Does third-party testing/validation carry any weight with the buyer – at either the consumer or component purchasing levels?
In our case we assume the buyer is the IC purchaser at the system company. Third party testing is usually seen as a prerequisite to engagement with most system companies. While internal testing by the IC company is of value, third party testing (if independent), is seen as a validation of the internal test results. This gives the system company a higher level of confidence and sense of managing risk.
For consumer electronics companies, independent third party testing is not enough in itself. This is usually due to two reasons:
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- The consumer electronics company usually requires a higher level of capability than the standards and the third party test facilities. For example, passing standard EMC tests (for immunity from electrical interference) as defined by CENELEC can be tested by independent test houses, but TV companies usually require 7 to 14 dB better EMC performance.
- The consumer electronics company usually requires additional tests that extend beyond the scope of the standards tested by the third party facilities.
While all these are critical at the IC purchasing level at the consumer electronics or TV company, the benefit to the consumer is less well defined. In some cases, adding “RoHS”, or other standards compliance labels do give the consumer some level of confidence in what they are buying. In other cases, there is no way for the compliance information to be conveyed to the consumer or it may not be relevant.
 David Hall
National Instruments
RF and Communications
Product Marketing Manager
www.ni.com |
As the cost of producing an
integrated circuit (IC) continues to decline, the cost of test continues to become an increasing driver of overall product cost. Today, both IC vendors and distributors face the challenge of verifying that their products meet specifications without eating into ever-slim profit margins.
In most cases, third-party validation would add too much cost to an IC for a consumer electronics vendor (higher in the value chain) to request it from an IC manufacturer (lower in the value chain). In an ever-shrinking world, an IC manufacturer’s reputation for quality is important enough to ensure that most companies sufficiently invest in end-of-line production test.
One exception to this rule, however, occurs in some radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) distribution houses – and mainly those in Asia. Because test costs are often lower in these locations, some IC distributors can afford to offer additional value to their customers by performing more thorough testing on products they re-sell from the IC manufacturer.
No matter what channel a component might take from a manufacturer to the end consumer, all parties in the value chain are highly motivated to reduce the cost of test. In fact, at National Instruments, we’ve observed that the need to reduce test time continues to be one of the primary drivers of the adoption of PXI modular instrumentation.
Unease, doubt, fear. These are never comfortable feelings to have when making a major purchasing decision. Consumers and Purchasers have one thing in common, they want to trust the product they are buying but know they could be making a bad decision. Third party testing provides them with three key areas that impact their decisions.
- Emotion: When a consumer has made the decision to purchase a product — especially an expensive product — the excitement of something new is tempered by a fear that it will not live up to expectations. Peace of mind comes because the consumer finds independent confirmation that they are making a good decision. This confirmation can come from third party testing. The phrase “Independently Tested” provides some assurance that the product is what it says it is.
- Safety: Purchasers for components or products to go on shelves are concerned about the potential damage a product could cause them. Independent testing that results in a clear mark of safety such as the ETL mark provides confirmation that a product’s safety has been checked.
- Performance: On a scientific level, third party testing provides support to the hypothesis that the product does what is claimed. Independent testing can prove that key metrics are met. Given a choice between two products that claim the same qualities, independent testing can be the deciding factor. When a component needs to meet a specific engineering target, objective testing is essential to prove the goal is reached.