Standardization for motors, vacuum, hydraulic and thermal machines

Standardization is currently focusing on global market products, testing methods and management methods such as quality management and quality assurance. It is the subject of growing interest from the USA and Japan since the recent development of European standardization.

Globally, it favors the evolution of economies towards globalization:

• growing importance of international trade (capital goods, consumer goods) ;

• government efforts to harmonize national regulations (WTO, UN...).

At a more local level, standardization enables companies to :

• rationalize and better manage production processes, thus generating economies of scale and productivity gains;

• raise product quality thresholds;

• simplify business relations;

• access certification (or proof of compliance with standards) ;

• set up a quality assurance system ;

• to limit risks.

Standardization also enables a profession or industrial sector, such as engines, vacuum technology and hydraulic and thermal machines, to develop a strategy that can go beyond the national framework. As a result, standards represent considerable economic stakes for the countries participating in standardization, as their technology is thus promoted.

In these fields, the major players in this global competition are now Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and, of course, France. The assumption of international secretariats within ISO or European secretariats within CEN are representative of the importance attached by industry to standardization, since the latter remains mostly voluntary, unlike regulation.