State-of-the-art test laboratories approach readiness
Joining the Lighting Industry Association’s (LIA) new and very modern Telford lighting test lab is another leading edge test facility being commissioned in Milton Keynes by the British Approvals Service for Cables (BASEC). By James Hunt:
It’s a bit like that proverbial bus – you wait ages and two come along together…except that in these cases it’s not a wait that has been the problem but the need for new facilities to accommodate anticipated strong demand for new test regimes through regulation and the latest technologies.
Both the LIA and BASEC have designed and built new and advanced test facilities to take account of such demands, and both are approaching going fully live by the end of this year.
Lighting Industry Association Laboratories (LIA Labs - http://lialab.org.uk) has invested £700,000 in its new lighting laboratory to keep pace with the latest and forthcoming advances in lighting, particularly LEDs, as the organisation’s ever expanding UKAS / ILAC accreditation demonstrates.
This new 1,250m2 laboratory in Telford is adjacent to the organisation’s existing building and is aimed at being finished by the end of this year. Once completed and commissioned, the LIA Labs says that it ‘will be able to continue to develop its services and meet industry demands through this challenging period of technological change within the sector’.
Looking at BASEC’s laboratory, and as reported recently in Voltimum UK, the organisation has designed and built its new lab facilities to primarily meet the demand for the Construction Products Regulation 2011 (CPR) fire test.
Sited at the organisation’s Milton Keynes HQ, this lab has been built in part as fire testing is the most problematic area of cable testing because of the inherent uncertainties involved in the progress of a fire. Not all tests for fire resistant cables are the same and it was thought that the tests and the methods currently being used were not keeping up with technology and the needs of the industry.
For this reason, BASEC has been working with other labs to develop more reliable and consistent tests. The rigorous testing of cables is crucial to maintain confidence in their performance, quality and fitness for purpose, which is why, in 2012, the organisation made a significant investment in the new laboratory, including the commissioning of brand new test equipment.
BASEC says that the new test laboratories are now into their commissioning phase and will go fully live by the end of this year.
Good demand
BASEC chief executive, Dr Jeremy Hodge, says that he is anticipating a strong demand for the lab’s services as the cable industry moves to implement the Construction Products Regulation 2011 (CPR).
He believes that the three new re-configurable fire test labs and a ladder rack rig, joining BASEC’s existing smoke and halogen testing facilities, represent a considerable investment for the approvals and testing body and further expands the capability of what is believed to be the largest dedicated testing facility in Europe.
Moreover, the facility will also be open to other cable manufacturers and traders seeking to conform to the regulations as they become applicable to cables.
BASEC laboratories can carry out a number of cable fire tests: BS EN 50200; BS EN 50200 Annex E; BS 8434-2; BS 6387 CWZ and others based on IEC standards and will shortly also encompass a BS EN 50399 3.5m tall ladder rack rig for vertical fire tests on cables. The Milton Keynes headquarters also has a smoke chamber for smoke emission tests (EN 61034-2).
Read more about the LIA’s and BASEC's new laboratories by using the links below.
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