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These lists are of necessity incomplete. There are many standards-setting organisations and standards that are specific to particular industries, types of product, national markets, etc., and changes are frequent. The lists are a selective guide to those that are probably the most widely known and used. For particular situations it is essential that the full details of applicable requirements are determined.

The most important standards are described in Practical Reliability Engineering (PRE) and Test Engineering (TE). Chapter references are shown where applicable

International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) (http://www.iec.ch). The electrical/electronic section of ISO.

US National Bureau of Standards (NBS) (http://www.nbs.org). Co-ordinates the production of American standards.

European Committee for Standardisation (CEN). European standards are prefixed EN ("Euro Norm").

European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC).

European Commission (EC). The EC issues directives related to compliance with standards.

British Standards Institution (BSI) (http://www.bsi.org.uk). The BSI co-ordinates the production of UK standards. British standards are prefixed BS.

The UK Accreditation Service (UKAS) (http://www.ukas.com) is responsible for the accreditation of laboratories offering measurement and calibration services. UKAS also provides accreditation for ISO9000 certification organisations.

German Association for Electronics and Information Technology (VDE) (http://www.vde.de). VDE produces standards for electronics and IT, provides accreditation services, and operates test laboratories. The VDE mark is affixed to equipment which complies with relevant VDE standards.

(All other industrialised countries have national standards organisations, which contribute to international standardisation work. However, only a few maintain standards that differ significantly from international or other major national standards).

American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) (http://www.asme.com)

American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) (http:www.astm.com)

Electrical, Electronic

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) (http://www.ieee.org).

(The IEEE Computer Society Test Technology Technical Council organises seminars, etc., on aspects of electronics testing. http://www.computer.org/tab/tttc/

Telcordia Technologies (was Bellcore). Telcordia standards are applied in the telecommunications industries worldwide. http://www.telcordia.com

US Department of Defense (Military standards, handbooks and specifications (MIL STDs, MIL HDBKs, MIL SPECs)).

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO Standards (STANAGS)).

UK Ministry of Defence (Defence Standards (DEFSTANs)).

International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Air Radio Inc. (ARINC). Produces standards for aviation electronic systems (avionics).

National Astronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) (USA).

Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) (UK).

European Space Agency (ESA).

ISO9000 (series). Quality Assurance. Chapter 13 (TE)/Chapter 15 (PRE).

ISO/IEC60300 Dependability Management. Describes methods for reliability, maintainability and safety analysis and test. Some parts are still being drafted. Chapter 13(TE)/Chapter 15 (PRE).

ISO/IEC60605 Equipment Reliability Testing. Chapter 13 (TE).

ISO/IEC61163 Reliability Stress Screening. Chapter 13 (PRE)/Chapter 13 (TE).

ISO/IEC61508 Functional Safety of Electrical/Electronic Programmable Electronic Safety-Related Systems. Chapter 13(TE)/Chapter 15 (PRE).

Test

ISO57025 Accuracy (Trueness and Precision) of Measurement Methods and Results. Describes methods and provides guidance on the quality of measurements, not specific to any technologies.

ISO/IEC60068 Environmental Testing. General guidance and descriptions of environmental test methods for a range of conditions. Similar to US MIL-STD-810, and replaces BS2011.

ISO/IEC60512 Electromechanical Components for Electronic Equipment: Basic Testing Procedures and Measuring Methods.

IEC61000 Electromagnetic Compatibility (series). Describes EMC environments, limits, test and measurement methods, and installation guidelines.

The ASME pressure vessel codes, which include test methods, are applied worldwide.

The IEEE have issued many standards related to reliability and testing of electrical and electronics systems. These include:

Many of the US Military standards, specifications and handbooks were cancelled or downgraded in 1995, when the DoD stated its intention to apply "best industry practice" wherever practicable. The most important retained documents, from the test point of view are listed below (the letter after a reference number indicates the latest issue).

Reliability, maintainability, safety (RAMS)

MIL-HDBK-781 Reliability Testing for Engineering Development, Qualification and Production. This was downgraded from a standard to a handbook. It describes the engineering and analytical methods to be used to demonstrate reliability (MTBF). Chapters 11 and 12 (PRE)/Chapter 12 (TE).

MIL-STD-1388 Integrated Logistics Support. Chapter 14 (PRE).

Test

MIL-HDBK-210C Climatic Information to Determine Design and Test Requirements for Military Systems and Equipment.

MIL-STD-461D Requirements for the Control of Electromagnetic Interference Emissions and Susceptibility.

MIL-STD-810E Environmental Test Methods and Engineering Guidelines. Describes the range of test methods and conditions for military equipment. The tests include temperature, vibration, shock, humidity, and a range of other conditions.

MIL-E-6051D Electromagnetic Compatibility Requirements, Systems.

MIL-HDBK-2164 Environmental Stress Screening Process for Electronic Equipment.

MIL-HDBK-2165A Testability Program for Systems and Equipments.

The most important EC Directives from the point of view of testing are:

• Machinery Directive (89/392/EEC) covers safety and other aspects of "machines", which are broadly defined to include products such as power tools, motors, electrical equipment, etc.

• Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Directive (89/336/EEC).

• Low Voltage Electrical Equipment Directive (73/23/EEC).

• Radio Equipment and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment (R&TTE) Directive (1999/5/EC).

• Medical Devices Directive (93/42/EEC).

EN45001/ EN45002; EN45003 General Criteria for the Operation/Assessment of Testing Laboratories; Calibration and Testing Laboratories Accreditation Systems. Replace BS7501/7502. Will be replaced by ISO/IEC17025.

EN45014 General Criteria for Suppliers’ Declaration of Conformity. See Chapter 13.

British Standards have been to a large extent harmonised with international standards, as described above. Another British Standard relevant to testing is:

BS5760 Reliability of Systems, Equipments and Components. BS5760 is a "guidelines" standard that describes methods for reliability achievement, including design analysis, test and data analysis.

DefStan 00-40 The Management of Reliability and Maintainability, and DefStan 00-41 Reliability and Maintainability Methods. These standards describe the management and methods, respectively, that should be applied to the achievement of reliability, availability and maintainability of UK defence equipment. They were produced to provide a realistic and practical framework. The methods described are generally consistent with those recommended in this book.

Def Stan 00-13 Testability. Provides guidelines and assessment methods for the testability of military electronic systems, with the emphasis on in-service test and diagnosis.

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