The Importance of Standardization – Benefit and Advantages

Benefits for the economy and society

Standards have become an integral part of our daily lives; and not just in society, where guidelines and regulations are intended to prevent misunderstandings and ensure fairness and safety. Such regulations are also highly significant in commerce with respect to operating processes, products and services, so that commercial trade can function smoothly, safely and efficiently.

By its very nature, a standard is capable of implementing fair trade, understanding and smooth-running processes as well as achieving more productivity and cost efficiency. Products, services and economic processes are structured and optimized so they can mesh seamlessly, be quickly developed and made available to the market. These benefits are extended by another significant factor, namely standards and specifications apply and are accepted across national borders, allowing for barrier-free global trade which promotes economic growth.

We frequently profit from the benefits of standardization without even knowing it. It has a greater impact on the economic growth of many countries more than patents and licenses. In Germany, for instance, with a value of approximately 17 billion euros per year, standards provide a powerful business and economic support which again highlights their importance.

DIN and DKE: Standards are created at national level

On June 5, 1975, the then Federal Government concluded the so-called “Standardization Agreement” with DIN. This recognized DIN as the responsible standardization organization for the Federal Republic of Germany, an historic event of major importance in the history of standardization.

As the “national standardization organization”, DIN represents German interests in non-governmental international standardization organizations such as ISO and CEN. In a subordinate exchange of correspondence regarding the standardization agreement, it was determined that DKE would assume these tasks in the field of electrical and information technologies as the German member of the IEC and CENFLEC.

DKE’s task is to represent the interests of the electrical, electronics and information technology in the field of international and European electrotechnical standardization work. As a result, it is responsible for the standardization work done in the relevant international and European organizations (especially the IEC, CENELEC and ETSI). This task also includes activities and publications in advance of the standardization work (standardization) in the commission’s area of responsibility.

The results of DKE’s electrotechnical standardization work is documented in the DIN standards which are incorporated into the German body of standards as German standards and, if they contain safety-related specifications, are also incorporated into the VDE body of requirements as VDE regulations.

Until the foundation of DKE in 1970, the electrotechnical standardization work was still performed, on the one hand, in the technical standards committee for electrotechnology (FNE) of the German standards committee (now: DIN Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V.). On the other hand, the regulatory work was done in the technical committee and at the German Verband Deutscher Elektrotechniker ((VDE) Association of German Electrical Engineers) (now: VDE - Verband der Elektrotechnik Elektronik Informationstechnik e.V. (German Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies)).

CEN and CENELEC: Standards are created at European level

CENELEC, in which DKE represents Germany, develops the European standards and specifications in the field of electrical, electronics and information technologies; CEN is responsible for all other standardization fields.

As international non-profit, technical scientific associations based in Brussels, CEN and CENELEC have had common rules for standardization work since 1986 and have been supported by a common business unit, the CEN-CENELEC Management Center (CCMC) since 2009.

ETSI is the European Telecommunications Standards Institute. The organization was founded in 1988 and is seated in Sophia Antipolis near Nice.

The distribution of tasks between CEN and CENEFLEC is the same as that between ISO and the IEC. As expected, DIN (or DKE) plays an important role in European standardization work.

Harmonization documents are a special feature of the European standardization work done by CENELEC. They are often created by adopting international standards, but do not require a verbatim or full form adoption. The European standardization work is therefore of great importance for the dissemination of international standards because, as part of the harmonization of standards, they make it possible to introduce international standards on the national level as well. As a result, the global uniformity of standards and specifications is promoted, which is a significant advantage for international trade.

ISO and the IEC: Standards are created at international level

The international standardization organizations ISO and IEC as well as the European CEN and CENELEC each only have one representative from a country, who must represent all of that country’s standardization interests. At ETSI, on the other hand, interested industrial companies, service providers and communications technology users are themselves members. National standardization organizations have concluded contracts with ETSI as the National Standardization Organization (NSO).

The ISO and the IEC’s primary objective is to create international standards, while CEN and CENELEC develop European standards and harmonization documents. Topics of general interest that are not suitable for a standard or have not found enough support to be issued as a standard can be published in specifications (technical specification or IEC-PAS (Publicly Available Specification)) and technical reports.

The international standards of ISO and the IEC, like DIN standards, are non-binding recommendations standards. They can, however, be made binding by means of reference in legislation or they can become the basis of mutual obligations of the contracting parties by being stipulated in individual contracts.

Relevant statements, assessments and further information about the benefits of the IEC’s work can be found at "Who benefits" on the IEC website.

The electrotechnical standardization on the international level is also vital as it allows for the creation of a uniform global body of standards. It defines a state-of-the-art that is recognized worldwide.

Share of international electrotechnical standards in Germany

The high degree of relevance at international standardization work is demonstrated by the fact that more than 80% of all published electrotechnical standards in Germany are of international origin.

Thanks to the competent representation of German interests, we, the DKE, enjoy an excellent reputation as a German body in the IEC and CENELEC To promote and support the internationally-aligned standardization work in the best possible way and highlight its importance, our committees and their technical experts work closely with the standardization organizations IEC, CENELEC and ETSI. Currently, a total of 9,000 experts accompany these organizations’ standardization work on behalf of DKE.

Cooperation at international level

Of the approximately 9,000 experts who currently cooperate with CENELEC, IEC and ETSI, around 1,250 experts are active in the IEC and 550 in CENELEC. Several of them hold important positions. We thus provide a leading number of chairpersons and secretaries within these organizations.

• 25% of all sitting IEC chairpersons and 19% of all secretaries are from DKE.
• The share of CENELEC chairpersons from DKE is even as high as 28%. Around 36% of the experts fill the role of a secretary.
• Secretly, the German experts are a welcome and vital part of the international and European standardization community. They actively support and shape the standardization work.