International Standards Bodies

ISO

The International organisation for Standardisation (ISO) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies from some 130 countries. It is a non-governmental organisation established in 1947. The mission of ISO is to promote the development of standardisation and related activities in the world with a view to facilitating the international exchange of goods and services, and to develop cooperation in the spheres of intellectual, scientific, technological and economic activity. The scope of ISO is not limited to any particular branch; it covers all technical fields except electrical and electronic engineering, which is the responsibility of IEC. The work in the field of information technology  is carried out by a joint ISO/IEC Technical Committee (JTC 1). ISO’s work results in international agreements which are published as International Standards. The first ISO standard was published in 1951 with the title, “Standard reference temperature for industrial length measurement”.

Singapore’s Participation in ISO

A member body of ISO is the national body “most representative of standardisation in its country”. Thus, it follows that only one body in each country may be admitted to membership of ISO. SPRING Singapore is the national standards body and has represented Singapore as being a member body of the ISO since 1966.

At the technical level, the national Technical Committees (TCs) support Singapore’s participation in selected ISO TC and Sub-Committees (SCs) as Participating (P) or Observer (O) members. Singapore is currently holding P-memberships in 25 ISO TCs/SCs and O-memberships in 110 ISO TCs/SCs. Singapore is also the Convenor for two Working Groups (WGs).

For more details about the ISO, please visit the ISO’s website at : http://www.iso.org. For more details on participation of ISO work in Singapore, please contact Ms Karen Koh at Email : karen_koh@spring.gov.sg.

IEC

Founded in 1906, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is the world organisation that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies. The IEC was founded as a result of a resolution passed at the International Electrical Congress held in St. Louis (USA) in 1904. The membership consists of more than 55 participating countries.

IEC’s standards are vital since they represent the core of the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Technical barriers to Trade (TBT), whose 100-plus central government members explicitly recognise that international standards play a critical role in improving industrial efficiency and developing world trade.

IEC standards provide industry and users with the framework for economies of design, greater product and service quality, more inter-operability, and better production and delivery efficiency. At the same time, IEC’s standards also encourage an improved quality of life by contributing to safety, human health and the protection of the environment. To date, the IEC has published about 4500 standards.

Singapore’s Participation in IEC

Singapore is a  member of the IEC through the Singapore National Committee of the IEC [SNC(IEC)] and this gives us:

•	the right to participate in IEC standardisation activities, including all its Technical Committees and Subcommittees
•	equal voting rights

The Secretariat of the SNC(IEC) is administered by SPRING Singapore. The Chairman of SNC(IEC) is Mr Robert Chua. As SNC(IEC) Chairman, he is also automatically a member of the IEC Council, a general assembly of the IEC National Committees. Mr Robert Chua was elected into the IEC Council Board from 1998 – 1999 and for another tern from 2000 –2002. The Council Board is an advisory committee to the IEC Council.

Singapore is a participating member in the IEC Technical Committee on Primary Cells and Batteries (IEC TC 35), IEC Subcommittee for Low-Voltage Switchgear and Controlgear, Assemblies (IEC SC 17D), IEC Subcommittee for Plugs, Socket-outlets and switches (IEC SC 238) and Safety of Electronic Equipment within the field of Audio/Video, Information Technology and Communication TEchnology (IEC TC 108). We are also an observer member in 128 IEC Technical Committees and Subcommittees.

For more details about the IEC, please visit the IEC’s website at : http://www.iec.ch. For more details on participation of IEC work in Singapore, please contact Mrs Leong Suet Mui at Email : smchung@spring.gov.sg.

Regional Standards and Conformance Fora

The Standardisation Department in SPRING Singapore represents Singapore’s interest in regional standards and conformance fora, in particular:

ASEAN Consultative Committee on Standards and Quality (ACCSQ)

Pacific Area Standards Congress (PASC)

APEC Sub-Committee for Standards and Conformance (SCSC)

SPRING Singapore participates actively in regional standardisation fora such as in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Sub-Committee on Standards & Conformance (SCSC), the ASEAN Consulative Committee for Standards & Quality (ACCSQ) and the Pacific Area Standards Congress (PASC).

By our participation, SPRING Singapore could then actively monitor and participate strategically in issues related to standards and conformity assessment to help our exporters access overseas markets and ensure that our technical infrastructure is ready, contributing to enhanced trade facilitation.