CONTENTS & COMMENT CONTENTS
Front cover The publishers would like to thank Cranage EMC & Safety for the use of their images on the front cover of Testing & Test Houses 2017
2 & 3 Test services MIRA breaks ground on an advanced battery development suite for EV propulsion testing and a new materials testing service opens at Heathrow
5 Next generation automated test
The source guide for engineers, scientists and technicians
Test houses support cladding investigation
A
software NI releases the next generation of Labview to bring even more simplicity to automating measurement and test workflows
6-9 Testing times A round-up of the latest test house company news
10 & 11 New companies New companies in the Test House Directory
12 Radio Equipment
Directive The RED is now with us and provides additional compliance requirements for any equipment which can transmit or receive signals
15-19 Company guide A guide to testing suppliers and test houses
20 HIL simulation How Hardware in the Loop testing can help to keep industrial control system bugs at bay
s is well documented, following the Grenfell Tower fire disaster, Government is acting to support owners and residents of high- rise buildings to ensure fire safety. In particular, a checking and testing process is being undertaken for Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding, to understand the behaviour of
these materials under extreme situations. Tests are currently being
conducted at BRE – on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). This is a screening test to identify which ACM panels are of concern. In an oral statement to The House of Commons on 3 July, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said that the tests have been independently verified by research institutes in Sweden. The test examines the filler – the core of the panel – to check if it is of limited combustibility (category 1) or not (category 2 or 3). This is in line with the requirement of the Building Regulations guidance. The filler is one element of the overall cladding system. If the panel core achieves a category 2 or 3, landlords are expected to take the recommended interim fire safety measures issued by government on 22 June. An independent expert panel has also been set up to advise the
government on other urgent steps that should be taken to improve fire safety. On 6 July 2017, having also spoken to a group of technical experts from a wide range of professions and organisations, the Expert Panel recommended further large scale testing of cladding systems to understand better how different types of ACM panels behave with different types of insulation in a fire (these tests can be used to show compliance with the Building Regulations guidance). The tests will look at illustrative combinations of cladding and insulation, which are commonly used in tower blocks. In line with advice from the Expert Panel, six tests are being undertaken. The first test results are expected in the week commencing 24 July 2017.
As soon as results are available they will be shared first with local authorities and housing associations who have confirmed that their properties are clad in the same combination of material types tested. There can be no greater illustration of the important role that test houses
play in ensuring the safety of us all, in our daily lives, both at work and at home.
Andy Pye, Editor © Concorde Publishing Ltd 2017 Join us online at
https://goo.gl/inAElE or scan the QR Code, right Follow us on Twitter @eeonlineorg Testing & Test Houses 2017 /// 1
Concorde Publishing Ltd 100 Borough High Street, London SE1 1LB, UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7863 3079 Email: testing&
testhouses@concordepublishing.com Web:
www.EnvironmentalEngineering.org.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24