Reviewing Test Reports and Certification Evidence

State the product, characteristic, requirement and decision before reviewing a report. Evidence suitable for design comparison may not establish production acceptance. A safety test can address a defined hazard without covering radio emissions or energy performance. The review should identify the question answered by each document and the questions that remain outside its scope.

Examine model, revision, materials, critical components, software and accessories. Determine who selected the sample and how it represents the delivered population. A report for an earlier configuration may remain relevant only after a documented comparison. If the report describes a prototype or customer-supplied sample, preserve that limitation in the acceptance record rather than converting the conclusion into an unrestricted production claim.

Identify the method and edition, test conditions, deviations, measured results and acceptance criteria. A pass statement can conceal an unresolved scope mismatch. Review any annexes, qualifications or excluded tests. Where results are close to a limit, examine uncertainty and the stated decision rule as relevant to the method and program. Resolve unclear wording with the issuing organization.

Laboratory accreditation, regulatory laboratory recognition and product certification are different forms of evidence. Review the relevant scope, location and status. A laboratory’s accreditation certificate does not establish authority to issue every certification mark. Likewise, a certification body’s mark should be checked against the listed product and applicable program, rather than accepted solely from a supplier’s image of a certificate.

Identify surveillance, verification, renewal or change conditions in the applicable scheme. Determine whether the supplied configuration remains covered. A historic report can remain useful evidence, but its age alone neither establishes validity nor invalidity. Review changes in the product, method, requirement and certification status. Keep the basis for accepting older evidence explicit.

Record what the evidence establishes, the configuration and population covered, any conditions and the responsible reviewer. Use the Test Evidence Assessment. For a broader reading method, see Reading Technical Evidence. A documented limitation is part of a sound technical conclusion, not an invitation to substitute unsupported assurance.