UL and ITI Help Chinese Manufacturers Prepare for the Innovative Hazard-based Safety Standard IEC62368-1

The new international standard IEC IEC62368-1 was published in January 2010, with the product scope combined from IEC 60950 -1 and IEC 60065, that is, Audio/Video, Information Technology and Information Communications Technology Equipment. It's an evolution of standard development - the new standard incorporates a Hazard-Based Safety Engineering (HBSE) concept that provides for flexibility of design by allowing for safety consideration starting at the product design phase.

It's expected that by 2015 IEC 62368 will begin to be adopted in markets globally. We are concerned that suppliers may not know about the significant changes from IEC 60950-1 and IEC 60065 to IEC 62368-1, and may not allow adequate time to prepare for the transition, said Josh Rosenberg, Global Policy Director of ITI. We were pleased to work with UL to hold this seminar, which offered suppliers a review of the scope of this new standard and highlighted some of the key technical changes, associated with Hazard Based Safety Engineering.

To meet the growing demand, innovation is the main theme of today's high-tech products and industry development. Safety standards should not be the obstacle of bringing new technologies to market, but the impetus for innovation. When new technologies are introduced to the market, it is important to address foreseeably likely hazards associated with them beforehand, said Flore Chiang, UL senior project engineer. IEC 62368-1 is a standard of technology independent, integrated with engineering principles, IEC horizontal standards, research and field data. The HBSE process would help manufacturers identify some possible hazards and incorporate safety designs into their products.

For manufacturers, the earlier to understand the HBSE concept, the faster they could adapt to and take advantage of the new standards. As the IEC 62368-1 Testing Report Format (TRF) development organization and the exclusive licensee of HBSE by HP, UL is glad to help manufacturers to gain practical experience and understanding of the standard, to provide necessary training to product safety managers and engineers, so as to promote a smooth transition to the new standard, Chiang added.

Key topics related to IEC 62368-1 transition, such as industry's recommendations, the process of getting products certified to the new standard, the key technical changes of the new standard and HBSE concept were introduced to and discussed with the participated manufacturers, including HP, Dell, Intel, Flextronics and Foxconn, etc.