STANDARDS

Standards

VDE

The VDE is the German Association for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies, a professional body based in Offenbach am Main. It was founded as Verband Deutscher Elektrotechniker (Association of German Electrical Engineers) in Berlin in 1893 and renamed itself to Verband der Elektrotechnik, Elektronik und Informationstechnik in 1998. The VDE has as of 2005[update] some 33,000 members.

The role of the VDE in Germany is comparable to that of the IET in the United Kingdom and the IEEE in the United States.

One of its activities is as a standards organization. For example, the VDE maintains the German electrical wiring regulations (DIN/VDE 0100).

The association also includes the VDE Testing and Certification Institute. This is a registered National Certification Body (NCB) for Germany. The main purpose of this testing house is to offer standards compliance and quality testing services to manufacturers of electrical appliances.

IEC

The International Electrotechnical Commission[1] (IEC) is a non-profit, non-governmental international standards organization that prepares and publishes International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies – collectively known as "electrotechnology". IEC standards cover a vast range of technologies from power generation, transmission and distribution to home appliances and office equipment, semiconductors, fibre optics, batteries, solar energy, nanotechnology and marine energy as well as many others. The IEC also manages three global conformity assessment systems that certify whether equipment, system or components conform to its International Standards.

The IEC charter embraces all electrotechnologies including energy production and distribution, electronics, magnetics and electromagnetics, electroacoustics, multimedia and telecommunication, as well as associated general disciplines such as terminology and symbols, electromagnetic compatibility (by its Advisory Committee on Electromagnetic Compatibility, ACEC), measurement and performance, dependability, design and development, safety and the environment.

DIN

Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V. (DIN; in English, the German Institute for Standardization) is the German national organization for standardization and is that country's ISO member body.

DIN and mini-DIN connectors, as well as DIN rails are several examples of older DIN standards that are today used around the world. However, there are currently around thirty thousand DIN Standards, covering almost all fields of technology. One of the earliest, and surely the most well-known, is DIN 476, the standard that introduced the A-seriespaper sizes in 1922. This was later adopted as international standard ISO 216 in 1975.

DIN is a registered association (e.V.), founded in 1917, originally as Normenausschuss der deutschen Industrie (NADI, Standardisation Committee of German Industry). In 1926 the NADI was renamed Deutscher Normenausschuss (DNA, German Standardisation Committee) in order to indicate that standardization now covered many fields, not just industrial products. In 1975 the DNA was finally renamed DIN. Its headquarters is in Berlin. Since 1975 it has been recognized by the German government as the national standards body and represents German interests at international and European level.

The acronym DIN is often wrongly expanded as Deutsche Industrienorm (German industry standard). This is largely due to the historic origin of the DIN as NADI. The NADI indeed published their standards as DI-Norm (Deutsche Industrienorm, German industry standard). E.g. the first published standard in 1918 was 'DI-Norm 1' (about taper pins). Many people still wrongly associate DIN as an abbreviation for the old DI-Norm naming of standards.

UL

Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) is an independent product safety certification organization that was established in 1894.[1] Based in Northbrook, Illinois, UL develops standards and test procedures for products, materials, components, assemblies, tools and equipment, chiefly dealing with product safety. UL also evaluates and certifies the efficiency of a company’s business processes through its management system registration programs. Additionally, UL analyzes drinking and other clean water samples through its drinking water laboratory in South Bend, Indiana and evaluates products for environmental sustainability through its subsidiary, UL Environment.

UL is one of several companies approved for such testing by the U.S. federal agency OSHA. OSHA maintains a list of approved testing laboratories, known as Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories.

CSA

Established in 1919, the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) is a not-for-profit association composed of representatives from government, industry, and consumer groups. Among the fifty seven different areas of specialization are climate change, business management and safety and performance standards, including those for electrical and electronic equipment, industrial equipment, boilers and pressure vessels, compressed gas handling appliances, environmental protection, and construction materials. CSA also provides advisory services, training materials and print and electronic published standard documents.

Laws and regulations in most municipalities, states, and provinces in North America require certain products to be tested to a specific standard or group of standards by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL). Currently forty percent of all the standards issued by CSA are referenced in Canadian legislation. CSA's sister company CSA International is an NRTL which manufacturers can choose, usually because the law of the jurisdiction requires it, or the customer specifies it. Due to the legal requirements and the cost of standards testing, counterfeit marks are not uncommon.[1]

CSA developed the CAN/CSA Z299 series of quality assurance standards, which are still in use today. They are an alternative to the ISO 9000 series of quality standards.

CSA is a division of CSA Group which also includes CSA International, a global certification and testing organization, and OnSpeX, a provider of consumer product evaluation services.

ASTM

ASTM International (ASTM), originally known as the American Society for Testing and Materials, is an internationalstandards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services. The organization's headquarters is in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, about 5 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

ASTM predates other standards organizations such as BSI (1901), DIN (1917) and AFNOR (1926), but differs from these in that it is not a national standards body, that role being taken in the USA by ANSI. However, ASTM has a dominant role among standards developers in the USA, and claims to be the world's largest developer of standards. Using a consensus process, ASTM supports thousands of volunteer technical committees, which draw their members from around the world and collectively develop and maintain more than 12,000 standards.

ASTM International publishes the Annual Book of ASTM Standards each year in print, CD and online versions. The online version was available by subscription and cost was based upon usage. For 2008, the complete set of books or CDs cost almost USD $9000 and included 81 volumes.

ANSI

The American National Standards Institute or ANSI (pronounced /ˈænsiː/)[citation needed] is a private non-profit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States. The organization also coordinates U.S. standards with international standards so that American products can be used worldwide. For example, standards make sure that people who own cameras can find the film they need for that camera anywhere around the globe.

ANSI accredits standards that are developed by representatives of standards developing organizations, government agencies, consumer groups, companies, and others. These standards ensure that the characteristics and performance of products are consistent, that people use the same definitions and terms, and that products are tested the same way. ANSI also accredits organizations that carry out product or personnel certification in accordance with requirements defined in international standards.

The organization's headquarters are in Washington, DC. ANSI's operations office is located in New York City.