Compliance with European standards defined

Compliance with European standards is defined as the minimum acceptable criteria and the manufacturer may have to go beyond the standards, such as complying with the EU laws (directives) and meeting market expectations. 

The difference between decision making on the basis of a standard alone and on the basis of a standard plus other information can be described as one aspect of the direct versus the indirect model. In the direct model, action is defined exactly as that needed to secure compliance with the standard, for example, as permit conditions for discharges to water that are calculated to meet an environmental standard in a river. The classic cases here are substances like ammonia or cadmium in rivers and other mandatory standards in various European directives. 

All cable references contained in this text are based upon cable specifications in Germany as required by DIN (Deutsche Industrie Normen). We are aware that these specifications may or may not be applicable to the reader s specific requirements, and we therefore recommend the reader consult local standards and codes to ensure compliance with the necessary local codes. Some of the cables are defined in a list of American and European electrical cable sizes located in the front of this book. 

The diversity of products, organizations, culture, and social and political frameworks focusing on a product-specific absolute quantity seemed to make it virtually impossible to achieve a uniform and globally accepted definition of Quality. However, in the 1970s, the term Quality was normed for the first time as a term in the concept of quality management (European Organization for Quality Control 1972). In the 80s the ISO 9000-Standard was established and defined quality based on former definitions like the compliance of requirements to test nominal and actual conditions of a product. After revisions the norm ISO 9000 2000 came up with a definition, which was adopted by the CIRP Dictionary of Production Engineering 2004, that defined quality as the totality of properties and characteristics of an entity that bear on its ability to satisfy stated and implied needs. The present definition set by the ISO 9000 2005 states that quality represents the level in which a set of inherent product characteristics meets the customers demands. This definition includes, but is not limited to, physical products or immaterial services and addresses processes and systems as well (Eig. 1). 

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