
Standardisation is the process of arriving at a standard. This process is open, transparent and consensus-oriented and takes place in standards committees consisting of representatives of all parties involved. This takes place not only at national level, but also in European and global contexts.
A standard is a voluntary agreement between parties about a product, service or process. Standards are not laws, but 'best practices'. Everyone can benefit from them on a voluntary basis. Standards play an important role in business agreements. They offer market parties clarity about and confidence in products, services or organisations and challenge society to innovate.
A number of organizations in the world specialize in developing standards and monitoring compliance with those standards. These include: ISO, SMS, RJT, NFS, CEN, ASTM, ANSI, AFNOR, BSI, JIS, SS, NEN, DIN.
In many cases, (European) companies must have their products tested according to the national standard applicable in each country. In the future, the European national standards will be replaced by one European standard that is accepted by every European country. We then talk about an EN standard. Foreign companies that want to supply to European companies will therefore often be forced to supply according to our EN standard.
The CEN is the body in Brussels that has set itself the goal of harmonizing standards in Europe. Because an EN standard is accepted by all European countries, manufacturers will only have to have their products tested according to this standard in the future, instead of according to many different national standards. This will lead to uniform test and performance standards within Europe and greater market transparency. These standards can be published in the national language and are, for example, referred to in the Netherlands as NEN-EN 100, where NEN is the designation of the national standards institute and 100 is a unique serial number. The German identical version of this standard is then known as DIN-EN 100 and is published by the German standards institute DIN. For the Belgian variant you get the following code: NBN-EN 100.
Nen supports the standardisation process in the Netherlands. They manage over 30.000 standards. These are the international (ISO, IEC), European (EN) and national standards (NEN) accepted in the Netherlands. In total, there are over 800 active standards committees with a total of almost 5.000 standards committee members. Good management of the extensive collection of standards and coordination between national, European and international standards committees requires a very good infrastructure.
Producers we work with often meet the strictest quality and hygiene requirements that are necessary for each product. (see also euronorm.net) This includes internationally recognized standards such as:
CE - This marking is not a quality mark but a marking applied by the manufacturer or his authorized representative. The marking guarantees that the product meets the requirements of the European coherent directives.
ISO 9001 - it is a standard that sets requirements for an organization's quality management system.
Regulations for high pressure equipment. It sets out the essential requirements for the design and manufacture of equipment intended to operate under pressure.
3A is the American counterpart of EHEDG - Everything certified according to this regulation meets the established conditions for hygiene and cleanability for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. The goal is increased food safety and public health. read more www.3-a.org
FDA - The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the federal government in the US, which among other things monitors the quality and safety of food and related matters. Rubbers, gaskets, elastomers in general with the FDA food approval mark are suitable for applications in the food and pharmaceutical industry.
EHEDG - The European Hygienic Engineering and Design Group was founded in 1989. It is a consortium of equipment and machinery manufacturers, food and luxury food producers, suppliers, research institutes and public health authorities. The main objective of EHEDG is to promote safe food by improving hygienic engineering and design in all aspects of food production and packaging. EHEDG actively supports European legislation, which requires that food preparation, processing and packaging is carried out with hygienic equipment and machinery in a hygienic environment.
CETIM - French research institute supporting the development of the mechanical industry. For certification, they test pumps, valves, etc.
ATEX - It stands for "Atmosphères Explosives", explosive atmosphere.
The ATEX Product Directive 94/9/EC (also known as 'ATEX 95') product directive describes the requirements for equipment (electrical and non-electrical) and protective systems in places ("zones") where there is a risk of dust or gas explosion.
The ATEX Workplace Directive 1992/92/EC (also known as 'ATEX 137') sets out the minimum safety requirements for employers to create a healthy and safe working environment for workers potentially at risk from explosive atmospheres.
GOST - For a large number of products destined for the Russian Federation, testing and certification according to GOST R standards has been mandatory since 1992.
AFNOR |
French Standards Association |
AISI | American Iron and Steel Institute |
ANSI |
American National Standards Institute, Inc. |
API |
American Petroleum Institute |
AS ME | The American Society of Mechanical Engineers |
ASTM: | American Society for Testing and Materials |
ASTM A-249 |
Tolerances for welded stainless steel tubes, welded without filler material for, among others: condensers and heat exchangers |
ASTM A-269 |
Tolerances for seamless and welded stainless steel tubes for general application with narrow tolerances |
ASTM A-312 |
Tolerances for seamless and welded stainless steel tubes welded without filler material for general applications |
BS | British Standards issued by British Standards Institution (BSI) |
DIN | German Institute for Standards |
DIN 2462 | Tolerances for seamless stainless steel tubes |
DIN 2463 | Tolerances for welded stainless steel tubes |
DIN 11850 |
Tolerances for seamless and welded stainless steel tubes for the dairy, food and beverage industry |
DIN 17440 |
Technical delivery conditions for stainless steel sheet, strip, wire, bar, forgings and semi-finished products. |
DIN 17441 | Technical delivery conditions for stainless steel cold rolled strip, coil and plate |
DIN 17455 |
Welded round stainless steel tubes for general applications |
DIN 17457 | Welded round austenitic stainless steel tubes for special applications |
DIN 17458 | Seamless round austenitic stainless steel tubes for special applications |
EN |
European Norm, European Norm (Standard) issued by European Committee for Standardization (CEN) |
EN 10217-7 | Welded stainless steel tubes for pressure applications |
EN 10357
IDF |
Welded stainless steel tubes for the food and chemical industry (2014 - replacement of DIN 11850) International Dairy Federation |
ISO | International Organization for Standardization |
JIS | Japanese Industrial Standards issued by Japanese Standards Authority (JSA) |
MSS | Manufacturers Standardization Society of the Valve |
RJT SIS |
Ring Joint Type Swedish Standards |
SMS | Swedish Mechanical Standards |
UNI | Italian Standards |