The IEEE Board of Directors, upon recommendation
of the Technical Activities Board (TAB), approved formation of
the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society (PSES) at their meeting
on Sunday, June 22 in Nashville, Tennessee. This action brings
the total number of IEEE societies to 38. This new society targets
product safety professionals and design engineers from around
the world interested in product safety. It will begin formal operation
1 January 2004. Membership starts with the 2003 renewal package
for existing IEEE members who may select membership in the PSES
as one of their options. Others wishing to join the society may
do so upon joining the IEEE.
The IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society will address safety
engineering for equipment and devices used in the scientific,
engineering, industrial, commercial and residential arenas. It
will allow safety engineers and other technical professionals
an opportunity to discuss and disseminate information, enhance
professional skills, and to provide outreach to other engineers,
students and professionals with an interest in the field. It also
will encourage cooperative promotion and coordination of product
safety engineering activities with other IEEE Societies and with
non-IEEE groups.
According to Daniece Carpenter, a co-chair of the IEEE Technical
Activities Board Product Safety Committee that helped form this
group, this new society fills a void in the electrical and electronics
engineering fields. "While product safety has been addressed
in various committees over the years, there has not been a widely
accepted professional organization solely devoted to product safety
engineering as a discipline. Now IEEE has established a home for
this important technical field."
Jack Burns, also a co-chair of the Product Safety Steering Committee
said, "The EMC Society played an instrumental role in establishing
this new society. The idea began with the formation of an ad hoc
group in Santa Clara, California in 1988. That group was redirected
in their first attempt to join IEEE, and was adopted by the Product
Safety Technical Committee (TC-8) of the EMC Society, which has
supported and nurtured the group since the early 1990s. The EMC-PSTC
list-server is a tangible reflection of the interest generated
by that alliance. In 2001, the group decided that with over 1000
list-server participants and a history of Product Safety Workshops
held at EMC Society Symposia, critical mass had been achieved
and it was time to restart the effort for a new society. The EMC
Society supported that effort and helped initiate the successful
approach to IEEE TAB.
Mark Montrose, an EMCS Board of Directors member, and a participant
in the Product Safety Committee presentations to IEEE-TAB, is
one of the original California members of the ad hoc group and
has participated in its activities since its inception. According
to Mark, "Fifteen years of effort has finally come to fruition.
It's a fantastic feeling knowing a goal that was extremely difficult
to achieve has become a reality - spinning off PSTC from TC-8
into a new society. It is an honor to work with other dedicated
professionals to provide a home for product safety engineers worldwide.
It was especially gratifying since the usual route to forming
a society within IEEE is to first form a Council. Through the
support and mentoring of the EMC Society and the New Technology
Direction Committee of TAB, we were able to form a society which
is more appropriate to represent our members than a Council."
IEEE PSES will become a member of Division VI, which consists
of other Societies and Councils having a similar broad interest.
The EMC Society resides in Division IV. When the new society begins
operation, a 12-member transitional Board of Directors (BOD) will
operate with six BOD members from other IEEE Societies and Councils
appointed by the IEEE Division Directors forum. The remaining
six members will be appointed by TAB upon recommendation by the
IEEE TAB Product Safety Steering Committee. During a 3-year transitional
period, appointed directors will be replaced by elected ones resulting
in a fully elected board starting 1 January 2007. This form of
management will bring experienced IEEE Directors knowledgeable
with the politics of IEEE to this new society on their first day
of operation. This three-year transitional period will also be
a training session for those committed to ensuring a successful
new society.
The IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society plans to continue
working with the IEEE Electromagnetic Compatibility Society, along
with other IEEE Societies, and will maintain a close relationship
with TC-8, which will finally have an opportunity to refocus their
efforts on product safety implications of electromagnetic compatibility.
IEEE members may join the society during the 2003 renewal period
at www.ieee.renew. EMC
