MIL-STD-810 · IEC 60068 · ASTM D4169 · ISTA · AC156
Environmental, Vibration & Transportation Testing Services
End-to-end environmental, mechanical, earthquake, transportation, and vibration test programs for equipment manufacturers — test plan, pre-test FEA, fixture engineering, accredited-lab witness testing, failure diagnosis, and PE-stamped certification reports.
One program, every environment your product will see
Installed condition and shipped condition, engineered together — so you build one fixture set, book one lab window, and qualify once.
MIL-STD-810 Method 514, IEC 60068-2-6 / 2-64, ISO 16750-3, and IEC 61373 rail profiles. Resonance search, dwell endurance, and functional-during-vibration verification with accelerometer instrumentation.
Triaxial shake-table qualification to ICC-ES AC156 (IBC and HCAI), Telcordia GR-63-CORE Zone 1–4, and IEEE-693 for electrical equipment. Test plan, RRS derivation, witness, and certificate of compliance.
ASTM D4169 distribution cycles and ISTA 1A/2A/3A/6 series: truck and air random vibration, free-fall and rotational-edge drop, compression stacking, and low-pressure conditioning on the packaged unit.
MIL-STD-810 Methods 500–507 and IEC 60068-2-1/-2/-14/-30/-78: high and low operating and storage temperature, thermal shock and cycling, damp heat, and altitude conditioning across the product's rated envelope.
IEC 60529 IP ratings (IP54 to IP68), MIL-STD-810 rain and blowing dust/sand, ASTM B117 salt fog, and airborne contaminant exposure for outdoor cabinets, marine, and coastal installations.
MIL-STD-810 Method 516 functional and crash-hazard shock, half-sine and SRS-based pulses, bench handling, and packaged free-fall drop — with fixture design that reproduces the real mounting stiffness.
How a program runs
Requirements & standard selection
We map your deployment, shipping mode, and customer specifications to the governing standards, severities, and pass/fail criteria — in writing, before anyone quotes lab time.
Pre-test analysis
Finite element modal and response analysis identifies the weak load paths, resonances, and fastener demands so predictable failures are engineered out before the unit reaches the table.
Fixture & instrumentation design
Test fixtures that reproduce the real mounting stiffness, plus an accelerometer and strain channel plan that will actually explain a failure if one occurs.
Lab selection, scheduling & witness
We book accredited independent labs, attend the test, and make real-time decisions on abort, re-run, and severity interpretation.
Report & certification
PE-stamped test report and certificate of compliance formatted for plan check, carrier acceptance, or customer qualification files — with the raw data appendix.
Standards & references
Frequently asked questions
What is environmental testing?+
Environmental testing subjects a product to the temperature, humidity, altitude, shock, vibration, water, dust, and corrosion conditions it will see in service and in shipment, and verifies that it still functions afterward. The most widely used method documents are MIL-STD-810 (defense and rugged commercial), IEC 60068 (international commercial and industrial), and ASTM D4169 / ISTA for packaged distribution.
Which vibration standard applies to my product?+
It depends on the deployment environment. Ground vehicles and defense hardware use MIL-STD-810 Method 514; commercial and industrial electronics use IEC 60068-2-6 (sine) and IEC 60068-2-64 (random); rail equipment uses IEC 61373; automotive electronics use ISO 16750-3; telecom central-office equipment uses Telcordia GR-63-CORE §5.3; and building-mounted nonstructural components use ICC-ES AC156. We select the applicable document and test severity before any lab time is booked.
What is transportation vibration testing?+
Transportation testing simulates the truck, rail, air, and handling environment on the packaged product — random vibration to a truck-bed or air-shipment PSD, drop and rotational-edge impact, compression stacking, and low-pressure conditioning. ASTM D4169 defines distribution cycles by assurance level and ISTA defines pre-shipment test series (1A, 2A, 3A, 6-Amazon, and others).
Can you run earthquake and environmental testing on the same program?+
Yes. Most of our clients need one integrated program: AC156 or GR-63-CORE Zone 4 earthquake qualification for the installed condition, plus transportation and environmental testing for the shipped condition. Running them under one test plan avoids duplicate fixture builds and duplicate lab mobilizations.
Do you own a lab, or do you use independent labs?+
We are the engineering side of the program, not the lab. We write the test plan, run pre-test FEA to find weak load paths, design and check fixtures, select and schedule the accredited independent lab, witness the test, diagnose failures, and issue the PE-stamped report. Independence between the engineer of record and the lab is what makes the certification defensible in plan check and in customer audits.
What happens when a unit fails a test?+
We instrument enough channels to know why it failed, not just that it failed. Typical fixes are frame stiffening, captive fasteners, isolator or snubber changes, PCB support, and crate or foam redesign. Where possible we implement and re-run on the same lab visit, which is far cheaper than a second mobilization.
Related services
Zone 1–4 earthquake, office and transportation vibration, thermal and fire.
IBC and HCAI special seismic certification by test.
Pre-test modal and response analysis to de-risk lab time.
Isolator and snubber selection for equipment and structures.
Tell us what has to survive.
Send the product datasheet, the deployment environment, the shipping mode, and any customer specification. We'll come back with the governing standards, a test matrix, and a schedule and fee.