Date: 18 October 2002
New online database to deliver standards in weeks
October marks another milestone in the evolution
of international standardization with the official launch of the
International Electrotechnical Commission's new online graphical
symbols database (http://www.graphical-symbols.info/equipment).
The database offers a quicker and more efficient means of developing
such standards in weeks rather than months or years, to the benefit
of the end-user and expert alike. It really is a new tool at the
service of the whole IEC community, including standards developers.
The launch of the IEC 60417 Graphical Symbols for Use on Equipment
online database also means the withdrawal of the PDF and paper versions
of IEC 60417 Parts 1 (published earlier this year) and 2 (published
in 1998). The new database complements the existing IEC 60617 Graphical
Symbols for Use in Diagrams launched in 2001.
The IEC 60417 database is organized as a set of data sheets describing
the graphical symbols and their attributes. The database is bilingual
with all symbol data available in English and French. Users can
locate symbols by use of a full search function using all symbol
metadata or by categorized views (using keyword, shape, function,
application and symbol ID).
The IEC graphical symbol databases offer a new means of developing
and delivering datasheet-type standards online. The introduction
of Validation Teams, as opposed to regular Project or Maintenance
Teams, to work on these database standards brings a revolutionary
element into the work of the IEC. The VTs work online so that changes
to symbols can be approved in a matter of weeks, which means that
the IEC can meet industry and market needs in a faster and more
efficient manner. The all-electronic exchange of documents, the
power of decision - for changes, additions or deletions to the databases
- granted to the teams, and the move away from more traditional
standard development procedures bring a new dynamic to international
standardization.
End-users can purchase subscriptions to the IEC 60417 database
for 3, 6, 12 or 24 months (through their respective IEC National
Committees, appointed Sales Outlets or through the IEC Web Store).
The subscription includes the right to access all symbols and to
download the graphics in vectorized portable document format (PDF).
In addition, the subscription entitles customers to regularly updated
"snapshots" of the database. These offer customers a means
of having a downloadable version of the database contents in PDF
format for offline reference and back-up.
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