IHS White Paper:  How to Select Relevant and Applicable Energy Industry Standards

The need for standards is great and apparent, as the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (OGP) provides a Standards Link page containing over 30 links. These links include relevant standards to organizations endorsing and publishing standards by the thousands, which is seemingly overwhelming to even experienced engineers and project managers. However the task of standards selection should not be ignored, especially given the World Trade Organization (WTO) encouragement of the use of standards in its Technical Barrier to Trade and Standards and Safety Agreement.

Alf Reidar Johansen of OGP reminded attendees at the International Standards Workshop that selection of relevant standards facilitates global trade, a consensus of understanding, accelerates product development and cost efficiency. These results are attainable via standards research through the International Standards Organization (ISO), responsible for the ISO 9000 and other international quality standards, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), or International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Standards identification and selection should be delegated to those most knowledgeable in the field of scope. Regulatory compliance is a good area to seek out the subject matter experts (SMEs) in your company.

The adoption of voluntary industry standards and specifications creates a common framework and point of reference that assures processes and expectations are understood by those involve in the project. Energy industry voluntary standards are generally focused on improving business practices and global market position. Many were developed as cost saving measures and others assure interoperability, or maintain quality standards.

A methodical approach is key to ensuring the successful selection of relevant standards. Standards in their entirety should be reduced to a manageable set, relevant to the field of scope. Define the scope of work by including tasks for work or projects of concern. Initial standard selection should encompass the activity of construction, then broken down by welding, electrical, and installation. In addition to the scope of work, identify the goals. Seek company regulatory compliance experts to identify regulations in accordance with standards of necessity. Identify preferred Standards Development Organizations (SDO), also referred to as standards body, from a generated list of topics, and then search for topics via SDO.

SDOs with widely-used standards for the Energy Industry:

• American Nuclear Society
• American National Standards Institute
• American Petroleum Institute
• American Society of Mechanical Engineers
• British Standards Institute
• International Organization for Standardization
• Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers

Other SDOs with Regional Energy Industry Standards

• ASTM International
• American Water Works Association
• American Welding Society
• Canadian Standards Association
• Euro-Asian Council of Standardization
• Metrology, and Certification
• European Committee for Standardization
• International Electrotechnical Commission
• Japanese Standards Association
• Deutsches Institute für Normung e. V. (DIN)
• Process Industry Practices

The suggested standards information approach is an Internet-based database maintained by a third-party. Users of the managed information system may have the ability to search standards beyond those purchased to identify new standards. In addition, managed information systems can assist with complexities of standard systems and global companies.