Brighton EMC test facility secures UKAS accreditation

January 29, 2023

The Sussex-based security technology manufacturer Paxton has gained UKAS accreditation for their in-house public-facing product test facility. This makes Paxton one of the leading commercial EMC test laboratories, with the added benefit of short lead-times.

UKAS visited Paxton’s UK headquarters in Brighton to carry out a formal assessment of EMC Test Facility which originally opened in August 2019. The government-appointed agency assessed Paxton’s ability and competence in performing product testing including an audit of the quality management system. The state-of-the-art facility has now been officially granted UKAS accreditation, confirming that it meets the ISO 17025 standard for Laboratory Accreditation.

Brett Glass, Paxton’s Compliance Manager has overseen the development of the facility. He explains:” We are extremely proud to have gained UKAS accreditation. For any manufacturer looking for the highest possible quality and level of testing, this is the accreditation they want and need.

“Gaining it has been an in-depth and worthwhile process. Our Compliance team has been working towards it for some time whilst testing our products and that of many manufacturers from the South East of the UK.”

Paxton opened the test facility to maximise the efficiency and quality of their own product development. It has enabled them to launch new products and system additions quickly during the pandemic and global component shortage.

Whilst researching during the planning phase of the facility, Paxton decided to offer product testing externally to support businesses with quick pre-compliance testing and a bespoke service. This is unlike traditional test houses which often have long waiting lists and can potentially hinder the speed at which products come to market.

Brett continues: “Many clients are testing their new designs with us because our lead times are shorter than all the current national test houses. If we factor in that 50% of products fail EMC testing the first time around, the pre-compliance testing we offer can really be of benefit to keep a product launch timely and on track.

“Ultimately the test facility aims to be efficient and cost effective to both large and small businesses. We are flexible and take a best effort approach for our customers.”

The modern facility has been designed and built using industry leading equipment. This includes an Electromagnetic Compatibility Chamber (EMC) for manufacturers who need to perform emission and immunity tests at three metres. They also have equipment to carry out Electrostatic Discharge (ESD), surge, transients, and power quality tests.

Additionally, Paxton installed various Environmental Chambers to test the impact to products from environmental factors including UV, moisture, cold, humidity, and heat. These powerful machines stress test to determine a product’s expected lifespan and the suitability of components during the design process.

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