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FOREIGN SPECIFICATIONS OVERVIEW
4. Shipping Standards
(1) Lloyd’s Register of Shipping
Standards from the Lloyd’s Register shipping asso-
ciation based in England. These standards are
safety standards for environmental testing of the
temperature and vibration tolerances of electrical
components used for UMS (unmanned machine
rooms in marine vessels) applications. These stan-
dards have become international standards for
control equipment in all marine vessel applications.
No particular action is taken to display the confor-
mation to these standards on the products.
1. International Standards
IEC standard
International Electrotechnical Commission
By promoting international cooperation toward all
problems and related issues regarding
standardization in the electrical and electronic
technology fields, the IEC, a non-governmental
organization, was started in October, 1908, for the
purpose of realizing mutual understanding on an
international level. To this end, the IEC standard
was enacted for the purpose of promoting
international standardization.
2. North America
UL (Underwiters Laboratories Inc.)
This is a non-profit testing organization formed in
1894 by a coalition of U.S. fire insurance firms,
which tests and approves industrial products
(finished products). When electrical products are
marketed in the U.S., UL approval is mandated in
many states, by state law and city ordinances. In
order to obtain UL approval, the principal parts
contained in industrial products must also be UL-
approved parts.
UL approval is divided into two general types. One
is called “listing” (Fig. 1), and applies to industrial
products (finished products). Under this type of
approval, products must be approved
unconditionally. The other type is called
“recognition” (Fig. 2), and is a conditional approval
which applies to parts and materials.
CSA (Canadian Standards Association)
This was established in 1919 as a non-profit, non-
governmental organization aimed at promoting
standards. It sets standards for industrial products,
parts, and materials, and has the authority to judge
electrical products to determine whether they
conform to those standards. The CSA is the ultimate
authority in the eyes of both the government and the
people in terms of credibility and respect. Almost all
states and provinces in Canada require CSA
approval by law, in order to sell electrical products.
As a result, electrical products exported from Japan
to Canada are not approved under Canadian laws
unless they have received CSA approval and
display the CSA mark. Approval is called
“certification”, and products and parts which have
been approved are called “certified equipment”, and
display the mark shown in Fig. 3. The mark shown
in Fig. 4 is called the “Component Acceptance”
mark, and indicates conditional approval which is
applicable to parts. The C-UL mark shown in Fig. 5
(finished products) and Fig. 6 (parts) indicates that
the product has been tested and approved in UL
laboratories, based on UL and CSA standards,
through mutual approval activities.
3. Europe
EN standard
European Standards/Norme Europeennee
(France)/Europaishe Norm (Germany)
Abbreviation for European Standards. A unified
standard enacted by CEN/CENELEC (European
Standards Committee/European Electrical
Standards Committee). EU and EFTA member
nations employ the content of the EN standards into
their own national standards and are obligated to
abolish those national standards that do not agree
with the EN standards.
(1) Germany
VDE (Verband Deutscher Elektrotechniker)
The VDE laboratory was established mainly by the
German Electric Technology Alliance, which was
formed in 1893. It carries out safety experiments
and passes approval for electrical devices and
parts. Although VDE certification is not enforced
under German law, punishment is severe should
electrical shock or fire occur; therefore, it is, in fact,
like an enforcement.
TÜV (Technischer Überwachungs-Verein)
TÜV is a civilian, non-profit, independent
organization that has its roots in the German Boiler
Surveillance Association, which was started in 1875
for the purpose of preventing boiler accidents. A
major characteristic of TÜV is that it exists as a
combination of 14 independent organizations (TÜV
Rheinland, TÜV Bayern, etc.) throughout Germany.
TÜV carries out inspection on a wide variety of
industrial devices and equipment, and has been
entrusted to handle electrical products, as well, by
the government. TÜV inspection and certification is
based mainly on the VDE standard.
TÜV certification can be obtained from any of the 14
TÜVs throughout Germany and has the same
effectiveness as obtaining VDE certification.
LISTING MARK
Fig. 1
RECOGNITION MARK
Fig. 2
Certification
Fig. 3
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Component Acceptance
Fig. 4
VDE
TÜV Rheinland
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