Glossary · Engineering, integration and validation

International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)

Also known as: IEC

German: International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is the international standards organization for electrical, electronic and related technologies, based in Geneva. Its standards include IEC 61131 (programmable controllers), IEC 61508 (functional safety), IEC 60204-1 (electrical equipment of machines) and, with ISA, IEC 62443 (industrial cybersecurity).

Validation
Standards

In one sentence

The IEC is the international standards organization for electrical, electronic and related technologies, publisher of IEC 61131, IEC 61508 and IEC 62443.

Example

The controller manufacturer declares that the programming environment supports the IEC 61131-3 languages structured text and function block diagram.

How it applies

Engineering: Many automation terms and methods come from IEC standards, such as programming languages (IEC 61131-3), distributed function blocks (IEC 61499), functional safety (IEC 61508, IEC 61511, IEC 62061) and security (IEC 62443). Some are joint publications with ISO or IEEE.
Compliance: In the EU, European versions of IEC standards (EN IEC) can be cited as Harmonized standards; applying them can give presumption of conformity for the requirements they cover. Applying a standard alone does not make a product compliant.
Documentation: The documentation team cites standards with their number and, where it matters, edition year, and keeps a list of applied standards consistent with the technical file.

IEC vs. ISO

ISO covers most other technical fields; the IEC covers electrotechnology. They cooperate closely, for example in ISO/IEC JTC 1 for information technology, and machine safety relies on both (ISO 12100, ISO 13849-1, IEC 62061, IEC 60204-1).