Electrical and Computer Engineering: Standards

What is a standard?

A standard is a document that defines specifications for design, performance, or process, as agreed upon by experts.  

According to International Standards Organization (ISO), you can think of a standard as "a formula that describes the best way of doing something". This short video breaks down the ISO's official definition of standards and what each part means (click 'next' for the second part).

Why are standards important?

This tutorial by engineering librarians at Purdue calls out these key benefits of using standards:

• Cost savings - verified, consistent processes help companies maximize use of resources and eliminate waste.
• Interoperability - different companies make different parts, and following standards ensures that their components will work together.
• Safety - standards help ensure that companies make high quality products that are safe to use
• Promote international trade - consistency of products means that consumers have options, and manufacturers can sell their products in other countries

How can I learn more?

• This tutorial from librarians at Purdue includes an overview of standards in product design, anatomy of a standard, tips for discovering and locating standards, and how standards are applied in everyday objects.
• Document Center offers a short overview of what standards are, and how they are developed and used, as well as more in-depth info on standards and their history.

Due to the high cost and wide variety of standards, the library is not able to subscribe to all of them. However, we may be able to purchase standards for individual use by request, depending on the price and format of the standard, and available budget.

To request a standard, please email Jodi Bolognese, the Engineering Librarian at j.bolognese@northeastern.edu with the full title and number of the standard(s), for example "ISO 14688-1 - Geotechnical investigation and testing - Identification and classification of soil. Part 1 - Identification and Description". We will investigate purchase options via Madcad.com or IHS Markit and (if budget allows) work with you to gain access.

Here are a few places you can search for relevant standards. 

If you find a useful standard but the full text is behind a paywall, the library may be able to purchase a copy for you. Please contact the Engineering Librarian (Jodi Bolognese at j.bolognese@northeastern.edu) for help.

• ANSI Webstore - ANSI standards for American National Standards Institute, and their web store provides a simple keyword search for a wide range of standards developers.
• Document Center - this standards web store offers options to search by topic, industry sector, and category (ICS Codes - International Classification for Standards) so may be a good option for browsing standards related to your area of interest.
• IHS Markit Standards Store - a searchable web store for standards, specifications and related technical documents from military, commercial, national and international standards organizations. It requires separate registration, so you'll need to create an account. Then, you can search IHS Engineering Workbench for standards related to your topic.
• Research databases - some standards may be indexed in research databases, such as Engineering Village. Login using your Northeastern credentials and search for your topic. Then on the left side of the results screen, use the Document Type filter for 'Standard'.
• Standards Developing Organization (SDO) websites - organizations that develop standards often have useful search and browse options on their websites. For example, if you're working on an automotive and aerospace application, you could search the SAE International website. To find SDOs related to your topic, try a Google search, or browse this list of SDOs.

Search tips:

• If you find a potentially useful standard, see if there's a preview or summary you can review to decide if the standard is important for your work.
• If you're having trouble finding relevant standards, consider synonyms. For example, "life jacket" could be referred to as "life preserver" or "personal flotation device". Don't forget to use parentheses to search key terms as a phrase, rather than individual words.

The library provides access to the following standards. Please note that some subscriptions limit access to one user at a time. 

Standards Databases:

Individual Standards:

Here are some of the individual standards the library currently subscribes to. These may change from year to year, depending on the needs of faculty and student. If you questions about a particular standard, please email j.bolognese@northeastern.edu. 

Please note that some standards are only available to one user at a time, so if you're not able to access something try logging in again a bit later. 

Some standards providers offer free or low-cost read-only access to standards on their websites. Lists of providers with links to available standards can be found on this page from ANSI (American National Standards Institute) and this page from NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology).