IEC e-tech - July 2008 Edition

During a meeting at the agency's headquarters in Paris, France, IEA Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka told an IEC delegation that the IEA would accept an invitation from the SMB (Standardization Management Board) to participate in SG 1 (Strategy Group).
(more)

IEC General Secretary and CEO Ronnie Amit attended a special session of the Belgian Electrotechnical Committee's annual assembly on 28 May 2008 at which more than 100 senior executives from Belgian's electrotechnical industry were represented. (more)

This year's IECEE Certification Management Committee (CMC) General Meeting took place on Jeju Island, Korea, on 11-12 June 2008. The meeting was hosted by Korean IECEE Member Body KATS (the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards) and its associated NCBs (National Certification Bodies). Approximately 150 delegates participated from some 50 member countries. (more)

IECEx, the IEC System for Certification to Standards relating to Equipment for use in Explosive Atmospheres, has approved the first three certification bodies (ExCBs) to issue IECEx Conformity Mark Licenses. (more)

As a result of global fears over the use of hazardous substances, many producers of electronic and electrical equipment are putting in place compliance systems and processes to help them meet regulatory requirements governing their use. (more)

As Vice President Research in the United States for the French utility EDF (Electricit� de France), Richard Schomberg's reach is definitely global. He discusses his belief in the value that standardization brings to the marketplace. (more)

The search for greater energy efficiency is a main driver of changes to lighting standards and patterns.

This article looks at many of the areas at present being studied to improve not only the efficiency but also the safety and comfort of users, both in a domestic and an industrial context.
(more)

Algeria and Qatar are the latest countries to join the IEC.

Both countries join the IEC as Full Members. Full membership grants countries the right to participate in all IEC’s standardization activities, including the right to vote on all technical and management matters. It also gives them access to all IEC International Standards and documents.

The IEC Family now comprises a total of 153 countries (71 Members and 82 Affiliates from developing countries), encompassing more than 95 % of the world population. (more)

One of the IEC's newest members, Vietnam, recently organized a series of awareness events for industry and academia in an effort to recruit new experts to its mirror technical committees.

According to Dr Viet and the NC Secretary, Tran Van Hoc, the working language of English in the IEC presents significant problems and it has been challenging to find the experts with the right balance of technical knowledge and English-language skills. (more)

Although the Republic of the Congo joined the IEC Affiliate County Programme in June 2008, the groundwork for its joining was laid four months earlier during the African Electrotechnical Standardization Commission’s (AFSEC) inaugural meeting in Accra, Ghana. (more)

The first contact Chad had with the IEC Affiliate Country Programme was in May 2007 through the Director General of the Chad Electricity and Water Company (Soci�t� Tchadienne d’Eau et d’Electricit�), Mahamat Abakar Nassour. The setting was a joint forum of the African Electrotechnical Standardization Commission (AFSEC) and the Union of Producers, Transporters and Distributors of Electrical Power in Africa (UPDEA) in Cape Town, South Africa. (more)

The SMB (Standardization Management Board) last year initiated a trial project with various TCs (Technical Committees) to replace their SPS (Strategic Policy Statement) with an SBP (Strategic Business Plan). This was part of the approach aimed to give operational work a more business plan structure (more)

The IEC, in conjunction with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the IEC National Committee of India and co-organized by Book Supply Bureau (BSB), is planning an IEC Standards+ Training Course: "Helping to Achieve Functional Safety through IEC 61508", in India in late November 2008.

The training course is just one of the additional services which form an integral part of the IEC Standards+ philosophy. It concentrates on providing those value-added services that result in greater understanding of electrotechnical standardization. (more)

To modify your subscription to these messages alerting you to new articles posted on the IEC website, please click here and follow the instructions given on the page.

If you have any questions and/or comments, please contact Philippa Martin-King at [email protected].