a Certification Body, BSI  tests the electrical safety and performance, where applicable, in accordance with the relevant European Norms. Among other things, this entails inspection of the protection against accessibility of live parts, temperature under normal and abnormal conditions, mechanical strength and leakage current.

• LVD
• ENEC
• CB Cert