De-Risking Certification Before the BOM Exists

Certification Risk Starts Earlier Than Most Teams Expect

For many robotics and automation teams, first-time certification is manageable.

The harder problem appears during next-generation designs — when teams want to move fast, reuse what already works, and avoid reopening months of safety analysis, while still evolving early architecture.

A common scenario looks like this:

• A first-generation system has already achieved CE Marking and/or UL certification
• A new generation is under development
• Some subsystems are defined, others are still fluid
• Vendors and BOMs are not yet finalized

The challenge isn’t whether the next system can be certified — it’s how to reduce certification ambiguity early, before design and supplier decisions become expensive to change.

The Problem: Certification Ambiguity Without a Finalized BOM

Early in a redesign cycle, teams often have:

• CAD models of subsystems or assemblies
• Electrical schematics (often as PDFs)
• A technical file from a previously certified product

But they typically don’t have:

• A complete bill of materials
• Locked component vendors
• Clear answers on which prior compliance evidence still applies

This creates familiar uncertainty:

• Which standards still apply unchanged?
• Which components require re-evaluation?
• Where should engineering effort be focused before procurement decisions are locked in?

The Workflow: Early-Stage Component Gap Analysis

Saphira is designed to work before traditional certification workflows begin — using partial, real engineering inputs to surface risk early.

Here’s the generalized workflow.

1. Start With Unstructured Design Inputs

Instead of waiting for a finished BOM, teams can provide:

• A CAD model of a subsystem
• A PDF electrical schematic
• Optionally, a prior product’s technical file

Screenshot placeholder: Uploading a CAD model or electrical schematic into Saphira

2. Automated Subsystem Teardown

Saphira analyzes unstructured inputs to identify composite components, such as:

• Wiring and cable assemblies
• Fuse blocks and protective devices
• Enclosures and ingress points
• Sensors, actuators, and control electronics

This produces a structured component graph even when no BOM exists yet.

Screenshot placeholder: Subsystem-to-component breakdown view

3. Standards Inheritance From Prior Designs

Using context from previously certified systems, Saphira can infer:

• Which top-level standards were applied
• How those standards cascade down to subsystems and components

This allows teams to reuse accepted certification logic while still accounting for design changes.

Screenshot placeholder: Standards mapping from system → subsystem → component

4. Component-Level Gap Analysis

For each identified component, Saphira evaluates:

• Applicable clauses and test requirements
• Whether existing compliance evidence still applies
• Where changes introduce new or unclear obligations

The result is a focused gap analysis, not a generic checklist:

• What is already covered
• What needs review
• What is likely unaffected

Screenshot placeholder: Component Gap Analysis table

5. Supplier Discovery for Pre-Certified Components

Where gaps exist, Saphira can search:

• Its internal compliance database
• Global supplier catalogs

To identify commercially available, appropriately certified components, explicitly excluding custom-manufactured parts.

This enables informed supplier decisions before designs are locked in.

Screenshot placeholder: Supplier search results tied to a specific requirement

Why This Matters for Iterative Product Development

This approach allows teams to:

• Surface certification risk months earlier
• Avoid late-stage redesigns driven by test failures
• Make supplier decisions with standards context already attached
• Reuse prior certification effort without blindly copying designs

For teams building iterative robotics or automation platforms, certification becomes a design-time decision tool, not a late-stage blocker.

From Ambiguity to Early Clarity

Early-stage design data doesn’t need to be perfect to be useful.

By combining partial design inputs with structured standards intelligence, teams can:

• Reduce uncertainty
• Focus engineering effort where it matters
• Enter formal certification with far fewer surprises

That’s the goal of early-stage Component Gap Analysis — and why more teams are starting certification work well before the BOM exists.