Demographics of bench level automotive electrical and electromagnetic compatibility validation test laboratories

Bench level testing is an important process that gives an early indication of the performance that components and subsystems will have when installed in a system that is required to operate in a given environment. With the increase in the number of electrical components and subsystems in modern vehicle systems, supplier and commercial test labs have been leveraged to perform much of this testing. The amount of time, the cost, and the quality of the test services provided are related to the number of available qualified labs and the experience of the employees. This paper summarizes the demographics of bench level electrical and electromagnetic compatibility validation test laboratories. The various qualifications available for validation test laboratories and their employees are discussed. The population of supplier and commercial validation laboratories and their locations are presented. A survey was performed to gain an understanding of the experience level of employees that work at the available validation labs. The employees representing the participating laboratories have a tremendous amount of experience. This information increases confidence in the ability for the test laboratories to provide quality results in a cost efficient and timely manner.