What is BS EN 60721-3-0 - Classes and severities of environmental parameters about?
BS EN 60721-3-0 is a standard that covers classes and severities of environmental parameters to ensure the identification of risks associated with products and test them for safety and quality assurance.
BS EN 60721-3-0 establishes classes of environmental parameters and their severities, covering the extreme (short-term) conditions which may be met by a product when being transported, installed, stored and used.
BS EN 60721-3-0 provides separate groups of classes are given for different product applications (e.g. weather-protected stationary, mounted in ground vehicles, transportation).
The classes in BS EN 60721-3-0 also take into account the degree of restriction of the use of the product from very restricted conditions (e.g. in temperature-controlled rooms) to unrestricted conditions. The classification covers natural as well as man-made conditions.
Who is BS EN 60721-3-0 - Classes and severities of environmental parameters for?
BS EN 60721-3-0 on classes and severities of environmental parameters applies to:
- Quality assurance services
- Safety assurance services
- Product evaluation and testing services
- Environment testing laboratories
- Simulation testing services
- Regulatory bodies
Why should you use BS EN 60721-3-0 - Classes and severities of environmental parameters?
All products have to be designed to survive and work in more or less severe environments. They will be affected by the environmental influences in two ways:
- By the effects of short-term extreme environmental conditions, which may directly cause malfunction or destroy the product
- By the effect of long-term subjection to non-extreme environmental stresses, which may slowly degrade the product and finally cause malfunction or destruction of the product.
BS EN 60721-3-0 provides users guidance on background information including information on the application and limitations of the classes. It also describes the difference between the environmental conditions the product will meet during its life, described by the classes.
BS EN 60721-3-0 explains to users the difference between extreme environmental conditions with a small probability of being exceeded, normally approached only for short periods, and more long-lasting normal environmental conditions.
BS EN 60721-3-0 provides users guidance for applying factors of duration and frequency of occurrence in characterizing the contribution of a significant parameter of a class.
With obedience and compliance to BS EN 60721-3-0, users can assess the product’s stability and functioning with respect to changes in environments and develop protocols to mitigate risks associated with the environmental classes.