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Policy and regulations in rehabilitation engineering
Published in Alex Mihailidis, Roger Smith, Rehabilitation Engineering, 2023
Standards are a common way for engineers to agree and share specifications for products, services, and systems, to ensure quality, safety, and efficiency. At an international level, groups like the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrical Commission (IEC) help coordinate and publish internationally agreed standards, ostensibly to establish global good practice and to facilitate compatibility and international trade. For example, structural strength tests for manual wheelchairs are covered in ISO 7176-8 and enable manufacturers in India to build and test their products to meet equivalent requirements in the USA. Similarly, the IEC 62280 series covers the technical specifications for universal serial bus (USB) interfaces to ensure the USB mouse made in China is compatible with the USB port on the electronic augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device built in Germany. Some standards (such as ISO9001: Quality Assurance) outline the framework and elements of agreed processes and documentation to achieve a consistent outcome and facilitate auditing and compliance requirements. Most countries now adopt international standards into local or jurisdictional libraries. Local variations to address specific gaps or requirements can be added through the adoption processes. Some industries will also establish agreed standards that may eventually become national or international standards.
Biofuels Characterization and Standard Methods for Quality Control
Published in M.R. Riazi, David Chiaramonti, Biofuels Production and Processing Technology, 2017
Martino Di Serio, Rosa Turco, Rosa Vitiello, Riccardo Tesser, M.R. Riazi, David Chiaramonti
Standards are documents that provide requirements, specifications, guidelines, or characteristics that can be used consistently to ensure that materials, products, processes, and services are suitable for their purpose. They ensure that products and services are safe, reliable, and of good quality. They bring benefits to businesses and consumers in terms of reducing costs, enhancing performances, and improving safety. Standards are developed through a knowledge-sharing process and by building consensus among technical experts nominated by the stakeholders, including businesses, consumers, and environmental groups. Different types of standards can be adopted. They may include requirements and/or recommendations related to products, systems, processes, or services and they might describe a measurement or test method or establish a common terminology for a sector. The most famous standard development organizations are the ASTM and the ISO, as reported in Table 7.1. It is important to note that standards have no legal action, contrary to regulations.
Engineering Design
Published in Bahram Nassersharif, Engineering Capstone Design, 2022
Specifications are typically created by an industry group, consortium, or professional organization. The purpose of specifications is to allow even competing industries to agree to a set of standards that each can use to create products or services and still be compatible. For example, IEEE develops specifications for hardware (and software) developed for internet communication. Specifications may not be regulated or subject to codes and standards. Still, if your design does not comply with appropriate specifications, then it will not be accepted by your potential consumers. Specifications are published and available. An internet search leads to the appropriate one for your design project.
Connecting Engineering Processes and Responsible Innovation: A Response to Macro-Ethical Challenges
Published in Engineering Studies, 2019
Here, the engineering design process is presented in eight stages. Problem definition is a stage of articulating and refining the need that is to be met; it may or may not involve speaking with end-users. Design specification follows, in which performance and contextual requirements (e.g. strength, durability, cost, manufacturing preferences or specific regulatory requirements) are codified into a specification and quantified where possible. Concept generation entails the generation of diverse ideas, representing different ways of meeting the specification. If a simulation stage follows, it can be used to test the protocol in alternative conditions and to assess the functionality of discrete components for later testing purposes. This is followed by a decision-making stage where the concepts are prioritized according to their ability to meet the requirements of the design specification; combination and reformulation of ideas may take place here. Once a set of concepts has been agreed upon, detailed design takes place to specify, for example, geometry, tolerances, materials, and general arrangement. Then follows a process of validation through a range of means which may include modeling, analytical methods, pilot-scale activities and/or prototyping. Finally, the design is moved to an implementation and maintenance phase where ownership is, quite often, transferred.
Disentangling the failure of benefits realization in public institutional building projects: a paradoxical understanding of formalization
Published in Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 2022
The discrepant requirements of different projects receive little attention if participants heavily emphasize the specifications. Standards and specifications are appropriate for the majority of projects to guarantee the minimum requirements. However, “a project satisfying standards does not equal to a good project” (P8). “The use of standards and regulations should be contingent and flexible because they are not always appropriate for all kinds of projects” (P9).