Dr Bronwyn Evans, FIEAust, FTSE

CEO Standards Australia

AUSTRALIA’S ROLE IN THE

DEVELOPMENT OF

INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

WHO IS THE IEC

OFFICIALLY FOUNDED JUNE 1906 IN LONDON

• The first three topics - VOCABULARY, SYMBOLS and RATINGS of electrical machines

• First two essential for understanding at the international level

OFFICIALLY FOUNDED JUNE 1906 IN LONDON

FIRST THREE ADVISORY COMMITTEES FORMED

• First list of terms &

definitions for ELECTRICAL

MACHINERY and

APPARATUS

• First list of letter symbols

for QUANTITIES and

SIGNS for the names of

units

FIRST THREE ADVISORY COMMITTEES FORMED

FOCUS ON POWER SECTOR & CONSUMER ITEMS

• ADVANCES in transport,

electronic and

telecommunication

technologies made

during the war

highlighted NEED for

international standards

FOCUS ON POWER SECTOR & CONSUMER ITEMS

WORK INTERRUPTED BY WWII

• FIRST EDITION of the

International

Electrotechnical

Vocabulary

• Contained 2,000+ terms

(English, French, German,

Italian, Spanish &

Esperanto)

WORK INTERRUPTED BY WWII

WWII INTERRUPTED WORK

• Very little IEC work

achieved

• Office moved from

London to Geneva

WWII INTERRUPTED WORK

FORMED TC40 (COMPONENTS FOR ELECTRICAL EQUIP)

• Subcommittees covering

– Capacitors

– Resistors

– High frequency cables &

connectors

– Piezoelectric switches

– Plugs, sockets & switches

– Ferromagnetic material

parts

FORMED TC40 (COMPONENTS FOR ELECTRICAL EQUIP)

NEW TCS FORMED – TC46 & TC47

• TC46 – cables, wires

and waveguides for

telecomms equipment

• TC47 – semiconductor

devices and integrated

circuits

NEW TCS FORMED – TC46 & TC47

INCREASING INFLUENCE OF COMPUTING

• TC74 – safety of data

processing equipment

and office machines

INCREASING INFLUENCE OF COMPUTING

RAPID UPTAKE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES

• TC83 – solar

photovoltaic systems

• TC86 – fibre optics

• TC90 -

superconductivity

RAPID UPTAKE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES

RAPID CYCLE TIME FROM INNOVATION TO MARKET

• IEC commenced

standardisation in parallel

with the development of

new technologies

• TC105 – fuel cell

technologies

RAPID CYCLE TIME FROM INNOVATION TO MARKET

EXPANDED INTO HIGH TECH OR HIGHLY POLITICAL

• TC107 – process

management for avionics

• TC108 – safety of electronic

equipment within the field of

audio/ video

• TC109 – insulation

coordination for low-voltage

• TC111 – environmental

standardisation for

electrical & electronic

products

EXPANDED INTO HIGH TECH OR HIGHLY POLITICAL

IEC KEEPS AN EYE ON THE FUTURE

• Wearable technology

• Wireless sensor networks (the internet of things)

• Microgrids

• Renewable Energy

IEC KEEPS AN EYE ON THE FUTURE

JUNJI NOMURA – IEC PRESIDENT

• Business strategy

• Standardisation of total

systems

• Speed to market

• New technology,

systems and services

• Assist small companies

AUSTRALIA’S INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATION

• We participate on 135,

or 78% of IEC TC and

SC

• And on 453, or 61% of

ISO TC and SC

Australia’s IEC participation

STANDARDS AUSTRALIA:

WHO ARE WE?

DAILY TELEGRAPH:

3/11/1922

MEMBER-BASED; INDEPENDENT; NOT-FOR-PROFIT

GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT

Benefit the Australian community

Maximise use of prevailing international

standards

Only produced where appropriate Driven by commitment of stakeholders and

adhere to WTO TBT principles

KEY FOCUS AREAS

•

INTERNATIONALLY ALIGNED STANDARDS

Identical 40%

Modified 12%

Australian 48%

188 Published Standards

INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES

PASC, Malaysia

APEC, China

New Caledonia

HOW ARE STANDARDS CREATED?

HOW DO STANDARDS SUPPORT

INNOVATION?

STANDARDS PROMOTE INNOVATION

Standards enable businesses to:

Share information

Use collective intelligence to support industry

development.

Promote knowledge-sharing

Protect commercial-in-confidence and

intellectual property.

STANDARDS PROMOTE INNOVATION

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF

STANDARDS?

Competition

Credibility

Efficiency

Compliance

Customers

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF STANDARDS?

WHAT ABOUT STANDARDS AND RISK

MANAGEMENT?

BUILDING SAFETY & PERFORMANCE

Standards and Risk Management

Satellite image of Cyclone Yasi

Standards improve quality, performance

and safety

Cyclone Yasi: Important standards

developed with James Cook University

Primary and secondary references in

Australia’s National Construction code

DISASTER PREVENTION & MITIGATION

Standards and Risk Management

Flash floods in Toowomba, 2011 http://www.flickr.com/photos/kingbob86/5341730273 (by Timothy)

Bushfires Image from The Australian “Black Saturday” Bushfires of 2009

CONSUMER & PUBLIC SAFETY

Standards and Risk Management

Image from Wikipedia user Nachoman-au

THANK YOU