IEC 62368-1 and Standards Will Effect Compliance, Certification & Standards Testing for HMI Manufacturers

Hazard Based Standard IEC UL EN 62368-1 and IEC UL EN 61010-1 HMI, Hazard-based Safety Engineering (HBSE)In the ever-changing world of digital technology, safety standards for high-tech products are constantly being updated or developed to reflect new changes. Manufacturers need to transition their approach and stay abreast of ongoing developments of both the current standards (60065 & 60950) and IEC & UL/CSA 62368-1, the alternative to those traditional safety standards. As a leader in operation, control, monitoring and visualization technologies, standards and compliance testing are critical components to AIS’s overall new product development process. AIS is addressing these new standards requirements by now testing to meet IEC 62368-1 Safety Standards and Certifications for Information & Communication Technology Equipment.

The IEC 62368-1 – Audio/Video, Information and Communication Technology Equipment – Safety Requirements – has been an IEC standard since early 2010. The new approach, based on Hazard-Based Safety Engineering (HBSE), has the added benefit of better facilitating the introduction of new and innovative methods of construction and technology without first requiring amendment of the relevant standards to accommodate it. The new standards cover a wide range of high-tech products, including: computing and networking products, consumer electronics, displays and display units, telecommunication products, office appliances, musical instruments and similar varieties of audio/video, information and communication technology equipment.

AIS’s Open Platform HMI Product Development Teams Focus on Testing & Meeting Changing Standards, Certifications & Compliance Requirements

Human machine interfaces (HMIs) have always played a critical role in enabling plant operators to monitor and perform critical control actions in an operational context as well as facilitating advanced visualization into supervisory and enterprise-level solutions. In order to design and manufacturer highly-reliable HMI systems that deliver safe, cost-effective and intuitive performance, the AIS DMS team relies on the application of engineering best practices throughout design, testing and quality assurance processes.

AIS foresee several trends in manufacturing plants and industrial facilities to change business. Internet-based (TCP/IP-enabled) technologies will continue to drive how HMIs are designed, engineered and manufactured in the future. With increasing product liabilities, standards, certifications and compliance, there will be a strong push for open-based HMI control and monitoring equipment that provide higher quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, and above all else, higher safety requirements. The process industry and applications such as food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and utilities and discrete manufacturing applications (such as general manufacturing, automotive, metals manufacturing, packaging, aerospace and defense, electronics and semiconductors and machine tools) are also factors in AIS’s product portfolio roadmap in the coming years.