Apparatus
The test needs a test vehicle, a propulsion method, calibrated mass, angle and distance equipment, and a camera plan. Measurement accuracy is specified, so a guess is not a result.
Basis. The public preview stops before this clause; the page states the published structure and the public guidance. The clause number and defined terms are the standard's; the explanation is our own.
What clause 6.1 asks
Clause 6.1 sets out the apparatus for the test. It covers the test vehicle used for the impact, a method of propulsion such as a winch cable or other equipment capable of delivering the vehicle to the barrier at the specified impact speed, and the instrumentation. The clause sets accuracy requirements for mass, impact angle and distance, and it provides for a camera plan that can record the contact height, the dynamic penetration, the post-impact speed, the impact angle and the debris field. The public preview stops before this clause and does not reproduce the tolerance figures, so this record does not state them. Ask the test house for the tolerances in the edition it used, and for the calibration certificates that show it met them.
Why it matters
The apparatus is where a test report gains or loses its authority. A vehicle pushed by a winch at an approximate speed, weighed on a public weighbridge to the nearest 20 kg, and filmed by one camera at an unknown frame rate can produce a dramatic video and an unusable rating. The accuracy figures tell the buyer what the test house must be able to prove. They also tell the buyer what to look for in the report: a mass record, an angle record, a distance record and a camera plan with positions and frame rates.
What good looks like
Ask the test house for its apparatus register before the test. Check the mass equipment, the angle and distance methods, the propulsion method and the camera plan against Clause 6.1. At the report stage, check that the accuracy claimed in the method matches the accuracy of the equipment used. Where an optional assessment such as occupant injury is included, check that the instrumentation for it was part of the plan rather than added afterwards.
Evidence an assessor asks for
The reviewer will ask how each number in the report was measured. If the equipment cannot meet the accuracy in Clause 6.1, the number is an estimate, not a measurement.
- Apparatus register The equipment used for mass, angle, distance, speed and photography, with its measurement range and accuracy
- Calibration certificates Current certificates for the mass, distance, angle and speed equipment
- Camera plan Camera positions, fields of view, frame rates and the purpose of each camera
- Weigh record Axle and total mass records at the stated accuracy, with the weighbridge or scale identified
- Propulsion record The propulsion method and the evidence that it can deliver the specified speed
Where it commonly fails
- The vehicle mass is taken from the manufacturer brochure instead of a calibrated weigh record
- The impact angle is measured from a photograph with no scale or reference
- A single camera is used, so the dynamic penetration cannot be seen
- The equipment calibration expired before the test and no one noticed
What to do before the amendment publishes
Add the apparatus register and the camera plan to the test brief. Require the report to name the equipment and its accuracy for every measured result.
Read across
- 2 Normative references
- 6.5 Test vehicle preparation
- 6.6 Impact speed
- 6.7 Test procedure
- 6.8 Test report
- A-06 Penetration and debris measurement