In the coming newsletters, topics related to EMC and ESD standards will be discussed in this new section.
To start this section, we will address a number of frequently asked general questions about standards, such as:
– What is a standard?
– Who sets a standard?
– How is a standard established?
What is a standard:
A standard is a voluntary agreement between parties about a product, service or process.
Please note that standards are not laws. Standards can be used voluntarily by everyone. A standard only becomes binding if various parties have agreed to follow it and, for example, it forms part of a contract. A standard can also become binding if it is prescribed by law.
Who determines a standard:
The process of arriving at a standard, standardization, takes place in standards committees.
Depending on the type of standard, it can be established with both national and international representatives. Standards committees in our field of EMC/ESD do not consist of politicians alone, but of representatives of the parties involved. A standard is established by consensus between all participating parties. The standardization process assumes that the interested parties jointly bear the burden of establishing a standard. Our association has representatives in various working groups that work on establishing and maintaining the EMC/ESD standards and contributes to the financial burden of the standardization process.
How is a standard established?
See in the schematic representation (see image below) the parties involved in the creation of an IEC NORM such as the ESD standard IEC 61340-5-4. The linchpin is the SMB (Senior Management board) to which the TC's Technical commissions are attached. For electrostatics this is the TC101.
The TC101 is composed of members of NC's (National Committees). For ESD standards this is the NEC101 from the Netherlands. From our association there is representation in both groups.
If there is a need for a new standard or the maintenance of an old one, this is discussed at an international level in (in this case) the TC101 and a working group is formed. At the moment, hard work is being done on a new standard, the IEC TS 61340-5-4, which is being carried out by Working Group 5 (WG5) and our association is also active in this. The next newsletter will go into more detail on how the data for the creation of a standard is processed.
Questions about standards, comments and additions to this section are more than welcome and can be addressed to the secretariat (info@emc-esd.nl) This will be discussed in this section 'Standards'.
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