EMC for Functional Safety : Applying Risk Management to EMC

Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) is the scientific/engineering discipline of ensuring that electrical and/or electronic technologies do not emit levels of EM energies that cause excessive EMI. It is also concerned with ensuring that they do not suffer untoward EMI during operation. This article explains why the conventional approach to EMC – which is based solely on testing (usually in an EMC laboratory) – can never be sufficient to demonstrate that safety risks due to EMI are tolerable. It will introduce a recent IEC document on this issue, and the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s very practical and detailed guide on how to do EMC for Functional Safety properly.

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