FAQs
Please find below some commonly asked questions which may be of help. Simply click the + sign to reveal each answer.
Marine Type Approval
If your product is safety critical to either the vessel or the voyage then yes it will require Marine Type Approval.
Equipment such as navigation, ship loading computers or gas detectors fall into this category although there are many
others. We have also Type Approved equipment that does not require mandatory approval as ship owners and operators see this as
a quality mark and prefer to buy approved equipment.
In order to gain Type Approval you must apply to individual class societies. Equipment classed with Lloyds Register
of Shipping can only be installed on a ship classed with Lloyds Register. If you need to supply to other societies then
you need approval with each society which can get very expensive. With MED you only need to achieve certification with one of the
approval societies. All societies must recognise the MED certification so you can supply to other classed vessels.
The only drawback with MED is that not all equipment is covered by the MED requirements at present.
MS Testing are expects at helping you at every step of the process including applications, testing, reporting and achieving
certification with societies.
A straight-forward suite of tests on a standard system (such as a PC) can be completed in 15 working
days (subject to no failures and provided that no salt mist testing is performed).
Failures do happen and if they do we will fully discuss the options available to you and do all we can to rectify
the problem and keep the testing on track. We
will try and come up with a solution but if we are unable to then we can return the equipment for repairs.
No, if a product fails a test then usually it is only the test that has failed that has to be repeated.
Yes. We have a fully UKAS accredited laboratory for the complete suite of Marine Type Approval tests all under one roof.
Contact MS Testing either by phone, email
or complete a quote request. We will discuss your individual test requirements
and come up with a project plan including requirements, timescales and costs.
EMC Testing
The most effective route to complying with the EMC directive is to have your product tested to Harmonised Standards
by a UKAS accredited test laboratory. MS Testing are UKAS accredited to many of the harmonised standards and can help you identify
which standards are applicable to your product.
In many cases your product will be ready to test straight out of the box. However if your product interacts with other
apparatus, then you should think about providing the system with all the necessary inputs/outputs which it would need for
operation in real life scenarios. Please contact us for more information.
Performance criteria is a term used in immunity standards to quantify acceptable performance. As all products are different,
we rely on the manufacturer to provide details of what acceptable performance criteria is. This varies test to test
(criteria A, B and C).
Criteria A applies to continuous EMC phenomena. As in, this effect could be present all the time. Imagine you were the
end user, what would be an acceptable semi-permanent loss of performance?
Criteria B is for transient phenomena. What occasional degradation would be acceptable, for example when other equipment
in the vicinity comes into operation?
Criteria C is for occasional, extremes in electrical interference, such as voltage interruptions, failures, lightning strikes.
You would expect your computer to switch off or re-boot after a power cut but you wouldn't want to have to re-format your hard
drive or replace your power supply.
Environmental Testing
Environmental testing covers many disciplines and we take the conditions that your product could face in service and apply
them in a controlled manner. These include vibration, temperature and corrosion tests.
The simple answer is that in most cased you don’t. However, as a manufacturer or supplier of a quality product you may need to:
- ensure it will perform under all conditions;
- test it before manufacturing begins to show quality or
- know how long it will continue to work for in service.
All of these can be achieved with environmental testing.
High temperature can accelerate ageing of some materials and components, temperature cycling can case increased failures in components.
Vibration testing can highlight any weakness in the mechanical design of products that will reduce the service life of the product.
Make sure that all fasteners either have locking washers or a locking fluid added to the threads during assembly, this will
make sure nothing rattles loose. Heavy and tall components on printed circuit boards should be well supported with either a
mechanical fixing or hot melt glue to add to the rigidity. Components such as large electrolytic capacitors are a favourite
for snapping off if not properly secured.
This was developed to help electronics manufacturers detect product defects and production flaws, ESS is widely used in offshore, military and aerospace applications, less so for commercial products. Tests typically include temperature variations and vibration tests. ESS can be performed as part of the manufacturing process or it can be used in new product qualification testing.