POS Hardware Configuration Control for Certification Continuity
A next-generation POS terminal programme required a locked hardware and firmware configuration in order to preserve the validity of its safety certification.
Application Overview
A next-generation POS terminal programme operating under a certification regime in which the certificate is issued against a specific configuration.
Project Requirements
Safety certification is issued against a specific configuration; a subsequent component change invalidates the correspondence between certificate and product.
Bill-of-materials instability in the wider component market was the direct risk to that correspondence.
Project Configuration
DDR4 3200 8GB SO-DIMM with M.2 2242 SATA III 128GB.
Project configuration as recorded for this programme. Current product availability is listed under Products.
Qualification & Implementation
- Tier-1 components taken through x86 platform compatibility testing.
- Storage configured for reduced power draw, lowering heat generation and maintenance cost across the fleet.
- Hardware and firmware configuration was fixed before shipment and maintained under the change-review requirements agreed for this programme.
Recorded Outcomes
Hardware and firmware were controlled as one configuration, preserving certification validity. Supply held through material shortages with no recorded production interruption, and the reduced-power storage configuration lowered heat generation and maintenance cost across the fleet.
Key Engineering Factors
Hardware and firmware controlled together, so the certificate continued to describe the product.
A reduced-power storage configuration, returning value in heat and maintenance.
Continuity maintained through a shortage the wider market did not absorb.