IEC e-tech - December 2008 Edition

In his first address to Council as IEC President, Jacques R�gis highlighted the Commission's robust status, both operationally and financially. He said that while the world was experiencing perhaps the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the IEC was in a good position, stating: "For many years, the IEC Members have prepared for the proverbial 'rainy day'. While we now face a considerable storm – some say a 'perfect storm' – I am convinced we will prevail and continue to serve industry, governments and end-users with the products and services required to help rebuild our economies." (more)

This month is the final one in the present series of IEC "Natural Passion" images developed by the Geneva artist Thierry Clauson. In his own passionate way, in wedding electrotechnology to nature, he was inspired by the idea that some of the world's greatest thinkers have stumbled on their inventions entirely by chance. Behind his depiction of electrotechnology was the example of Einstein who is said to have formed his theory of relativity while on a walk out in the countryside when he saw a column of smoke rising from a distant train on the far horizon. (more)

A series of many images to illustrate the 72nd IEC General Meeting which was hosted by the Brazilian National Committee of the IEC, COBEI (Brazilian Committee of Electricity, Electronics, Telecommunications and Illumination) and held from November 17 to 21 in the WTC Hotel and Hilton Morumbi, S�o Paulo. (more)

Using the IEC Masterplan 2006 structure as the basis for his report to Council at the General Meeting, IEC General Secretary and CEO Aharon Amit started by comparing trade and gross domestic product over the last 12 years and demonstrating the clear correlation between the growth of each in both member countries and countries participating in the Affiliate Country Programme.

He ended saying that the IEC's culture of efficiency, awareness, responsiveness and quality would enable it to continue serving the global market with the best and most relevant International Standards and Conformity Assessment Systems. (more)

As a result of the global economic slowdown, IEC Council approved an initiative to allow members to reschedule their dues payments for 2009, with 60 % of the respective fees due by June 2009 and the remaining 40 % deferred for up to five years against a promissory note.

According to IEC General Secretary and CEO Ronnie Amit, this exceptional move is a direct response to changing market conditions. (more)

More than 1 200 engineers, business leaders, technologists and government officials from 62 countries gathered in S�o Paulo, Brazil, from 17-21 November 2008 for the IEC 72nd General Meeting.

The GM was hosted by COBEI (the Brazilian Committee of Electricity, Electronics, Illumination and Telecommunications), which is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2008. (more)

The NC Presidents' Workshop allowed all members to develop the priority work items for the IEC. Case studies came out top of the list.

See the article for many more photos of the event. (more)

Four leading experts on information and multimedia technologies joined IEC President Jacques R�gis to share their thoughts on how countries can achieve sustainable development and high technology through IEC Standards and Conformity Assessment.

Their presentations can be seen at the foot of the e-tech article (more)

Under the chairmanship of IEC Vice-President Frank Kitzantides, the SMB (Standardization Management Board) approved the creation of a strategic group to help the IEC develop Standards for "Smart Grids.

At the same time they proposed closer collaboration with ISO on a number of joint projects. (more)

One of the CAB decision taken at the General Meeting concerns the reporting of the three Conformity Assessment Systems who are now required to report annually on the stakeholders – users, manufacturers and CA service providers – represented in their management committees and country member committees. (more)

The IEC Council elected Hiromichi Fujisawa as IEC Vice-President to succeed Donald Gray whose term of office will end in December 2008. Dr Fujisawa will start his three-year term on 1 January 2009 as Chairman of the IEC Conformity Assessment Board.

Fujisawa has been Chairman of IEC TC (Technical Committee) 105: Fuel cell technologies since 2005, and was a member of the PACT (President's Advisory Committee on Future Technologies). He has served on the CAB as a member since 2007. (more)

The Asia-Pacific Steering Group is an informal meeting of members who share their efforts to promote the IEC in their respective countries.

Other attendees can be seen in the e-tech article which shows a series of photos taken at the meeting. (more)

Members of the newly formed IEC MSB (Market Strategy Board) met on Saturday 22 November 2008 after the IEC General Meeting. The MSB, which comprises industry representatives, was created to help set priorities for standardization development and conformity assessment and to carry out technology road mapping.

The MSB is a true "Who's Who" in the world of electrotechnology. It comprises members from many leading industries worldwide and all the IEC Officers, including the SMB Chairman, Frank Kitzantides. (more)

A special workshop on E3, Electrical Energy Efficiency, co-chaired by Evah Oduor, IEC Affiliate Coordinator for Africa, and Fran�oise Rauser, IEC Affiliate Country Programme Secretary, joined 65 participants from 27 developed and developing countries to share experiences and knowledge.

Many other photos are displayed in the e-tech article. (more)

Pierre de Ruvo, Executive Secretary of the IECEE, the IEC System of Conformity Assessment Schemes for Electrotechnical Equipment and Components, travelled to Manama, Bahrain in early November 2008, where he was received by the Industry and Commerce Minister Hassan Fakhro. (more)

The new IECEx Certified Persons Scheme will provide the global Ex industries with a single system for the assessment and qualification of persons meeting the competency prerequisites needed to properly implement the safety requirements based on the suite of IEC International Standards covering explosive atmospheres, e.g. the IEC 60079, Explosive atmospheres, and IEC 61241, Electrical apparatus for use in the presence of combustible dust, series of standards. (more)

IECQ Executive Secretary Chris Agius attended the TC 107 meeting that was held in Frankfurt last November.

The timing coincided with the German NC’s (National Committee) IEC 1906 Awards ceremony, which Agius was invited to attend. The IEC 1906 Award honours IEC technical experts around the world whose work is fundamental to the IEC and contributes in a significant way to advancing the IEC's work. (more)

LS Industrial Systems was originally part of the well-known international corporation, LG, where it went by the name LG Industrial Systems. It separated from LG in 2003 to follow its own new and independent focus.

Today, LS Industrial Systems is part of the LS Group holding that also includes the fast-growing companies LS Cable, LS-Nikko Copper, LS Mtron, Gaon Cable, E1 and Yes'co. Together, they develop and manufacture industrial electrical and electronic equipment, automation and control solutions, power transmission and distribution equipment, copper tubes and pipes. (more)

Even when tied up to the dock, ships' engines are generally left running to maintain essential services. Moves are underway to hook ships up to shore power, but there are a multitude of problems to overcome first.

'Cold ironing' is a term said to have come into use when ships used to have coal-fired iron-encased engines. When the ships were in port, their engines were not stoked and were allowed to go cold. Their iron housings also went cold, and so the phrase was coined. Other terms used are alternative maritime power (AMP) or High Voltage Shore Connection (HVSC). The IEC favours the latter term and uses it in its standards-setting work. (more)

This last month, November, the office moved to larger premises to make way for additional technical and editorial staff whose role will be to serve the TCs and SCs (Subcommittees) based in the region. (more)

During the WTO workshop held in October in Geneva, the representative of Suriname, Franklin Remy Grauwde, Executive Director, Suriname Standards Bureau, informed Fran�oise Rauser, IEC Affiliate Country Programme Secretary, that his country wished to join the IEC Programme.

This brings the number of participating countries up to 83. (more)

Born in the United Kingdom in 1924, Clifton J. Stanford trained as a telecommunications engineer and joined the staff of the IEC Central Office in 1952 as a Technical Assistant. He was appointed Assistant General Secretary in 1960 and in 1969 became General Secretary on the retirement of Louis Ruppert.

Stanford, who lived in Switzerland, passed away on 12 November 2008. (more)

On 11 November 2008 ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and ISO/IEC JTC 1 (Joint Technical Committee on Information Technology) held its annual meeting in Nara, Japan, to summarize the current status and evolution of ICT (Information and Communications Technologies).

The field of ICT is evolving so rapidly and to such an extent that JTC 1, its members and SCs (Subcommittees) need a consolidated assessment to make sound business decisions. Attendees at the special workshop heard presentations from practitioners, academics, government representatives and other stakeholders on a variety of subjects. (more)

From 20 to 29 October 2008, 240 delegates from 24 countries met in the International House in Osaka, Japan, for a series of plenary meetings of CISPR (the International Special Committee on Radio Interference) and its subcommittees CIS/A, CIS/B, CIS/F, CIS/H and CIS/I. (more)

This new International Standard for word-processing documents, presentations and spreadsheets is intended for implementation with multiple applications on multiple platforms. One of its objectives is to ensure the long-term preservation of documents created over the last two decades using programmes that are becoming incompatible due to continuing advances in the field of information technology. (more)

IEC 62087 is the world's new International Standard for measuring the energy efficiency of the latest generation of plasma and LCD televisions and other devices such as cable set-top boxes. The standard includes two DVDs and a Blu-ray Disc™ that contain the world's most boring television programme ever – a series of video clips that provides a standard range of the typical content played on your television. The clips include fast-moving action, wildlife footage, a range of studio-based coverage, and even animated cartoons. (more)

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