Contact: Angela Janowitz (janowitz@kan.de)

• What is Standardization?
  Learn more about standardization on the website of the German Commission for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies of DIN and VDE.
  
  
• How are DIN Standards developed?
  Read more on the website of the DIN Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V.
  
  
• How are European standards developed?
  KAN leaflet (pdf, 1,1 MB)
  
  
• How are international standards developed?
  KAN leaflet (pdf, 1,3 MB)
  
  
• Vienna and Dresden Agreements
  In order to increase the efficiency of standardization at European and international level, CEN and CENELEC have reached agreements with their respective international partners ISO and IEC, setting out the rules governing co-operation.
  
  
• Where to find information on standardization on the Internet
  The European and international standards organizations CEN, CENELEC, ISO and IEC provide a wealth of information on their websites. Join us for a brief virtual tour of the world of  standardization.
  
  
• CEN: who is responsible for what, when and how?
  CEN BOSS (CEN Business Operations Support System) is the source of information on the rules, methods and procedures employed at CEN, the European Committee for Standardization. The objective of CEN BOSS is to answer the question: who is responsible for what, when and how in the procedures at CEN? A suitable introduction to this comprehensive database can be found under "Supporting material".
  
  
• How a standard is made
  You will find the answer to this question on the website of CENELEC, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization.
  
  
• Standards development
  In this section you can find out more about the standards development processes and procedures to be followed by ISO committees for the development and drafting (and subsequent maintenance) of International Standards and other ISO deliverables.
  
  
• Who produces the standards?
  Each National Committee of the IEC handles the participation of experts from its country. If you would like to participate in the work of an IEC technical committee, please contact your National Committee. If you are in a country where the IEC does not have a National Committee, please contact IEC Central Office.
  
  
• Putting the brakes on with the ”formal objection”: a lengthy process
  Should reasoned objections presented by OH&S experts concerning requirements in product standards be ignored, the formal objection is the final instrument available to ensure that, in the interests of user health and safety, the essential requirements of European Single Market directives are transposed.

Contact: Angela Janowitz (janowitz@kan.de)

• Limits of and scope for standardization of the health and safety of workers at work
  As a matter of principle, the health and safety of workers at work should not be governed by standards. This principle is set out in the German Consensus Statement on Standardization in the Field of the Health and Safety of Workers at Work, which in turn is based upon essential provisions of European social policy (Article 137 of the EC Treaty). Since the German Consensus Statement has repeatedly been the subject of different interpretations, however, KAN has drawn up an  explanatory document which is intended to describe the current limits of and scope for standardization in this area.
  
  
• Presumption of conformity
  Am I on the safe side if I comply with standards? What does “presumption of conformity” actually mean? How do I know whether or to what extent compliance with a specific standard confers a presumption of conformity?