General

From national industry standards to international approvals

In the modern and postmodern applications in the industry, which largely characterized are by specialization and division of labor, standards and approvals play an important role as guarantors of predefined performance. Norms or standards enable both laymen and experts to quickly and easily determine clear information regarding performance, quality, and the ideal application area of a product. Matching the needs of the respective branches of industry such as mechanical, plant and vehicle engineering, aerospace and military or civil applications, the harmonization of national standards and norms developed in the 20th century after the Treaties of Rome in 1957, initially primarily in Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. In the following decades, numerous countries in the world with numerous national standards endeavored to incorporate their standards into international norms.

Regarding the rapidly accelerating globalization of the world economy since the 1970s, the necessity arose to align or harmonize industrial standards to create international standards with transnational recognition. In this way, international standardization approaches gained increasing importance. These international standards and approvals allow us to guarantee the quality of our heat shrinkable tubing, fabric tubing, and insulating tubing according to transnationally recognized specifications.

National norms and standards in Germany

Among the most important institutions of national standards in Germany:

• the DIN – Standards of the German Institute for Standardization
• the VDE standards of the Association of German Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies
• the DKE – Standards of the German Commission for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies
• the VG – standards (defense equipment standards) are developed in cooperation with the civilian experts of the DIN working groups, if necessary (in case of special defense technical requirements of the armament sector).

In Germany, the standards are traditionally developed or revised in various working groups (DIN, VDE) depending on the requirement profile of the industry and civil or military applications. Furthermore, these get mirrored by the DKE for harmonization before they are published as European Standards (EN). Considering the particular relevant branch of electrical engineering, DIN/DIN EN/CENELEC is an important European standard, which is usually also reflected in the IEC. Only following a successful test of parts or components approval can be granted regarding the corresponding standard.

From national to international approvals

In the course of globalization, international approvals have become increasingly important over the last three decades. These are marketed under the umbrella of the International Electrical Commission (IEC). The process of harmonizing the various national standards into one international standard and corresponding approval is structured as follows:

1. Standards are developed or revised (maintained) in various working groups at the national level.
2. As DIN standards, these documents are forwarded by the DKE to CENELEC, get harmonized, and become DIN EN.
3. Via the European administration CENELEC, the DIN EN are passed on to the corresponding (mirrored) international committee, the IEC, and are processed and coordinated via international “working groups” (similar to the national working group). Here, the chairmen of the national working groups (representatives) from the participating countries are present and vote on the documented test and inspection procedures.
4. In case of an agreement, the resulting proposal will be sent by the IEC administration to all national working groups for comments and voting
5. Final approval is given at the annual meetings of the IEC, which are held at globally changing locations
6. Following this, only editorial changes are possible, and the standard forms the basis for component testing.

Further information on the subject of approvals regarding cable protection can be found in our magazine as well.