Table of contents. Editorial. Issue Nº6 December 2017

Transcription

1 Issue Nº6 December 2017 Table of contents ACEC opens its doors to help TC/SCs with EMC activity... 2 Uberto Vercellotti 2017 Edison Awardee... 4 New Systems Committee on Smart Manufacturing... 5 IEC Systems Work... 6 IEC Ambassadors... 7 IEC Regional Offices Activities... 8 Organizational Changes in the Technical Department Introducing Stephen Dutnall and Miroslav Siket The IEC Academy Editorial The end of the year is approaching fast. We are all looking forward to a hopefully quiet holiday season. It is also the time of the year when you look back at the events of the past year. For me, it was my first year with the SMB and it has been a very busy one for SMB. We have started strategic and adhoc groups on issues such as working with consortia, hot topic radar, digital transformation, and IEC Masterplan implementation to name just a few. We have started two new Technical Committees, TC 123 Management of assets and TC 124 Wearable Devices. 1

2 We thoroughly reviewed the Systems Approach (see article by Gennaro Ruggiero) and started a new Systems Committee on Smart Manufacturing (see article by Peter Lanctot). But much more has been happening in the IEC. The SMB Newsletter provides you with some further information on issues discussed in the SMB and general news from IEC CO. This issue also covers information on ACEC, the Advisory Committee on Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) and its efforts to outreach to the whole IEC community to harmonize as much as possible the general EMC aspects. Edison Awardee Uberto Vercellotti explains the main developments in TC 89, Fire Hazard Testing, and looks back at his successful time as Chair of the committee and the most important developments during this time. IEC Ambassadors Vimal Mahendru and Jim Matthews share their first experiences with this relatively new role in their respective fields. Next, I invite you to explore the reports of the Regional Centres of the IEC in North America, Latin America, Asia- Pacific and Africa. The activities there are of growing importance to IEC s mission to be a globally relevant organization. Finally, you will read about the new organization of the technical department and goals of the IEC Academy. I hope you will enjoy reading the newsletter and we always welcome your feedback. Enjoy the holiday season! Ralph Sporer, SMB Chair ACEC opens its doors to help TC/SCs with EMC activity ACEC, the Advisory Committee on Electromagnetic Compatibility, is one of seven Advisory Committees reporting to the SMB. Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) is the ability of an electronic device or product to operate as intended when exposed to a variety of sources of radio frequency interference (e.g. from wireless devices) and at the same time not disrupt the operation of another electronic device or critical service such as police and fire communications. Due to the extent and nature of electromagnetic compatibility applications, it permeates many product technical committees (TCs) and subcommittees (SCs), publications and disciplines that might not seem to have EMC issues, but in fact, do. Such an example is medical devices that need to work throughout a hospital along with the sources of wireless technology present. Hence, the challenge of finding out where ACEC can help and advise has become a major activity discussed for many years, but in particular in 2017 at the ACEC meetings in Washington DC, US, and Stockholm, Sweden. The work of ACEC was also presented by the Chair at the SMB June 2017 meeting in Geneva. In the past year, the goal of ACEC has been, and continues to be, to increase its membership outreach. This is achieved by having representatives of TC/SCs that have EMC activity to become members, or guests to describe any problems or successes in referencing EMC in their TC/SC publications. This advice is captured in IEC Guide 107 Electromagnetic compatibility - Guide to the drafting of electromagnetic compatibility publications. 2

3 It should be pointed out that ACEC does not enter into standards development. That task rightfully is within the scope of the TC/SCs and hence, having TC/SC representatives as members, provides the perspective of standards developers and the needs of their customers who use those standards. The present membership is comprised of core member groups which are CISPR, International special committee radio interference, and TC 77, Electromagnetic compatibility. Due to their key role, each group is allowed to have up to four members. This emphasis is vital as the two committees are explicitly identified in Guide 107 as the resource to check appropriate application of EMC in TC/SC publications. Other TC/SCs already members of ACEC are TC 13, Electrical energy measurement, TC 22, Power electronics, TC 46, Cables, TC 61, Safety of household appliances, TC 62, Medical electrical equipment, SC 65A, Industrial Process control systems, TC 69, Electric road vehicles, TC 120, Electrical energy storage systems and SC 121A, Low voltage switchgear. Other TC/SCs have been invited to join, or are in the process of submitting their representative for SMB approval. When these are added this will make ACEC contain even more TC/SCs that can seek advice and also importantly talk to each other outside of their TC/SC meetings for different views on the impact of the use of EMC principles and test methods. These TCs are: TC 72, Automatic electrical controls, TC 45 & SC 45A, Nuclear instrumentation, TC 34, Lamps and related equipment, TC 82, Solar photovoltaic energy systems, TC 47, Semiconductor devices, TC 9, Electrical equipment and systems for railways. The above is all part of an outreach program that was started over a year ago and was further emphasized in Decision 159/12 in SMB/6186/DL which asked ACEC to propose how to improve interaction with TC/SCs based on TC/SC comments in SMB/6176/INF. 37 TC/SCs commented on the following questions: Are you aware of ACEC? Is their work useful to you? Is there sufficient communications? Propose a way for better interaction This led to ACEC responding with plans in SMB/6216/INF. The plan covers these details: First contact TC/SCs not aware of ACEC and inform them of how ACEC interacts with its present 20 TC/SCs More broadly contact other TC/SCs to inform them of the relevance of EMC in their work Encourage TC/SCs with known EMC activity to join ACEC Provide information on ACEC to present at TC/SC plenaries as part of the TO presentation on what is happening in IEC The SMB in SMB/6216A/CC generally encouraged the above plan asking that a progress report be given as to the success of the outreach and reported to the SMB. Beyond the above initiative, ACEC continues with these projects that were discussed at its November 2017 meeting in Stockholm: 9 khz to 150 khz discussions: Review of the progress of the provided compatibility levels such that Powerline Communications Systems can operate as intended with the emissions produced by grid connected power inverters (ac/dc power supplies). A joint Working Group is going to be established between CISPR and SC 77A to limit non-intentional differential (applied across both conductors of the powerline) emissions that can be the source of many EMC problems. An example of an EMC problem is causing interference to powerline communication signals or the conversion of the differential signals into common mode (on both conductors of the power line in the same direction) signals that can then radiate and disturb radio services. The TC/SCs present their progress reports. The last slide of each report states what the TC/SC wants of ACEC. For CISPR, TC77 and their selected subcommittees, and those in Table 1 the reports showed the status of their publications and any EMC implications. Here is a sample of requests of ACEC at the meeting. - TC 13, Electrical Energy Measurement and Control, asked ACEC to continue to monitor the work relating to electromagnetic interference in the range 2 khz-150 khz and keep this as a high-priority task. ACEC has been treating this issue as a high priority for many meetings (See the discussion above on 9 khz to 150 khz). - TC 46, Cables, wires, waveguides, RF connectors, RF and microwave passive components and accessories, asked ACEC to look at the minutes of selected Working Groups to see if there are any EMC issues that should be addressed. - TC 61, Safety of household and similar electrical appliances, wants the support of ACEC for a joint working group between TC 61 and SC 77A to modify IEC taking into account TC 61 s needs. - TC 106, Methods for the assessment of electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields associated with human exposure, is supporting ACEC s program in interesting Young Professionals to get active on IEC Working Groups. 3

4 Other reports are invited such as those from the International Telecommunications Union - Radio sector, CIGRE, International Council on Large Electric Systems, and the IEEE EMC Society standards committees. For example, in the IEEE EMC Society presentation, ACEC is invited to inform their colleagues of the new standards work that needs experts in topics where there are no equivalent EMC standards in the IEC. Finally, ACEC has completed the updating of the material on the EMC portion of the Technology Sector on the IEC website. The presentations of ACEC members at EMC Symposia around the world are also on the website. For more information contact Don Heirman, ACEC d.heirman@ieee.org. Uberto Vercellotti 2017 Edison Awardee IEC TC 89, Fire hazard testing, was formed in November 1988 by decision of the IEC Council to transform SC 50D, Environmental testing, into a full Technical Committee. It was agreed that the fundamental aspect of fire warranted its own Technical Committee, with a horizontal safety function (formerly known as a horizontal committee) within the IEC, to give guidance and develop standards and test methods related to fire hazards for use by other IEC Technical Committees. There is a rapid global increase in the use of electrotechnical products in all application areas: main reasons are the revolution in IT systems, the demand for increased functionality in buildings, structures and transport, and the general development of the infrastructure in developing economies and renewables. Uncontrolled fires and their effluents are perceived as a significant environmental concern: in the developed world, fire claims 10 to 20 people per million of population per annum, and fire losses amount to approximately 0,2 % of GDP per year. Occupied buildings account for the majority of fatal fires. Electrotechnical products present two particular potential hazards in that: they contain or convey electrical energy and, therefore, may be a source of ignition; and they may be an avenue of fire spread The primary aim of using recently published BSPs (basic safety publications) is to prevent ignition caused by an electrically energized component part but, in the event of ignition, to confine any resulting fire within the bounds of the enclosure of the electrotechnical product. TC 89 publications are mainly used by IEC product TCs such as TC 10, TC 14, SC 17B, TC 20, SC 23A&J, TC 108 but also by regulators, manufacturers, test laboratories and specifiers etc. most of whom are actively represented in TC 89. I joined TC 89 in 1989, and I became Convenor of different Working Groups until 2005 when I was appointed as Chair after Ken Buckingham and Ian Fordham. In my years of Chair and acting Chair (due to vacancy) I have been fortunate enough to work with valuable people, like the two secretaries who have succeeded in the meantime, and other colleagues, furthermore to meet exceptional people in the 23 visited nations. My nomination for the Edison Award 2017 is giving me the possibility to officially thank all of them for their help and friendliness I received along the years. Uberto Vercellotti, Past Chair IEC TC 89 4

5 New Systems Committee on Smart Manufacturing At its October 2017 meeting the SMB approved the creation of a new Systems Committee (SyC) on Smart Manufacturing. This decision resulted from a recommendation made by Standardization Evaluation Group (SEG) 7, which focused on an IEC strategy to address manufacturing enterprise operations to ensure that the real-time data needs of the manufacturing enterprise are sustained to achieve safe, secure, energy efficient and productive operations within the context of a connected smart manufacturing enterprise. Set up in June of 2016 and having run for slightly more than a year, SEG 7 had four face-to-face meetings and recommended the initial scope of the SyC: To provide coordination and advice in the domain of Smart Manufacturing to harmonize and advance Smart Manufacturing activities in the IEC, other SDOs, and Consortia according to clause 2 in AC/22/2017 (Transparency of SyC work to TCs and other groups). In its work, SEG 7 studied many architectures for smart manufacturing that enabled it to function as a smart application within a broad IoT (Internet of Things) environment; and to leverage the adoption of current and next generation technologies to achieve safe and secure factory operations. To understand the future requirements of smart manufacturing SEG 7 sought to: analyze market and industry developments, identify gaps and overlaps in the standards portfolios of IEC and ISO and other SDOs, make sure that appropriate standards are delivered in a timely manner, define a structure for collaboration between Standardization organizations (notably ISO and IEC), monitor the practical application of collaborations already in place. The SyC will note that the market for smart manufacturing systems is a high priority focus of national governments, several of which have already established research and development programs. The developments in the market are being fuelled by the technology developments of the ICT sector which are enabling the acquisition, communication and consumption of data to be achieved on a large scale, thus enabling people with mobile devices and equipment with embedded ICT to access current data and process it using the latest data analysis technology, leading to smarter local decisions and improved system performance. As a result, the new SyC will have at the ready, information on several national initiatives in the smart manufacturing domain, including information on programs from China, France, Germany, India, Japan, South Korea, and the US. The information also contains identified associated architecture models or reference architectures. During its analysis, SEG 7 also had successful collaboration with a wide range of ISO and IEC Technical Committees in addition to ISO/IEC JTC1/SC41 and IEEE P2413 in the area of IoT. The group also worked with ITU-R on future spectrum requirements for wireless technology deployed in critical infrastructure applications and has passed on the task to IEC SEG 8. The following IEC TCs and other groups active in Smart Manufacturing standardization which could be part of the collaboration platform for the new SyC were identified as: IEC TCs identified: TC 3, TC 17, TC 22, TC 44, TC 65, TC 77, TC 91, TC 111, TC 119, TC 121, CISPR, SEG 8, ACOS, ACEC, ACEA, ACART, and ACSEC. ISO TCs identified: TC 199, TC 184/SC 4, TC 184/SC 5, TC 261, TC 299, and ISO/IEC JTC1/SC 41 and the ISO Smart Manufacturing Coordinating Committee (SMCC). The ultimate goal of forming a Systems Committee on smart manufacturing is through standards, to interconnect every step of the manufacturing business processes, and integrate the manufacturing function with the other business functions that make up a manufacturing enterprise. Peter Lanctot, (former) SEG 7 Secretary 5

6 IEC Systems Work The progress seen in the last few years in the areas of sustainable energy, automation, information technology, artificial intelligence, big data and communication technologies has created a very favorable market for a variety of new products and services which promise an improved quality of life and a more sustainable world. Nevertheless, convergence of these services and products in a cohesive whole, as Systems or System of Systems, is still a challenge that market leaders and policy makers and consumers are struggling with. To play a key role in this rapidly evolving context, standardization needs to adapt and evolve accordingly. Standardization needs to provide new tools to explore the complexity of these systems through a holistic perspective and then has to define and lay down conditions favoring seamless integration and interoperability, helping to drive the quest to make these future systems scalable, stable, adaptable, and more humane. In response to evolving market needs a few years ago, the IEC put in place the Systems Committee structure (SyC). The SMB ahg70 has recently revised their terms of reference to enhance their openness and collaborative spirit and has equipped them with a new deliverable, the Systems Reference Document (SRD), which is aimed at reaching out closer to all the stakeholders of standards. Systems Committees use a practice which is largely used in engineering and technology sectors like space and defense industry, cybernetics and many others complex technology domains, and is generally known as the Systems Approach. The Systems Approach incorporates not only engineering, but also logical human and social aspects. Systems Approach is a holistic, iterative, discovery process and helps defining the right problem: only an appropriate definition of the problem leads to finding the right solution. With the start of the Systems Work in the IEC, the SMB mandated the Systems Resource Group to target and tune the Systems Approach for standardization purposes and to help the Systems Committees to adopt appropriate and adequate tools and methodologies, to produce integrity and consistency in solutions which need to be market relevant. The adoption of the Systems Approach also requires a better integration of SyCs with TCs, which can now become a Contributing Member of the SyCs, with the agreement of all the parties in play, working together in a favourable environment. Continuity across TCs and SyCs and overlap in areas of interests and scope is not a threat but an opportunity to engage in dialogue and to explore together the needs and opportunities for standardization work. Today, at the IEC, there are five Systems Committees (AAL, LVDC, Smart Energy, Smart Cities, and Smart Manufacturing), all exploring standardization work in forward looking areas and giving an incredible opportunity to strengthen the links in the whole standardization community to better respond to challenges from convergence of technologies. Everybody, from TCs, SCs and any interested stakeholder is encouraged to participate in these activities and join the Systems Committees! but what do we mean by System? To most of us, the concept of Systems corresponds to an image of collective entities made up of components and parts. Although these parts are the building blocks of the systems, what is critical to the systems (and what really makes it being a system) are the relations these parts have amongst each other. > A picture is worth a thousand words: a clear example of what a system is and what is not The System is the product of the interactions of its parts rather than the sum of its parts. In fact, systems have properties that none of its parts have (emergent properties) and the performance of a system depends on how the parts fit together and not how they act taken separately. Moreover, any improvement of the System has to address the System as a whole and not its interdependent parts separately. Take for example the picture above: each component is part of the system known as a car, but none of them alone can be called a car or have the characteristics of a car. However, once together, they work as a system known as a car. Gennaro Ruggiero, IEC Systems Technical Officer 6

7 IEC Ambassadors The role of Ambassador for the IEC is a relatively new one. I was appointed to the role at the beginning of Each of us has a different portfolio of responsibilities but in general, our mission is to extend the reach of the IEC. For each area, this includes the expected role of speaking to external groups and talking about work in the areas of our portfolio. For me, the portfolio is targeted to two areas Systems and ICT. My first year as an Ambassador was focused on leading an ad-hoc group to clarify several aspects of the IEC systems work. Our goals include making the systems work in the IEC sustainable, transparent and accessible to a broad range of groups beyond the traditional IEC footprint. For the ICT side, this included participation and support to ensure the startup of the IEC s principal body in communications, SEG 8. As we approach the end of the year, these efforts are now moving forward, and I expect to be reaching out to several groups outside the IEC as well as reaching out to some of the IEC TCs and SCs to address their understanding and questions about the IEC systems work. This includes supporting and amplifying the messages of the IEC Systems Officer, Gennaro Ruggiero, and the Systems Resource Group. I also anticipate continued collaboration with our colleagues in JTC 1 and working to advance the messages and activities of SEG 8. I look forward to seeing many of you in the coming year. Jim Matthews, IEC Ambassador and former SMB Chair Being the Ambassador of the IEC has been an immensely rewarding experience Working in the area of rural electrification, renewables and low voltage direct current (LVDC), my focus has been primarily on taking the message of IEC to all stakeholders and echo global thought in these areas to the IEC. It is, thus, intriguing that beyond the industry, there is little understanding of IEC, its offerings and its processes. When I started my tenure as IEC Ambassador, I soon realized that, especially in developing economies before I share IEC s work in renewables and rural electrification, I must speak of IEC s credentials, reach and processes. This has been very well received by key stakeholders, especially policymakers, government agencies, regulatory bodies, funding agencies, standards development organizations and consumers. During the IEC GM in Vladivostok I had the pleasure of meeting with IEC s Regional Directors to discuss and strategize for maximum impact of the Ambassador Program in developing economies. This has led to developing of a roadmap of key organizations, events and forums where IEC s message must be taken. At the same time, I recognize the significance of systems approach in the fast evolving electrotechnical landscape. I am convinced that the tools and structures available to the SMB for standards development address emerging societal needs. In this, the IEC Ambassadors continue to play an integral role of being messengers to, and from all stakeholders. The work has just begun, and there is a lot more that needs to be done. And miles to go before I sleep Vimal Mahendru, IEC Ambassador, SMB Member and SyC LVDC Chair 7

8 IEC Regional Offices Activities IEC Regional Centre for North America IEC-ReCNA The IEC Regional Centre for North America, IEC-ReCNA, located in Worcester, Massachusetts provides support for Technical Committees and Subcommittees in a similar manner to the IEC Central Office in Geneva. The IEC-ReCNA team includes the Regional Manager and Technical Officer, Timothy Rotti who joined the IEC in 2001 bringing 20 years of experience in component qualification for the nuclear, military and telecommunications industries. Peter Lanctot joined the IEC in 2004 and now serves as the Market Strategy Board Secretary and Directives Maintenance Team Secretary. Technical Officer; Andrew Redgate joined the IEC in Marlene Maillet joined the IEC in 2004 and Holly Ducharme in 2016, both as Administrative Assistants. The primary role of the IEC-ReCNA is to provide support to 38 Technical Committees and Subcommittees, SyC Smart Energy, ACEC, CISPR, MSB, CIS/A,B,D,F,G,U,S, SEG 7, and ACART. The IEC-ReCNA allows a closer contact to be made, particularly with committees with strong participation from North America. The IEC-ReCNA is available to host group and individual training as well as meeting spaces for those within the IEC on an as needed basis. Tim Rotti, Regional Manager IEC-ReCNA > Marlene Maillet, Tim Rotti, Peter Lanctot, Andrew Redgate, Holly Ducharme IEC Regional Centre for Latin America IEC-LARC With the structure of one Regional Director and one Assistant, IEC-LARC aims to support the activities of five full member countries, one associate member and 25 affiliates from the Latin American and Caribbean region through meetings, conferences, seminars, workshops and training sessions, in-person or web-based participation. From LARC, we also support the work of regional bodies such as the Pan American Standards Commission (COPANT), the Forum of the IEC National Committees of the Americas (FINCA), the Council for Harmonization of Electrotechnical Standards of the Nations in the Americas (CANENA), Mercosur Standards Association (AMN- Mercosur), CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) and the Andean Community, including organizing joint actions to increase the level of knowledge and participation in IEC International Standardization process and Conformity Assessment Systems. IEC LARC recent activities: Argentina Buenos Aires August 2017 National Committee Annual Training Course FINCA Meeting and Workshop Quito, Ecuador September 2017 IEC ACAS PTB COPANT INACAL Event Lima, Peru November 2017 Amaury Santos, Regional Director IEC-LARC > Amaury Santos > Iris Szterenlicht 8

9 IEC Asia-Pacific Regional Centre IEC-APRC Officially launched in 2002, the scope of the IEC-APRC covers broadly from promotional and stakeholders engagement activities in the region to providing support to Technical Committees and Subcommittees. > Front: Damien Lee, Dennis Chew, Suzanne Yap > Back: Poh Luan Teo, Amelyn Ching, Chia Li Pang IEC-APRC promotes awareness of the IEC and encourages the use of IEC standards by participating actively in standards, conformance and regulatory fora in the region, for example, in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the South Asian Regional Standards Organization (SARSO). The APRC is also a resource for NCs in the region, working closely with them to help support and meet their needs. In addition, it also extends outreach by participating in regional industry and government platforms like the Asian Harmonization Working Part (AHWP) and the Asian Electronics Forum (AEF), as well as at key conferences in the region. In 2004, the team in Singapore started providing support to TC/SCs and it currently supports 60 TC/SCs and serves as the Secretariat to ACTAD and ACEE. To enhance and facilitate participation in IEC, the APRC also regularly conducts training to new TC/SC Officers as well as to new convenors, project leaders and experts. Three training sessions for TC/SC Officers were organized in Similar to the Central Office, the APRC is also a venue for hosting Working Group/Project Team/ Maintenance Team meetings as well as that of Standardization Evaluation Groups and Advisory Committees, among others. IEC Africa Regional Centre IEC-AFRC Dennis Chew, Regional Director IEC-APRC The IEC Africa Regional Centre IEC-AFRC, inaugurated on November 2 nd 2017, and located in Nairobi (Kenya), is the focal point for the IEC in Africa, helping to promote awareness of the IEC in the region, increase the use of IEC International Standards and IEC Conformity Assessment Systems, and enhance participation and membership of countries in the region. For its second year, the IEC-AFRC team visited IEC Members and Affiliates in Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe). IEC-AFRC took these contacts tours to address issues concerning the full involvement of African countries in participating in IEC standardization and the use of IEC Conformity Assessment Systems. In these countries, meetings have been held with regulators, governmental organizations, utility companies, consumers and academia. Contacts have also been made with regional and sub-regional organisation such as African Energy Commission (AFREC), the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), the East Africa Community (EAC), etc. IEC-AFRC hosted, together with the Kenya NC, an AFSEC ACAS event in Nairobi on 12th January 2017 and the LVDC Conference in May IEC-AFRC also joined events in Côte d Ivoire in the framework of the mentoring Programme between France and Côte d Ivoire, participated in the Morocco Conformity Assessment Forum, took part in the ECOWAS Quality Infrastructure Study meeting. All these meetings gave additional opportunities to IEC- AFRC to meet and discuss with NCs or NECs officers. Since its inauguration two African countries have joined the IEC Family (Cape Verde and Liberia). Evah Oduor & François Ahoti, Regional Directors IEC-AFRC 9

10 Organizational Changes in the Technical Department The industries and other stakeholders the IEC serves are confronted with the merging of technologies and an increasing digitalization in a fast changing environment. No doubt this will continue in the coming years and the Technical Department tunes its organization to meet these upcoming challenges. Merging of technologies The merging of technologies leads to increased transversal standardization work and requires closer collaboration between the Technical Committees and System Committees. The products life cycles are becoming shorter and the standardization work needs shorter processes. The Technical Department, and in particular the Technical Officers supported by the Administrative Assistants are expected to be a driving force and will need to better work as a team. Peter Lanctot has been nominated TC/SC/SyCs Support Group Manager. His mission is to strengthen the teamwork between the Technical Officers and the Administrative Assistants with the view to be more proactive in answering the TC/SC Officers needs and in harmonizing procedures. The Systems activities and the Systems Technical Officer are integrated in this group. Peter will keep his duties as MSB Secretary. Digitalization of Standardization This will have a major impact on the Technical Department internal processes and on the deliverables the department will have to produce. The ever increasing digitalization is being addressed by the IEC standards development and business platform project into which the Technical Department must play its role as a business owner. Over the last years, Christophe Boyer invested a lot of his time in the new IEC Standardization Project Management system. He was a key contributor to the success of this new tool which brings increased efficiency to the work for the TC Secretaries and the Technical Department internal processes. Christophe has been nominated Tools and Procedures Group Manager. He will be the business owner of the New Business Platform modules related to the Technical Department. He will also ensure the alignment of the IT tools with the Directives. Christophe Boyer will retain his duties as Technical Officer. The IEC Academy: reducing the time needed to develop standards Over the last years the SMB has reduced the times allocated for the various steps of the process to answer the need for faster delivery of standards. It is always easier to efficiently manage a project with a clear knowledge of the deliverable, its deadline and the next action to be planned. Up to now, the Central Office only had resources to train the newly appointed TC/SC Officers about the standards development process. On the other hand, the Governance and Global Strategy team and the Conformity Assessment team are also providing training services to the National Committees. The IEC Academy project intends to develop a training system integrating the existing activities in order to offer extended services. By using off-the-shelf IT tools to develop a single training web portal and on line training modules, it will be possible to extend the training services to the wider IEC community. Jan-Henrik Tiedemann has been nominated IEC Academy Manager. His mission is to develop the IEC Academy project and further operate the training system. Within this new assignment, he will continue providing Training workshops to the National Committees. Technical Department new organization The new organization chart of the Technical Department is given below. With the same resources, the Central Office expects to deliver improved services to the IEC Community. Pierre Sebellin, IEC Technical Department Manager 10

11 Technical Department Pierre Sebellin Tools and Procedures Christophe Boyer TC/SC/SyCs Support Peter Lanctot Editing Alisdair Menzies IEC Academy Jan Tiedemann Processes and Procedures IT Tools Systems Tools TOs and AAs (including TC1 & JTC1) Systems Work (SyCs, SEGs, SRG) Editing Layout & XML Directives Maintenance Team Secretariat Figures Terminology Coordination Introducing Stephen Dutnall and Miroslav Siket Stephen Dutnall, new Technical Officer, holds an MBA and an MSC in Telecommunications Technology (both from Aston University) and a Physics degree many years earlier. Stephen joins IEC with experience from both the mobile telecommunications and the air transport industry having worked for mobile operators, developed the standards for mobile phone use on board aircraft and deployed wireless solutions at airports. He has spent several years in standards within both the 3GPP mobile standardization group and the CEPT Electronic Communications Committee (ECC), including testing and conformance work. Stephen will take over the role of Technical Officer adding to the experience and knowledge pool of the IEC. Miroslav Siket, new Technical Officer, holds a degree in Theoretical Physics from Comenium University in Bratislava, Slovakia. After studies he worked in physics research for DoE (Department of Energy in USA, at Fermilab, Chicago) to confirm discovery of the top quark and worked also on large scale computing farms. In 2004 he joined CERN in Switzerland as IT specialist working on infrastructure projects for handling large computer data centers and Grid computing. From 2010 Miroslav worked as IT consultant for WHO and UNAIDS on multiple projects concerning their social network and management of their experts. He started working at the IEC in IT in 2011 on IECEE Global database, IEC Project management projects, IECEE Assessment project and many others. He was involved in the XML synchronized data feeds project with ISO and CEN/CENELEC. Certified in database technologies, certified in ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) and undergone CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor) training. 11

12 The IEC Academy The IEC Central Office intends launching a project to develop and implement an IEC Academy with the goal of reducing the time needed to develop standards through a better trained IEC community. Until now the training efforts of the IEC community have been undertaken by different groups: the Technical Department, the IEC Helpdesk and the Council Secretariat, the IEC Conformity Assessment Secretariat and several National Committees have organized training sessions for new experts joining the standardization community. It was felt that with a good level of coordination and centralized planning, IEC training workshops and web-based programmes could have an even larger benefit on faster standardization processes due to an increased efficiency and a broader participation of experts. The IEC Academy concept The purpose of the IEC Academy is to coordinate and join these forces in order to extend the training to the wider IEC community: group convenors, project leaders, experts, etc. Reaching out with training to this extended community is expected to improve the efficiency of the TC/SCs and CA groups, and ultimately reduce the time needed to develop standards. Jan-Henrik Tiedemann, IEC Academy Manager, will be dedicated to develop and operate the IEC Academy in a close cooperation with National Committees. The goals are: Faster standards development by well-trained experts, conveners and TC/SC/NC officers Concentrating and harmonizing all training efforts within the IEC on an IEC Academy platform Yearly list of IEC Training Workshop, webinars, elearning where experts can register Increased active participation of National Committees Creating a global network of trainers in the NCs (Training the trainers) Increased and more efficient use of IEC IT tools and services Common set of training material used at Central Office and National Committees Enhanced understanding and use of Conformity Assessment Develop a set of training sessions for secretaries, conveners, project leaders, etc. Maintain a link and get feedback from the IEC community about the work processes Reaching out to Academia Target groups The IEC Academy intends to reach-out several groups in the IEC community: National Committees TC/SCs and WG/PT/MTs Conformity Assessment Affiliates Academia Young Professionals Dialog with the National Committees We will contact NCs to speak about their requirements, ideas and suggestions related to training, webinars and elearning early The first set of services will start in 2018 with monthly webinars on the IEC website. Please feel free to contact jti@iec.ch for any questions or suggestions. Jan-Henrik Tiedemann, IEC Academy Manager The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) opened a challenge for academic papers addressing "Future challenges in standardization" with the winners scheduled to be awarded and published in October 2018 in conjunction with 2018 IEC General Meeting in Busan, Korea. More 12

13 13