Guidelines for Standards Committees. DIN German Institute for Standardization Berlin. September 2013

Transcription

1 Guidelines for Standards Committees in DIN German Institute for Standardization Berlin September 2013

2 - 2 - Contents... Page 1 General Tasks of a standards committee Setting up a standards committee Dissolution of a standards committee Structure of a standards committee Committee members Steering Committee Chairman of the standards committee Sponsors Working committees Manager Cooperation among the organs of DIN Additional information on standards work Special agreements Deviations from these Guidelines Amendments to these Guidelines...16

3 - 3-1 General 1.1 These Guidelines apply for all "standards committees within DIN" (referred to below as "standards committees"), including their subordinate bodies. They also apply to the "Normenstellen in DIN" by analogy. These Guidelines are also referred to in short as the "DIN Guidelines". 1.2 These Guidelines are based on the binding principles of DIN's Statutes, the DIN 820 series of standards, and the Decisions of the Presidial Board. 1.3 Any deviations from these Guidelines and any additions to them which are necessary for the work of a standards committee are to be summarized in the rules of procedure of the standards committee, taking into consideration the substance of any special agreements as in Clause 14. However, clauses of these Guidelines to which additions are not made should not be repeated. The rules of procedure of standards committees shall be approved in writing by the Chairman of DIN's Executive Board. The responsible member of the DIN Management Board shall be involved in the preparation of such rules of procedure 1.4 The rules of procedure of standards committees that are drawn up to supplement these Guidelines are to be brought in line with the current edition of the Guidelines within two years. 1.5 The financial year is the calendar year. 2 Tasks of a standards committee A standards committee is responsible for national standardization within its area(s) of work and expertise, and also participates in European and international standardization in these areas. The standards committee supports the implementation of German Standards in its area(s) of work in all relevant aspects of life, and participates in certification activities. 3 Setting up a standards committee 3.1 The Chairman of DIN's Executive Board can propose to the DIN Presidial Board the setting up of a standards committee if a) there is a new work item proposal for standards work for which no existing standards committee declares itself responsible, b) several standards committees are to be combined into one standards committee, or c) part of the area of work of a standards committee is to be assigned to a new standards committee due to its scope and/or significance.

4 If the Presidial Board approves the proposed setting up of a new standards committee, and of its name and its work area, then the Chairman of DIN's Executive Board invites the relevant stakeholders to a founding meeting and appoints an interim Manager. The founding meeting is led by a member of the DIN Management Board or the interim Manager of the standards committee. 3.3 During the founding meeting the following tasks should be completed: a) establish whether all stakeholders have been invited, b) determine whether there is an interest in setting up a new standards committee, and if so, pass a resolution to set up the standards committee, c) draw up a preliminary work programme (see Clause 7.7 c)), d) establish a financing plan, e) elect a Steering Committee, f) elect the Chairman and Vice Chairman/Chairmen of the standards committee, g) set up working committees and their respective interim Convenors, as appropriate. 3.4 The foundation of the standards committee requires confirmation by the President of DIN. Any changes to the name or work area of a standards committee requires confirmation by the DIN Presidial Board. The foundation of a standards committee and its work area is to be announced in the monthly journal "DIN-Mitteilungen + elektronorm", as shall any changes to its work area. 3.5 The financing plan established as in Clause 3.3 d) requires confirmation by the Chairman of DIN's Executive Board. 3.6 Until the Chairman and Vice Chairman/Chairmen of the standards committee have been confirmed by the President of DIN (see Clause 8.3), these shall perform their duties on an interim basis. 4 Dissolution of a standards committee 4.1 A standards committee is dissolved upon the decision of the DIN Presidial Board. 4.2 A standards committee dissolves itself when there is a two-thirds majority decision by the members of the committee (see Clause 6.2). This decision to dissolve requires confirmation by the DIN Presidial Board.

5 The Chairman of DIN's Executive Board can decide to suspend the work of a standards committee if funds for proceeding with this work are lacking and it is not expected that sufficient funding can be obtained in the foreseeable future. After a period of no more than two years, the Chairman of DIN's Executive Board, together with the Steering Committee, checks whether work can be resumed or whether the dissolution of the standards committee is to be recommended to the Presidial Board in accordance with Clause 4.1 or to the committee members in accordance with Clause 4.2. If all standards projects have been completed, the Steering Committee can have the work of the standards committee suspended until a new work item proposal has been submitted or the revision of existing standards in its work area becomes necessary. 4.4 The files of the dissolved standards committee shall be archived by DIN. 4.5 Any existing assets of the standards committee will be credited to DIN's assets account, where not otherwise specially agreed as in Clause The dissolution of a standards committee or the suspension of its work is to be announced in the monthly journal "DIN-Mitteilungen + elektronorm". 5 Structure of a standards committee 5.1 The structure of a standards committee is to be limited to the absolute minimum. 5.2 The organs of a standards committee are: a) its members, b) its Steering Committee and its bodies set up in accordance with Clauses 7.8 and 7.9, c) the Chairman of the standards committee, d) its working committees and their bodies set up in accordance with Clause 10.10, e) its Manager. 5.3 The basic structure of a standards committee in DIN is shown in the Annex. 6 Committee members 6.1 The members of a standards committee are the: a) members of the Steering Committee (see Clause 7.4), b) its sponsors (see Clause 9),

6 - 6 - c) members of the sections (see Clause 10.12), d) members of the working committees (see Clause 10), e) members of the subcommittees (see Clause 10.10). 6.2 The committee members have the following tasks: a) to elect Steering Committee members (see Clause 7.4 a)), where they are not elected or appointed in accordance with Clauses 7.4 b) to 7.4 d), b) to decide on the dissolution of the standards committee (see Clause 4.2). 6.3 The committee members should carry out their tasks in writing. 7 Steering Committee 7.1 The Steering Committee should not comprise more than 21 members. Steering Committee members shall not send representatives. 7.2 The members of the Steering Committee should be professionally active and be prominent figures in their profession who not only have a good overview of the technical content of the standards in their work area, but also of their economic significance and general importance.they should also be authorized to make, in the name of the organization sending them, decisions regarding the financing of the standards work of the standards committee. 7.3 The Steering Committee of a standards committee constitutes: a) the Chairman and Vice Chairman/Chairmen of the standards committee, b) where the work area of the standards committee is represented by the DIN Presidial Board, the relevant Presidial Board members, c) where the standards committee is divided into sections, the representatives of these sections, normally the Section Heads, d) where there are no sections, the representatives of any working committees, who are normally the Convenors and who normally fulfil the prerequisites of Clause 7.2, e) representatives of the sponsors (see Clause 9), f) representatives of the stakeholders in the standards work of the relevant standards committee, where these are not already being adequately represented by the members appointed within in the meaning of items a) to e) above, g) the Manager of the standards committee.

7 The members of the Steering Committee except the Manager are appointed by means of a) election by the standards committee members, b) election as Chairman or Vice Chairman of the standards committee, c) election to the DIN Presidial Board, or d) appointment by the standards committee sections or working committees (see Clause 7.3 c) and d)), by the sponsors (see Clause 7.3 e)) or by the stakeholders (see Clause 7.3 f)). 7.5 The Steering Committee may elect further members, but no more than three, taking Clause 7.1 into consideration. 7.6 The members of the Steering Committee are elected or appointed for a term of three years. They can be re-elected or reappointed, but should not be members of the Steering Committee for more than nine consecutive years. The term of office of the Steering Committee members who are members by virtue of their office held elsewhere ends automatically when the term of office held elsewhere ends. Steering Committee members who have been appointed in accordance with 7.4 d) are resigned from the Steering Committee when the appointment is withdrawn. 7.7 The Steering Committee has the following tasks: a) elect the Chairman and Vice Chairman/Chairmen of the standards committee, b) as a rule, to hold an annual meeting. The date of the meeting is to be agreed with the responsible Department Head and/or the responsible member of the DIN Management Board, c) to set up a systematic work programme for the standards committee that takes into consideration economic feasibility, the current state of technology, scientific knowledge, legal trends, the harmonization of technical rules at European and international level, and the financial framework; also, to establish priorities and time schedules for carrying out the work programme, and to monitor the progress of this work; European and international work shall be given priority over national work; furthermore, work areas should be identified in which standardization not only describes an established state-of-the-art, but in which standardization at the R&D stage is also necessary, d) to set up and dissolve working committees and, where appropriate, sections, whose work areas are to be established, e) to steer the technical work and to coordinate this work within the standards committee and with other standards committees this includes coming to a decision where there are different standpoints on a certain subject among the standards committee's working bodies, f) to steer and monitor participation in European and international standards work, to ensure that the rules and overall objectives of DIN are followed and that its public image is maintained to this end the Steering Committee is to be regularly informed of all significant matters in national, European and international standards work within the standards committee's work area, g) to secure the financing of the work programme and of the tasks of the standards committee,

8 - 8 - h) to approve budgets and financial reports, where not otherwise specially agreed as in Clause 14, i) to present the standards committee and its work to the public and to promote the practical application of its standards, j) to consult and support the Chairman of the standards committee in the performance of his/her duties, k) once a year, to pass a resolution to discharge the Chairman and Manager of the standards committee, l) to pass resolutions on the rules of procedure and any changes to them, m) to pass resolutions on the approval of any increase in the number of members of a working committee to more than 21, n) to review the suitable composition of a working committee, where necessary. 7.8 Some of the tasks of the Steering Committee listed in Clause 7.7 (with the exception of a), b) and k)) may be delegated to the Chairman of the standards committee, or to a body comprising the Chairman, the Vice Chairman/Chairmen and the Manager of the standards committee (in some standards committees this body is called the "Managing Board"), or to the steering committees of the sections of the standards committee. Where such tasks are delegated as described above, this is to be regulated in the rules of procedure of the standards committee. 7.9 To support its work, the Steering Committee may set up special committees and determine their composition. 8 Chairman of the standards committee 8.1 The Chairman and Vice Chairman/Chairmen of the standards committee are elected by the Steering Committee for a term of three years and must be professionally active at the time of their election. The Chairman and Vice Chairman/Chairmen of the standards committee may be reelected, but their term of office shall not be longer than six consecutive years. 8.2 The Chairman and Vice Chairman/Chairmen of the standards committee should represent stakeholders from different work areas of the standards committee. 8.3 The election and re-election of the Chairman and Vice Chairman/Chairmen of the standards committee require confirmation by the DIN President. If the DIN President does not confirm the election, a new election shall be held. The Steering Committee may appeal the President's decision to the DIN Presidial Board. The previous Chairman or Vice Chairman/Chairmen of the standards committee remains in office until the new election or until the DIN Presidial Board has made its decision.

9 If a member of the Steering Committee that has been appointed in accordance with Clause 7.4 d) is elected Chairman or Vice Chairman/Chairmen of the standards committee, his or her office ends when the appointment is withdrawn. 8.5 The Chairman of the standards committee has the following tasks: a) to represent the standards committee externally, b) to work closely with the committee's Manager, c) to work closely with the relevant Department Head (except in the case of standards committees as in Clause 14) and with DIN's Executive Board and Management Board in matters relating to overall policy, d) to ensure that the committee observes the rules laid down in the DIN 820 series of standards and in these Guidelines, the Decisions of the DIN Presidial Board, the rules of procedure of the standards committee, and the decisions of the Steering Committee of the standards committee, e) to take part in the appointment and dismissal of the Manager (see Clause 11.2), f) to dismiss Section Heads or, where the committee has no sections, the Convenors elected by the working committees, and to hold new elections, where this is necessary to carry out the tasks specified in 8.5 d), g) to head the Steering Committee, h) to support the Manager in securing financing, i) to monitor the appropriate expenditure of funds, where not otherwise specially agreed as in Clause Sponsors 9.1 The bodies contributing to the financing of a standards committee are referred to as its "sponsors". The sponsors of a standards committee can be: companies, associations, public agencies, societies, institutes, and individuals. Sponsorship is not equivalent to membership in DIN. 9.2 The rules of procedure of a standards committee may permit the sponsors of the committee to form a group of sponsors comprising persons authorized by them. 10 Working committees 10.1 A working committee should not comprise more than 21 members, and there should be fewer members than 21 wherever possible. A greater number of members requires approval by the steering committee of the responsible section, where there is one. It is also possible for guests to work for a limited amount of time on a specific standards project. The Convenor decides, in agreement with the standards committee's Manager, whether a guest is allowed to participate.

10 Where not otherwise stipulated in the rules of procedure of the standards committee, the working committee determines its own composition If the Steering Committee has decided to set up a working committee, the Manager invites the stakeholders in the relevant standards project to attend the founding meeting. Clause 3.3 applies to this meeting by analogy In selecting its members, the working committee shall ensure that a) its composition is suitable to the particular aspects of its work area, b) the latest scientific findings and the current state of the art will be incorporated into the standards work carried out by the working committee, c) the continuity of its work will be ensured for this reason, members who are not present at three consecutive meetings, even if they send a representative, should be removed from the list of working committee members; members shall be notified of their removal from this list If a working committee member is employed by the body sending them, their authorization expires as soon as the member is no longer employed by that body. All participation in DIN working bodies which is based on this authorization ends when such employment is terminated, as do all offices related to such work. A new authorization is required for further participation A working committee has the following tasks: a) to elect its Convenor and Co-Convenor(s), b) to draw up its work programme including prioritization of said programme, and setting up a time schedule in accordance with the provisions of the Steering Committee, c) to draw up and approve standards, taking item d) below into consideration; this is the working committee's central task, d) to actively take part in relevant European and international standards work from an early stage, especially to draw up proposals for European and international standards work, and to select the members of delegations to meetings of European or international working bodies, e) to observe the rules of ISO/IEC and/or CEN/CENELEC and/or ETSI for international and European standards work, f) to submit German comments on European and international draft standards and, where appropriate, to the relevant normative documents, g) to decide on the approval or rejection of European and International Standards, h) to participate in certification activities, i) to ensure that the standards under development and existing standards for which the working committee is responsible reflect the current state of the art and current scientific knowledge and are consistent with other German Standards,

11 j) where necessary, to explain, revise, supplement or decide to withdraw standards for which the working committee is responsible, k) to support the Manager in public relations work, e.g. in technical journals or on the Internet, l) to review the appropriate composition of the subcommittees it has set up The Convenor and Co-Convenor(s) are elected by the working committee from its members for a term of three years, and are to be professionally active at the time of their election. They can be re-elected, but they should not be in office as Convenor or Co-Convenor for more than nine consecutive years The Convenor and Co-Convenor(s) should belong to different groups of stakeholders in the standards work of the committee A Convenor has the following tasks: a) to prepare meetings of the working committee, in conjunction with the standards committee office (e.g. draw up agendas), b) to lead meetings of the working committee, c) to monitor the implementation of decisions made by the working committee, d) to represent the working committee when reporting to the Steering Committee of the standards committee (see Clause 7.3 d)) and to represent the relevant section of the standards committee, where there is one, and to ensure that the decisions of the Steering Committee of the standards committee, and where appropriate, of the steering committee of the section, are complied with in the working committee, e) to release the manuscripts of the standards approved by the working committee (and of its subcommittees, where there are such, see Clause 10.10), where they are not adoptions of European Standards or unchanged adoptions of International Standards, f) to ensure that the working committee and all of its subcommittees and working groups observe the rules laid down in the DIN 820 series of standards and in these Guidelines, the Decisions of the DIN Presidial Board, the rules of procedure of the standards committee, and the decisions of the Steering Committee of the standards committee In exceptional cases a working committee may delegate aspects of its work to a subcommittee. However, the Convenor of the working committee remains responsible for releasing the manuscripts of standards (see Clause 10.9 e)). A subcommittee should not have more than 15 members; these members do not need to be members of the superordinate working committee. Guests may participate in a specific standards project for up to one year. Clauses 10.1 to 10.9 apply by analogy For certain tasks working committees and subcommittees may set up working groups which are led by the Head of the working group.

12 Several working committees of a standards committee can be grouped together to form a section. A section can set up its own steering body, which is led by the Section Head, to coordinate its work and to relieve the work of the Steering Committee of the standards committee as regards technical matters. The composition of this steering body, its tasks and the election of the Section Head are to be regulated in the rules of procedure of the standards committee. 11 Manager 11.1 Each standards committee sets up an office in DIN which is headed by its Manager. Deviations from this rule require written consent by the Chairman of DIN's Executive Board. The office of a standards committee cannot be moved without the consent of the Chairman of DIN's Executive Board The Manager is appointed and asked to stand down by the Chairman of DIN's Executive Board, in consultation with the Chairman of the standards committee The Manager and the standards committee's office staff are employees of DIN, where not otherwise specially agreed as in Clause The Manager's task is to lead, in a responsible manner, the activities of the standards committee within the framework of the Decisions of the Presidial Board and Steering Committee of the standards committee and of the provisions of DIN's Executive Board and Management Board, in particular a) to monitor compliance with the DIN 820 series of standards, the Decisions of the DIN Presidial Board, and these Guidelines, via the organs of the standards committee, b) to support and advise the staff in their standards work, c) to maintain contact with the responsible Department Head and/or the responsible member of the DIN Management Board, to inform them of any significant developments and to consult with them on essential matters, d) to coordinate work within the standards committee and to consult with other standards committees on work jointly affecting them, and to maintain contacts with other standards committees and organizations, especially other setters of technical rules, within the relevant work area, e) to present the standards committee and its work results to the public, f) where a secretariat has been taken on by DIN for European and international standards work, to comply with the relevant statutes and guidelines, g) in preparation for taking on new tasks (e.g. new standards projects or taking on a secretariat), to estimate which financial expenditures will be required of the standards committee office, h) to ensure that the data essential for the standards committee's work is maintained in DIN's database,

13 i) to ensure that manuscripts of draft standards and standards are prepared according to the decisions of the working committees and any subcommittees, j) to maintain the files of the standards committee, k) to ensure that minutes of meetings are available, as a rule, within six weeks after the meeting, even where someone else has been designated to record the minutes (see Clause 11.6), l) to draw up budgets, categorized into income and expenditure, for the Steering Committee, and to submit them to the DIN Management Board for approval beforehand, m) to produce an Annual Report on the technical work of the standards committee in the previous year The Manager of a standards committee may delegate tasks to other staff members of the committee's office The Manager or a staff member of the committee's office appointed by him/her shall take part in all meetings of the organs of the standards committee listed in Clause 5.2 a), b) and d), and shall record the minutes of these meetings. Deviations from this rule may be agreed upon, as long as it is ensured that the minutes of the meetings are recorded. 12 Cooperation among the organs of DIN 12.1 Being an organ of DIN, the standards committee is to give priority to the overall interests of DIN over its own interests On their part, DIN's Presidial Board, President and the Chairman of DIN's Executive Board shall act in the interest of the standards committee and shall support its work The DIN President and Chairman of DIN's Executive Board, and any responsible Department Heads have the right to take part in all meetings of the organs of a standards committee or to send an authorized representative, and to examine all documents The Chairman of DIN's Executive Board has the right to have the income and expenditure accounts of the standards committee, and all relevant documents, checked by auditors, where not otherwise specially agreed as in Clause Where there are differences of opinion among the standards committees, the Chairman of DIN's Executive Board decides on these differences. An appeal regarding the decision of the Chairman of DIN's Executive Board may be made in writing, with sufficient justification, to the DIN Presidial Board, which then makes the final decision The standards committees declare their affiliation with DIN in their letterheads, which in English should read:

14 DIN German Institute for Standardization...Standards Committee The Chairman of the standards committee and its Manager are not named in the letterhead or in the heads of other types of document. All correspondence in German is to comply with DIN The committee's letter headed papers shall bear the mark at the top right corner. In official documents, behind signatures etc. the words "in DIN" are to be added to the standards committee name (e.g...standards Committee in DIN). The templates provided are to be used for electronic communication Every working committee is obliged to contact the offices of the working committees of other standards committees as soon as it has been determined that its work at national, European or international level relates to their work area(s), but no later than the time at which DIN's "Process Quality Monitoring" unit establishes that another standards committee needs to become involved. The relevant working committees, working together with the Managers of the relevant standards committees and in consultation with the Steering Committees, shall come to agreement on the form of cooperation. This includes clarification of: a) who will lead the work, b) whether a joint committee is to be set up, or c) whether the relevant standards committee wants to send authorized staff to the working committee in charge, or d) whether reciprocal liaisons from the relevant working committees should be named, or e) whether the relevant standards committee only wishes to participate by correspondence, and f) whether the relevant standards committee wishes to co-issue the standard If no agreement on cooperation is reached, then the Chairman of DIN's Executive Board shall intervene as described in Clause The Chairman of DIN's Executive Board can set up Commissions or Coordination Offices to counsel him/her on the coordination of several work areas The standards committee that leads the work is normally the body issuing the standard. If it so wishes, the standards committee participating in the development of the standard can be designated as the body co-issuing the standard. The body issuing a standard shall inform all bodies co-issuing the standard of the progress of its work, and shall ensure that no decisions are made on objections without sufficient discussion.

15 A standards committee can rescind its role as a co-issuing body at the latest when the draft standard or standard is released for publication (DIN 820-4). If a body refuses to co-issue a draft standard or standard, that document is published without the body being named For every standards committee that does not have an office in DIN, the Chairman of DIN's Executive Board establishes a liaison office in DIN's Berlin offices. The standards committee shall keep the Berlin liaison office up-to-date on all important matters within the committee. The task of the liaison office is to support the Manager of the standards committee, for instance by a) obtaining advice on behalf of the Manager on all important matters regarding the standards work and informing the Manager about important matters within DIN, and b) representing the Manager, where necessary, when interacting with the Process Quality Monitoring (PQ) unit of DIN and the Production Department of Beuth Verlag. 13 Additional information on standards work 13.1 Any discussions regarding procedures, organization and the rules of procedure are to be kept to a minimum. If (in exceptional cases) it is necessary to come to agreement on the content of a standard or on an explanation of the standard, or on other issues such as the adoption of work programmes or the approval of the publication of interim results, the majority present at the meeting has the final say. When coming to agreement by means of correspondence, a decision is made by the majority of voting members. The Head of the body has voting rights. Furthermore, DIN Presidial Decision 14/2012 on the interpretation of the DIN 820 series in special cases shall also be taken into consideration. Abstentions will not be included in the majority of votes. Every duly convened meeting constitutes a quorum. A meeting is deemed duly convened when invitations to the meeting, including all necessary documents for discussion, are sent no later than three weeks prior to the meeting. At a meeting it can be decided whether documents which have been distributed too late or were distributed during the meeting are to be considered. Minutes shall be taken at each meeting (see Clause 11.4 k)) In the interest of good working relationships it is necessary that the Chairman of the standards committee, the Convenors and the Manager of the standards committee inform each other of all important correspondence; as a rule, correspondence of the Chairmen of the standards committee and Convenors is to be sent via the standards committee office. Meeting times are to be determined together with the standards committee office The standards committee bears the cost of the standards work up to the point at which the manuscript which has been released for publication is stored electronically, where not otherwise specially agreed as in Clause 14.

16 The standards committee office receives the necessary number of free copies of every published draft standard which it has issued or co-issued, and five free copies of every published standard. 14 Special agreements Where an organization other than DIN is to be responsible for the organization, financing and staff of the office of a standards committee, a special agreement shall be concluded between this organization and DIN regarding their cooperation. 15 Deviations from these Guidelines Any deviations from these guidelines require the approval of the Chairman of DIN's Executive Board. 16 Amendments to these Guidelines These guidelines can be amended by the President of DIN upon consultation with the Chairman and Manager of the standards committee. Berlin, 1 September 2013 DIN President

17 VDE, the Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies. DIN, the German Institute for Standardization. DKE, German Commission for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies of DIN and VDE Union of Sponsors Standards committee in DIN Members of the standards committee Special committee of the Steering Committee Council Chairman Steering Committee or Council Chairman Special committee of the Steering Committee or Council Manager Manager Section Section Committee Working Committee Working Committee Working Group Working- Group Working Group Subcommittee Subcommittee Subcommittee Working Group Working Group Working Group DKE in DIN and VDE Committees with sections Committees without sections Figure 1 Structure of standards committees