Speaker 1: Thank you. On Sunday, February 7, 1904, at 11 a.m., a fire was reported at a building in Baltimore, Maryland, on the east coast of the United States, not far from Washington, D.C. Firefighters quickly realized the seriousness of the blaze and brought in all of the 24 engines that the city had available. But the fire kept spreading, block after block going up in flames. As early as 1.30 p.m., Baltimore started asking other cities and states for help. Washington firefighters and engines arrived first. It was discovered that the couplings of their hoses did not fit the Baltimore hydrants. Firefighters wrapped canvas tightly around the couplings, but the effectiveness of the hydrants was greatly reduced, and the fire could not be contained. By evening, firefighters from many miles west of Baltimore arrived to help, but the fire grew, aided by the gusting winds and the firefighters' inability to use the hydrant water. The city was saved from complete destruction in a dramatic rescue 30 hours after the fire began, when engines filled from a nearby waterfall created a wall of water at the line of fire to halt it. The Great Baltimore Fire caused devastation and suffering. Those who fought it were heroic. But the fire is not remembered for those reasons. It is remembered because in the immediate aftermath, a cry went up for national standards in the United States, national standards that would ensure compatibility of fire-hydrant couplings and so much more. The public understanding of the value of standards had reached a critical point, and standards development in many areas began in earnest. Standardization is a complex subject. This video is the first in a series designed to teach the basics of standards education. We have chosen to begin with the story of the Baltimore Fire to illustrate how important standards are to your life and the lives of everyone you know. Two organizations have sponsored the making of this video, IEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and CNIS, the China National Institute of Standardization. IEEE is the world's largest technical professional society, with over 400,000 members dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Through its highly regarded and frequently cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities, IEEE has become the trusted voice on a wide variety of areas, ranging from aerospace systems to computers, telecommunications to biomedical engineering, and electric power to consumer electronics. As part of its activities, IEEE has an extensive standards development program with a portfolio of over 900 active standards and more than 500 standards under development. IEEE adheres to the standards development principles of the World Trade Organization, which include openness and transparency, and it supports the principles of Open Stand, the modern paradigm for standards in a global economy, which includes cooperation, and collective empowerment. IEEE has a Standards Education Committee, a joint effort of its Educational Activities and Standards Association groups, that is dedicated to promoting the importance of standards in meeting technical, economic, environmental, and societal challenges, and to the integration of standards into academic programs throughout the world. Among its activities are an electronic magazine dedicated to standards education, and a grant program for students and faculty mentors for application papers on the use of standards. CNIS was known as the Institute of Standardization of the State Science and Technology Commission when it was established in 1963. As a national social service institution dedicated to standardization research, CNIS mainly addresses the global, strategic, and comprehensive standardization issues in the national economy and social development of China. CNIS is mainly engaged in standardization research, standards development, and standardization theory, strategy, and education. CNIS focuses its standards activities on agriculture, quality management, service and society management, new technology and information, and the environment. Moreover, CNIS has a National Library of Standards, which is China's only library of standards documents at the national level. CNIS also has a Sub-Institute of Standardization Theory and Strategy, which is committed to research on the standardization knowledge system, promoting the combination of standardization and education. Today, when you can easily get light bulbs to fit your lamps, and your ATM card works internationally in all ATM machines, it's hard to imagine a time when almost nothing was standardized. Based on archaeological relics discovered in Northern Africa and the Middle East, standardization can be traced back to the ancient civilizations of Babylon and early Egypt. The earliest standards were the physical standards for weights and measures. Over time, as trade and commerce developed, there evolved written documents that set mutually agreed upon standards for products and services, such as agriculture, ships, buildings and weapons. Initially, these standards were part of individual contracts between suppliers and purchasers. Later, the same standards came to be used across a range of transactions, forming the basis for modern standardization. During the Qin Dynasty in China, from 221 to 206 BC, the Emperor Qin Shi Huang successfully directed many efforts in standardization. Written language was standardized during his reign. A standard currency of a copper coin with a square hole in the middle was adopted. He also standardized the system of weights and measures, and axle lengths were made uniform. His decrees could reach everywhere through official carriages throughout the country. Partly as a result of his success at standardization, the dynasty established by Qin Shi Huang could be consolidated. And it continued to exist for 2,000 years. After the industrialization of the early 19th century, the absence of standardization caused significant inefficiencies and endangered public safety. We have already seen the consequences of the Baltimore Fire in 1904. Some other examples of the early 20th century include inconsistent railroad track widths early on that caused delays when wheels had to be changed at connecting points, as well as dangerous boiler explosions in 1910 caused by excessive temperatures. As time and technology progressed, so did standardization. Today, standards developers seek to achieve a great precision of uniformity, since the smallest micro-deviation from perfect tolerances can cause airplanes to malfunction or satellites to go off course. In today's society, standardization provides order and convenience. It's the reason why our PCs and laptops can be networked, our phone calls are delivered, our power stays on, and so much more. Over the past 100 years, standardization has expanded beyond manufacturing to management, service industries, education, agriculture, and many other areas. Standardization is the process that encompasses the initiation, development, and application of standards documents. It's the process of merging scientific research with applied experience to determine the precise, optimum technical requirements for an aspect of technology. The output of this merger is the authoritative document called a standard. Standardization is recognized as an essential discipline for all global marketplace players, who must strive to be competitive. Today, companies have integrated standardization as a major technical and commercial element in business planning. They are aware that they must play an active role to assert their interests or be prepared to accept standards established without them. What exactly is a standard? ISO IEC Guide 2 defines it as a document established by consensus and approved by a recognized body that provides for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines, or characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree of order in a given context. Let's use that as a working definition. Standards address issues ranging from product compliance, compatibility, to consumer safety and health concerns. Standards also simplify product development and reduce non-value-adding costs, thereby increasing users' ability to compare competing products. Standards are the fundamental building blocks for international trade. Only through the use of standards can requirements for interconnectivity and interoperability be ensured, and the credibility of new products and new markets verified, enabling the rapid implementation of technology. Standards may be classified in many ways. We will discuss a few of the common classifications you will hear about, but there are others. One type of classification concerns the subject of the standard. We can say that a standard is a product standard, a process standard, or a service standard. Product standards establish qualities or requirements for a product to ensure that it will serve its purpose effectively. Process standards specify requirements to be met by a process, such as an assembly line operation, in order to function effectively. Service standards, such as for repairing a car, establish requirements to be met in order to achieve the designated purpose effectively. Another type of classification describes the content of the standard. We can say that a standard is a design standard or a performance standard. A design standard describes how a product should be made or defines the exact materials to be used. A performance standard defines how a product is expected to function after it is made. Such a standard may include methods for testing. Another classification you may hear about is the distinction between a de jure standard and a de facto standard. De jure standards, also called formal standards, are developed by formal standards organizations using well-established procedures based on openness, transparency, balance, due process, and the right of appeal. Numerous formal standards organizations exist, such as ISO, IEEE, GB, ANSI, World Wide Web Consortium , ASTM International, Internet Engineering Task Force , IETF, Health Level 7 to name just a few. Among the thousands of de jure standards developed by these and other organizations are the IPv6 protocols of the IETF, IEEE 1800, System Verilog, and ISO 9000. Some technical specifications developed outside the formal processes gain wide acceptance in the marketplace and become de facto standards as a result of many organizations and individuals adopting them. Yet another classification scheme distinguishes between voluntary standards, which by themselves impose no obligations regarding use, and mandatory standards. There are many differences around the world in the definitions of voluntary and mandatory standards and the status of standards in government regulations. Standards are important for many reasons. In essence, they are a common language for all stakeholders the public, manufacturers, consumers, governments, businesses, and educators. They help lower the costs of implementation, training, manufacturing, and production. They help ensure safety, reliability, and acceptance. Technology drives standards. Standards establish compatibility and interoperability. They make it easier to understand and compare competing products. They encourage innovation. Economics drives standards. Standards speed the time to market for new products. They help reduce the risk of product liability. They enable competition. International trade drives standards. The development of standards helps demonstrate social responsibility and reduces the need for regulation. In turn, standards facilitate international trade. Globalization of markets will drive more emphasis on the economic component of standardization and a demand for a balanced approach across regions. Global markets require globally relevant standards. Remember, because standards are so important in industry, industry wants new engineers to know about standards. In this video, we've started to cover some of the basics, what standards are and why they matter to industry and the different types of standards. But there is more. Take the time in your studies to learn about standards. Talk to your professors. Contact standards organizations in your field of interest. Contact your IEEE student organization if there is one on your campus. Contact CNIS. Other videos in this series will cover additional topics in standards education, such as the standards development process and the part that standards play in global trade. We hope this video has made you eager to learn more. Have a great day. Thanks for watching.