The modern internet is increasingly built around wireless networks. This means that we need to rely on radio-frequency electromagnetic signals. But these signals have the potential to create undesirable interference, and it’s vital that this interference is dealt with.
This goes for businesses centred around manufacturing and engineering. If you’re releasing devices that suffer from problems related to interference, transmission, or reception, then you’ll ultimately receive a steady stream of customer complaints, and the reputation of your business will suffer.
Understand the Real‑World Risks Poor RF Performance Creates
When devices are unable to reliably connect with one another and the local network, the result can be frustration for the end user. In certain contexts, like manufacturing and medicine, RF issues can amount to more than an inconvenience. They can represent a source of legal risk. An appliance that fails to perform because of a faulty RF connection can cause delays and sometimes harm to property or people.
Of course, defects of this kind are often spotted and addressed before this harm is inflicted. But by identifying an issue early on, manufacturers can often save considerable time and energy and lower costs in the long term.
Integrate RF Testing Into Your Existing Risk Management Workflow
Through regular testing, companies can support decision-making at the top of the organisation. When equipment is operational in live environments, diagnostics and testing should be scheduled regularly. This can be done by specialised, expert engineers – ideally with the help of modern tools like spectrum analysers. The equipment might provide the raw data, but the personnel will come up with the actual actionable insights.
When you take every step to ensure that your measurements are accurate, you eliminate a host of problems. Troubleshooting is faster because you’ll be dealing with reliable indicators rather than mere symptoms. You’ll also be able to generate evidence that can be presented to auditors and regulators without repeating the test.
Finally, you’ll be able to make rigorous, objective decisions that don’t create ambiguity and that don’t need to be performed again later. In other words, projects will unfold faster, more cheaply, and to a higher standard.
Choose the Right Tools and Data to Reduce Uncertainty
If you don’t have access to the right tools, then you’ll be vulnerable to guesswork. You should use standards-traceable instruments, which are regularly calibrated and which produce results that conform to industry standards. Often, compliance means proving repeatedly that a device meets defined limits. It’s the repetition that’s key – if a measurement can’t be repeated, then it’s likely to be spurious.
This not only makes the organisation less prone to compliance issues; it will also tend to save considerable time and energy that would otherwise be spent making trial-and-error adjustments.
Good testing invariably conforms to modern standards, like the EMC/EMI standards. These define exactly how tests should be performed and the extent to which uncertainty must be accounted for. In some cases, like Canada’s GL-01, there’s an explicit insistence that the uncertainty must be accounted for, which eliminates guesswork entirely.
