Component Interchangeability for Compliance - Considerations, Challenges and Improvements

The need for controlling critical safety components and their supporting documentation helps assure an effective safety compliance evaluation. All too often however, design and manufacturing constraints are perceived as barriers. Such barriers, regardless if real or perceived, impact development and manufacturing flexibilities when product life cycles are rapidly evolving along with underlying challenges of the supply chain environment. A review of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) System of Conformity Assessment Schemes for Electrotechnical Equipment and Components (ECE) component interchangeability guide is presented in this publication. Intent is to explore how to effectively leverage critical safety component parameters and context along with increasing consistency. Examples of benefits derived from both consistent and structured methodologies as well as inherent limitations are presented in this publication, capturing entire product assembly or limited subassembly levels.