Good morning all, I am attempting to explain to a client the differences between guidelines, standards and codes for products without going into an hour long explanation of all the ins and outs of regulatory compliance. I suppose I might call it an executive review or presentation. See if you think my thoughts are accurate.
- Codes (Directives) are the law of the land. That is, they describe what must be done, but not necessarily how to do it. Codes are not used for the design of products, instead they are focused on protection of people, animals, property and environment in the workplace as well as public and residential areas. The writing of codes is the responsibility of the government entities and may involve committees of interested parties but in the end are the sole responsibility of that entity. Codes often require the use of certified products evaluated to certain standards by an accredited inspection body. - Product standards (Norms), especially for products entering the marketplace, are requirements in design, construction, test and installation. Standards tell you what needs to be done and how to do it. Many standards may used to evaluate and certify products by third parties which are accredited by a government entity and as such are one way to show compliance with codes, Standards are almost exclusively written by balanced committees of professionals, with public review and clause by clause balloting. - Guidelines are recommended or best practices and may reference either codes or standards. These guides are often given from experience and lessons learned. One of the hallmarks of guidelines is the use of non-mandatory verbs such as "may", "should", "would" or "could". Guidelines are sometimes compiled by groups of professionals, but may be from individuals or a result of industry self-regulation. In general, products reviewed solely to guidelines are not able to be certified by third parties accredited under government regulation. This said, there are many guidelines used by reputable organizations and issuance of certificates, stamps or markings are common. Thoughts? Thanks - Doug -- Douglas E Powell [email protected] http://www.linkedin.com/in/dougp01 - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://www.ieee-pses.org/list.html (including how to unsubscribe) List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> David Heald: <[email protected]>
