Safety society continues to expand

On January 1, 2004, the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society (PSES, www.ieee-pses.org) came into existence. With roots dating to the late 1980s, PSES now offers product-safety engineers a forum for information exchange. PSES president Mark Montrose has been a part of the long process required for an ad hoc group of engineers to reach society status within the IEEE. Martin Rowe spoke with him at the 2005 IEEE Symposium on EMC in Chicago.

T&MW: Why was the PSES formed?

Montrose: It started in 1986 with Rich Pescatore, an engineer at Hewlett-Packard. The industry had problems getting products approved by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) for safety certification. There were inconsistencies in policies and methods, even among the same manufacturer. Rich worked with the CSA and formed the CSA Users Group, to resolve problems. After about six months, the Users Group changed its name to the Product Safety Society (PSS). Within a year, the group had hundreds of members and a newsletter.

T&MW: Where did the members come from?

Montrose: Members came mostly from Silicon Valley. By 1988, several chapters had been formed: Santa Clara, Pacific Northwest, Denver, and New England. The New England chapter operated independently as the Northeast Product Safety Society (NPSS). In 2005, the NPSS became the Central New England Chapter of PSES.

T&MW: How did you become affiliated with IEEE?

Montrose: In 1989, the PSS applied to become an IEEE Society. But the IEEE wanted us to first have experience within an existing IEEE Society. In 1991, we became a Technical Committee, TC-8, the Electromagnetic Product Safety Technical Committee, within the IEEE EMC Society (EMCS). An unofficial subgroup was established for the PSS. In 1994, the IEEE said TC-8 violated IEEE policies governing how TCs function. A TC can have only a few members and can't have chapters or a newsletter. Essentially, TC-8 was operating as an unofficial society.

To get around this problem, we established a Working Group within TC-8, the Product Safety Technical Committee (PSTC). Working Groups may operate with members, funds, chapters, newsletters, and the like.

T&MW: If you already had the infrastructure of a society, why did it take so long to become one?

Montrose:Things take time in IEEE due to policies. For example, decisions can only be made three times a year at special meetings held among IEEE operational units. In 2000, the EMC Society Board of Directors asked me to spin off PSTC into an autonomous society. This became a formidable task to create a new society within IEEE, a feat that has not been accomplished in nearly 20 years.

To achieve society status for PSTC, two associates and I had to appear before the IEEE Technical Activities Board (TAB)—the governing body for all societies—and present a business plan to convince TAB that PSTC was ready to become a professional society.

We received preliminary approval to form a steering committee called the Product Safety Committee (PSC). The PSC's job was to develop a detailed business plan, write the constitution and bylaws, and develop a budget. I had to appear in front of 51 society presidents and division directors. They asked many difficult administrative questions, such as, "Where are you going to get revenue to support the operation?" "How can a virtual society exist without a conference or journal?" "What kind of support will you receive from academia?"

In June 2003, TAB approved the spin-off of the TC-8 from the EMC Society into the Product Safety Engineering Society. We began operation January 1, 2004.

Read the complete interview — and learn where PSES expects to go from here.