CB Reports:Fact and Fiction
Moe LamotheAs manufacturers increasingly use the CB test report as a final report to show compliance to specific international standards, it is critical to watch for many national deviations for the many countries that now participate.
There is a lot of confusion surrounding CB Scheme reports, their value, and their use. It is becoming one of the reports most requested by manufacturers, but there is no approval mark associated with it. This article covers the history of these reports, the current rules, and where industry appears to be heading in the future.
History
Initially, the IEC System for Conformity Testing and Certification of Electrical Equipment (IECEE), commonly referred to as the CB Scheme, was operated by the former European International Commission for Conformity Testing of Electrical Equipment (CEE). It was integrated into the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in 1985. The origin of the CB Scheme was in Europe, where these nations were moving toward adopting a common set of IEC standards. Although the original intent was to provide a common test format to be used by all participating certifying agencies, manufacturers are increasingly using the CB test report as a final report to show compliance to a specific internatio