Welcome to another blog in our ongoing series, Ask Lewis Bass!

This series features actual submitted questions from companies in the industries we provide engineering safety consulting services to.

Topics covered include those associated with our work in 3rd party field labeling, SEMI S2/S8/EMC/F47 testing and design, CE Marking evaluations, and general engineering safety consulting questions.

Question:

Hi Lewis Bass,

We’ve just finished building a semiconductor machine to the exact same specifications and with the exact same internal components as another machine that has already undergone testing and was found to be compliant to SEMI S2/S8 standards.

A new client of ours is requesting this new machine with a different name than the previous machine’s name.

Do I need to undergo an entirely new SEMI S2/S8 evaluation just because I’ve changed the name of the machine for one client?

 

Asked by Jill in Sunnyvale, CA

Lewis Bass:

Hello Jill,

No, you do not need to undertake another series of SEMI S2/S8 evaluations of a machine with only a name change.

In situations like this, companies like Lewis Bass will provide your company with a SEMI S2/S8 Addendum Report.

An addendum report takes into account the original SEMI S2/S8 report for the previous machine in addition to the documentation, schematics, and BOM (bill of materials) for the newly built machine.

Once our engineering team is able to confirm that there has been no change to any design, combination of listed components, and machine layout and ergonomics, a simple SEMI S2/S8 Addendum Report is drafted explaining that the machine adheres to SEMI standards and that for all intents and purposes the machines are identical save for their names.

This SEMI S2/S8 Addendum Report is equivalent to having done a full SEMI S2/S8 evaluation of the identical machine with a different name and will pass muster as the machine changes hands down the line.

 

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