| NARTE News Selected On-line Articles Volume 18 Number 3 Fall 2000 |
After due consideration of suggestions from industry and government, iNARTE developed the EMC laboratory technical personnel certification. On August 1, 1999, iNARTE launched a process for addition of distinctive endorsements to accredited Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Laboratory staff certification. It was felt that technical personnel in accredited laboratories are assessed for technical competency in terms of education, work experience, and peer endorsement by the laboratory accreditation agent for the positions or duties assigned by the employing laboratory and which are described in the application for accreditation or in the operational procedures assessed by the accreditation agent. In addition, continued laboratory accreditation depends on annual audits to assure continuity in quality, and expertise of the accredited laboratory. Thus NARTE can recognize with confidence EMC technical personnel included in the accreditation.
The specific and distinctly unique expertise required of fully certified engineers and technicians working in accredited EMC laboratories are acknowledged and recognized by special endorsements to the NARTE EMC engineer and technician certification. In addition, laboratory personnel not currently eligible for certification but meeting certain minimum years of practice in an accredited laboratory are eligible for recognition in a new category established as either a NARTE EMC laboratory engineer or NARTE EMC laboratory technician working in a laboratory accredited by NVLAP, A2LA or equivalent accreditation agency (equivalency is based on process, application, testing direction, identification of accreditation activity and source of accreditation credentials).
Thus there are two different routes to EMC certification. The first is the traditional certification to the established body of EMC knowledge (i.e., the 26 categories of fundamental knowledge listed in the EMC Credential Certification Handbook). The second path is through the EMC laboratory certification. There are two differences in these paths, number of years of practice and scope of knowledge, which leads to the second question.
What Is The Difference?
For full EMC certification the candidate is assessed against four criteria; education work experience, peer endorsement and examination. The candidate is required to have a combination of nine years of engineering education (six years for a technician) and acceptable work experience in the EMC field. Each candidate must be endorsed by three of their peers and must pass (with a score of 70% or better) an eight hour examination on their command of the 26 categories.
The laboratory candidate is assessed against similar criteria but to a lesser extent. The laboratory candidate must have a specific record of education and work experience acceptable to the laboratory accreditation agent which attests that the applicant is competent to practice in the area of EMC test engineer to which they are assigned. In addition, the candidate must demonstrate two or more years of technical training or equivalent experience, and have been directly involved for one year in testing at a NVLAP, A2LA or equivalent laboratory, provide three references attesting to competency and a letter of recommendation from the senior test engineer of the sponsoring EMC test laboratory.
Thus the full EMC certification is a personal credential. It covers the entire knowledge base for EMC and remains in effect without respect to employment of the certificate holder. The EMC test laboratory certification pertains specifically to testing and is dependent upon the laboratory being accredited by NVLAP, A2LA or an equivalent accreditation body. In addition, EMC test laboratory engineers and technicians certification will remain valid only as long as the individual certified remains on the technical staff of an accredited EMC laboratory. When, or if, the individual named on the certificate terminates employment or transfers to a laboratory not accredited by NVLAP, A2LA or its equivalent, the certification will terminate immediately.
To What Competency Does NARTE Certify?
In the case of full EMC certification, iNARTE certifies that the individual is competent across the board in the 26 categories mentioned earlier. In the case of EMC test laboratory practitioners, iNARTE certifies that the individual is competent only to do EMC testing to the level assigned by the laboratory as accredited by the accrediting body.
Why is Work at an Accredited Lab More Valid Than a Non-Accredited Lab?
The key to this question is the issue of accreditation. iNARTE relies on the depth of assessment by the accrediting agent as the determining factor for certifying practitioners to a limited scope of competency. If a high technology center is accredited then NARTE can consider certification of personnel employed therein. If the center is not accredited, then NARTE must rely on its own competency assessment of individual practitioners, the requirements for which are established in the EMC Credential Certification Handbook.
One other point worth mentioning is the status of practitioners at the time the test laboratory certification was implemented. For the period beginning August 1, 1999 and continuing for approximately one year thereafter and in all cases ending at mid-night on July 31, 2000, those who have been employed as EMC laboratory engineers of EMC laboratory technicians in an accredited laboratory for a minimum of one year were eligible for certification without sitting for the examination. This "Grandfathering" period is required under US Constinutional "ex post facto" regulations. Following this one year period, all candidates seeking certification as either an EMC laboratory engineer or an EMC laboratory technician must take the applicable examination as well as meeting all other certification requirements.
| EMC Technician Categories | EMC Engineer Categories |
|---|---|
| Bonding Grounding Shielding Interface Control Filtering Materials and Special Devices Conducted Interference Radiated Interference Military Specifications/Standards/Handbooks * EMC Test Plans Test Equipment Test Facilities Safety Terminology Mathematic Spectrum Analysis ESD EMP Lightning Protection |
Bonding Grounding Shielding Interface Control Filtering Materials and Special Devices Conducted Interference Radiated Interference Military Specifications/Standards/Handbooks * EMC Test Plans Test Equipment Test Facilities Safety Terminology Mathematic Spectrum Analysis ESD EMP Lightning Protection Inter-system and Intra-system Design Equipment Design EMI Prediction EMI Analysis Field Theory Antennas Filter Theory |
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