Category: NEWS

On August 22nd, Bermondsey Electronics had its second ISO9001 assessment. We are proud to report we have been recommended for certification.

Internally we follow a documented development procedure. We start by gathering customer requirements. We write a test plan. For customers in industries requiring it, we complete a traceability matrix, allowing traceability of requirements to deliverables. We do the expert work and return with a test report. For those customers requiring it, we may take part in product risk assessments.

There are other ways to develop products, but for customers prepared to engage in the process, there’s no more efficient way to scope the work than this. It helps us all keep within agreed scope and reduces the risk of requirements being missed.

ISO9001 certification further qualifies the process by expanding scope out from the core development process to cover the business as a whole. We have more in place than just a development process. The time and cost of certification demonstrates a willingness on our part to improve our business, not just our development process, continuously. We do not just make bold claims about how we do business, we carry them out too.

After some years working in quality controlled environments and seeing the benefits, Bermondsey Electronics Ltd. announces its decision to pursue ISO9001 certification. The move aims to ensure superior quality control across the Company’s outputs. This requires extending the existing product design cycle control outward to the remainder of the Company’s processes.

ISO9001 is an internationally recognised standard for quality management systems. It provides a framework to help organisations establish and maintain robust processes for continuous improvement. By obtaining this certification, Bermondsey Electronics aims to align its operations with global best practices, and reinforce a reputation for high quality deliveries.

The decision to pursue certification underscores a commitment to providing quality controlled products and services. The certification process involves comprehensive external evaluation of the company’s quality management system, working through areas including risk management, opportunity assessment and operational workings. The overarching focus on customer satisfaction ensures this is at the forefront of all interactions.

By implementing ISO9001, a focus on continuous improvement can be nurtured, while encouraging employees to actively participate in improving customer deliveries. Allowing employees to take ownership of their activities helps foster a culture of care.

Our first audit, carried out by BSI Group, took place on June 27^th 2023 and resulted in 3 minor NCRs. Our second audit is scheduled for later in 2023.

The decision to embark on certification was not taken lightly and reflects our commitment to delivering superior products. New product introduction (NPI) is typically fraught. The goal at Bermondsey Electronics is to make the process repeatable, documented, verifiable, timely, predictable and transparent. ISO9001 certification should help us in this goal. Our friends at  3Point1 Developments will be joining us on this journey soon!

Today we have updated BELIeVE with some much-requested features.

Our popular 34465A DLL has been enhanced with support for its extended triggering modes and reading multiple data in a single stream. Network testing here shows we can transfer 2,000,000 readings in around 90 seconds. The test engine can process them in the blink of an eye and produce summary results.

We have introduced a DLL to support arbitrary IVI-VISA power supplies. Our 2280S DLL could already perform this role but support has been made explicit for multi-channel power supplies. The 2280S DLL has been enhanced with methods to read the measured voltage (for battery charging) and is API-compatible with previous releases.

Similar to the power supply, we have introduced a DLL for arbitrary IVI-VISA DMMs. This supports basic reading setup and transfers. If the specific features of your equipment are missing, it supports arbitrary text transfer in and out, to exercise any equipment you may have in the lab.

We have also made small quality-of-life improvements, including normalising highlighted keywords against ECMAScript 5.1, and three minor stability fixes.

These enhancements make BELIeVE more accessible than ever to the T&M community. Download your free evaluation copy today!

Bermondsey Electronics’ MD, Peter Wrigley, will be giving a talk at PCB Live, part of the Engineering Solutions Live event, on March 23 at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon.

 

Entitled ‘Functional Verification of Prototype PCBs Using HIL Testing’, Peter’s presentation will explain how a comprehensive and highly repeatable hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test environment for prototype boards can be created using networkable benchtop test and measurement equipment.

 

Peter will also describe a variety of tests that can be used to stimulate the prototype, inject faults and advance milestone events – all to verify that the internal hardware and software have been integrated properly and that the PCB can interact with the real world.

 

The presentation is aimed at embedded systems engineers and PCB designers, who will learn how they can de-risk their projects through automated HIL testing and go into volume production safe in the knowledge the prototype was thoroughly verified (i.e., no corner cases left unexplored) and that they have a record of all tests performed and their results.

 

Peter has the 11:30 to 12:00 slot in Lecture 1. Booking is recommended.

 

Event details can be found here: www.engineeringsolutionslive.co.uk

We are pleased to report that the ‘Introduction to Integration Testing’ workshop we gave yesterday at UKEmbedded, in Coventry, was a huge success. Companies in attendance included an OEM of biomedical monitoring equipment, an OEM of sports and fitness training equipment, a life-sciences company developing advanced sensing technologies and a real-time operating system (RTOS) company. Also present were three engineering consultancies.

Delegate job titles included R&D Engineer, Embedded Software Engineer and Managing Director.

The breadth of the audience, i.e., the types of company present and the sectors they serve, reflects just how important integration verification is within the world of embedded systems right now. OEMs are under pressure to fast track the development of their products to hit target launch dates. However, they must ensure that quality and reliability are not compromised.

As well as appreciating the importance of better integration testing – thoroughly and as soon as possible within the product development lifecycle – all attendees expressed a high level of interest in our very own solution to automated integration verification; a solution which will be formally launched as a commercial Windows-based application later this year. Watch this space!