IHS White Paper: Leveraging and Developing Domestic and Global Industry Standards in Canada

Having assembled a working group at the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in the field of Intelligent Transportation Systems, as well as chairing the ISO technical committee on hydrogen technologies, Canada is familiar with the world of global industry standards. Canada proceeds to develop domestic standards through organizations such the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB), the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), the Standards Council of Canada (SCC), the Underwriters’ Laboratories of Canada (ULC), to name a few. From engineering to aerospace, and manufacturing to electronics, Canadian businesses today increasingly deal with both domestic and global industry standards, whether international or U.S. in origin. This paper white paper will explore what these standards represent for Canadian businesses, including:

• The benefit of transfer of knowledge in order to enhance both products and processes
• Help in streamlining international trade and standards compliance
• An opportunity to contribute to the standards development process itself

Implementation of standards increases cost savings through transfer of knowledge while gaining other benefits. Standards help increase the overall value of products, and businesses benefit from standards encouraging innovation. Compliance of standards provides proven templates that serve to increase speed to market new products. Standards also facilitate trade relations and the approval of imported or exported products. Additionally, this paper explores:

• The Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB)
• The Standards Council of Canada (SCC)
• The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
• Canadian tradition of developing domestic standards
• The seven stages of the development process

Researching domestic, international, and U.S. standards can reduce project completion time, however this process can be further expedited via third-party standards suppliers. The resourceful database of a third-party standards supplier provides powerful search and document management, simplifying the process of standards research. Listed below is a partial collection of the most common electronics and electrical standards and regulations acquired from a third-party standards supplier.

• NEMA C119.1
• API RP 500
• IEC 60529
• IEEE C63.4

Download this White Paper to learn how to leverage and shape domestic and global industry standards in Canada.

Related topics:

• Canadian domestic standards
• Canada’s consensus-based Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)
• UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
• North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
• World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement
• Technical Barriers to Trade (BTA)
• Canadian Standards Association (CSA) flowchart