The original University of Michigan standards advocacy enterprise began tracking international facility standards in the early 2000’s (See our ABOUT). Among them, codes and standards supporting the safety and sustainability priorities of laboratory occupancies in research universities. We found that international standards were incorporated by reference into US product standards and US product standards by multi-national electrotechnology manufacturers were referenced into facility installation and conformance standards.
For decades, the University of Michigan has always been in the upper tier of universities with research and development expenditures according to the National Science Foundation; second only to Johns Hopkins University (domiciled nearest Washington D.C.) and well above Harvard, Stanford, Duke universities and the world. CLICK HERE to view the 2017 rankings.
According Carnegie Classification metrics*, a research university is a subset of doctoral degree-granting institutions with a least $5 million in total research expenditures. Global research universities simultaneously collaborate and compete; hence our concern for common metrics and a level playing field as much as technology and regulatory policy allows.
Best practice titles emerging from Technical Committee 66 of the International Electrotechnical Commission support this economic activity; to wit:
Scope. To prepare safety standards for test and measurement equipment, industrial-process control equipment, and laboratory equipment wherever they are used. Such equipment includes:
a) equipment and systems to measure, test, generate, and analyse, simple and complex electromagnetic quantities and equipment that by electromagnetic means measure physical quantities.
Note: Aspects of this equipment other than safety are covered by other technical committees.
b) equipment and systems for industrial-process measurement and control.
Note: Aspects of this equipment other than safety are covered by TC 65 except that SC 65A has a Horizontal Safety Function relating to the functional safety of electrical/electronic/programmable electronic systems and SC 65B is responsible for the functional safety of programmable controllers.
c) laboratory equipment for analysis, handling and preparation of materials.
Note: This equipment includes measuring instruments, systems and their accessories, for preparation, treatment and analysis of materials in the fields of research, medicine, industry and education, and for environmental monitoring.
TC 66 has a Group Safety Function in accordance with IEC Guide 104 for the equipment in categories a) to c) above. New or emerging trends in technology that may impact TC 66:
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- Cyber-security
- Functional Safety
- Expanded use of intelligence in products, and the linking of products by information technology & wireless solutions (“Internet of Things”)
These are not likely to affect the scope of TC 66 but will cause reassessment of the standards.
The Strategic Business Plan in its entirety is linked below:
SMB/6861/R STRATEGIC BUSINESS PLAN (SBP) – UPDATED SMB/6002/R
“Der Alchemist” 1908 Max Fuhrmann
We coordinate our response to public consultation from the US point of view with US National Committee to the IEC and globally with the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee and the US National Committee to the IEC. We include this, and other IEC titles on the standing agendas of our Laboratory, Power and Global colloquia. See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.
Issue: [6-6]
Category: Laboratory, Power, Global
Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Jim Harvey, Richard Robben, Mark Schaufele
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