INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
TC/SC Structure
Roles and Responsibilities of
TC/SC Officers and IEC CO
Jan-Henrik Tiedemann
IEC Community S&S Manager
Contents
 TC/SC Structure
 Role & Responsibilities of TC/SC Officers
 Role of Central Office
Technical Committee (TC)
 TCs are established and dissolved by the SMB
 TCs report to the SMB
 TCs are identified by their title and scope – a statement
precisely defining the limits of work
(at the IEC, the whole field of electrotechnology is split into 178 TCs and SCs.)
 Membership of a committee is open to National Committees
which may choose to act either as participating member or
observer (P- or O-member).
Sub Committee (SC)
 SCs are established and dissolved by the P-members of the
parent committee, subject to ratification by the SMB
 SCs report to their parent committee
 SCs are identified by their title and scope defined by the parent
committee – The scope shall be within the defined scope of the
parent committee
 Membership of a subcommittee is open to P- or O-members of
the parent Committee. An O-member of a parent committee may
be a P-member of the subcommittee
TC/SC Structure 1/3
Secretariat
a National Committee to which has been assigned, by mutual
agreement, the responsibility for providing technical and
administrative services to a technical committee or subcommittee
Secretary
an individual appointed by the secretariat to manage the technical
and administrative services provided to the committee
Chairman
an individual proposed by the secretariat and appointed by the SMB
for the overall management of the committee
Note: A close co-operation between the chairman and the secretary is absolutely
essential to ensure efficient operation of the committee. The possibility of
appointing as chairman, a national from a country other than that of the secretariat
is recommended.
TC/SC Structure 2/3
Working Groups (WG)





Handle several new projects
Numbered in sequence of establishment
Reasonably limited in size
Possibility of having more than one Convenor (Co-convenor)
Disbanded on completion of all its projects
Project Teams (PT)



Work on the development of one new project
Designated by the project number ( PT 6XXXX)
Disbanded – automatically – on completion of the project
Maintenance Teams (MT)




Keep a publication or a set of publications up to date
Numbered in the same sequence as Working Groups
No minimum size
The only permanent group – may be populated when needed
TC/SC Structure 3/3
Advisory groups (AG)




Assist the Chairman and Secretary in coordination, planning and steering
of the committee’s activities
Established based on terms of reference and dissolved by P-members
Members nominated by P-members
Output only recommendations for approval by P-members
(cannot prepare IS, TS, PAS, TR documents)
Ad Hoc groups (AHG)



Study a precisely defined problem
Members chosen from delegates present at the meeting – Can be
supplemented by experts later
Disbanded at the meeting to which it submits its report
Editing Committees



Update and edit CDs, CDVs, FDISs
Ensure the conformity to the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2
Recommended membership: Convenor or Project Leader, one English
mother tongue Expert, and one French mother tongue Expert
Technical Committee internal structure
Secretary
WG 2
Secretary
AG 1
Chairman
Subcommittee A
Secretary
Chairman
Subcommittee B
Subcommittee B
Subcommittee B
Secretary
Chairman
WG 2
Secretary
AHG 1
WG WG WG 2
Convenor
WG 1
WG WG Proj. Lead. 6YYY
PT 6XXX
WG WG WG 2
Convenor
MT 1
WG WG WG 2
Convenor
WG 1
WG WG WG 2
Convenor
WG 1
WG WG Convenor
Proj.
Lead. 6YYY
PT 6XXX
WG WG Convenor
Proj.
Lead. 6YYY
PT 6XXX
WG WG WG 2
Convenor
MT 1
WG WG WG 2
Convenor
MT 1
Technical Committee work environment
Industry
Users
Governments
Academia
Market
National
Committees
Projects
Documents
Publications
Technical
Committees
and
Subcommittees
Proposals
Experts
Comments
Votes
Distribution of TC/SC secretariats
34
Technical Committees
94
Subcommittees
79
Working Groups
467
Project Teams
231
Maintenance Teams
482
24 23
19
16
13
6
5
5
4
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Total 173 (data as of 2013-02-06)
Distribution of TC/SC Chairs
37
32
21
18
13
9
5
4
4
4
4
3
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Total 170 (data as of 2013-02-06)
3 Chairmen to be appointed
Contents




TC/SC Structure
Role & Responsibilities of TC/SC Officers
Role of Central Office
ISO/IEC Directives
Roles & responsibilities





TC/SC Chairman
TC/SC Secretary
WG/MT convenors
PT leaders
Experts
Resource area on IEC Website:
http://www.iec.ch/standardsdev/resources/tcroles/
Roles of the Chairman
The chairman of a committee shall
act in a purely international capacity,
divesting himself of a national point of view
and thus cannot serve concurrently
as the delegate of a national body
in his own committee.
Roles of the Chairman
The chairman of a committee shall:

Be responsible for the overall management
of the committee, including SC/WG,
(where applicable)

Advise the Standardization Management Board
(SMB) on important matters relating to the
committees, via the TC secretariat
Roles of the Chairman
The chairman of a committee shall:

Guide the Secretary of the committee in carrying
out his duty

Conduct meetings with a view to build the
consensus

Take appropriate decisions at all stages for the way
forward

Attend relevant meetings of coordination bodies
such as coordination groups between TCs, advisory groups,
TC special advisory (or management) groups, etc.
Roles of the Chairman
The chairman of a committee shall:

Be informed
of the status of all projects in his committee

Promote IEC interests

Consult the Secretary of the committee
in the decision-making process

Ensure that IEC Directives and relevant SMB
decisions are adhered to throughout the
preparation of standards
Roles of the Chairman
The chairman of a committee shall:
 As the publication of standards is based on the
consensus principle, the art of compromise
should be judiciously exercised by the chairman
in order to achieve the highest possible level of
agreement between the various interests
 Minimize delays to publication
 Maintain high quality publications
without producing much reduced requirements
Roles of the Chairman
Among the documents, there are a number of
occasions where an action or decision is required from
the Chairman:
 NP
They are submitted to the chairman & secretary prior to their
circulation so that comments can be added and
recommendations given relating to such subjects as
committee resource allocation, market relevance and possible
overlap with existing work.
 CC, RVC
On receipt of comments or the result of voting, the Chairman
(in cooperation with the secretariat and the project leader) will
take a decision on the future course of action of the project.
This decision will be stated in the document.
Appointment of the Chairman
 Chairmen of a TC shall be nominated by the TC
secretariat
 Chairmen of a TC shall be appointed by the
Standardization Management Board (SMB),
 The maximum initial term for a TC Chairman is 6
years
 A single extension of a maximum of 3 years is
possible
SMB decision 146/15
Appointment of the Chairman Sub-committee
 Chairmen of a SC shall be nominated by the SC
secretariat
 Chairmen of a SC shall be appointed by the parent
TC P-members
 The maximum initial term for a SC Chairman is 6
years
 A single extension of a maximum of 3 years is
possible
SMB decision 146/15
Appointment of the Chairman
 12 months before the end of the Chairman’s term the CO
requests the TC/SC secretariat to indicate whether
 it wishes to nominate a new candidate as Chairman, or
 extend the term of the current chairman.

The following process is followed in both cases…
 All NCs are invited to submit nominations within 3 months
 The TC secretariat chooses a single candidate
 The proposed TC Chairman is submitted to the SMB, while
the proposed SC chairman is submitted to the TC P-members
for approval within 6 weeks.
 Any objections by SMB members or P-members will be
immediately circulated
 If a 2/3 majority vote is not achieved, then the process is repeated.
Roles of the Secretary
The TC/SC secretary shall

Act in a purely international capacity – divesting
himself/herself of all national points of view

Be responsible for the day-to-day management
of the committee or subcommittee, including all WG/PT/MT,
(where applicable)

Be responsible for the preparation of all documents
to be distributed to the National Committees, including
NP, RVN, CD, CC, CDV, RVC, FDIS, RVD, AC, DC, Q, INF
Roles of the Secretary
The TC/SC secretary shall

Be responsible for recording of decisions
taken and their subsequent implementation

Be responsible for correction of obvious errors
in final draft International Standards (FDIS)

Be responsible for preparation of meetings
(agenda, reports of WGs, all documents necessary
for discussion during the meeting)
Roles of the Secretary
The TC/SC secretary shall

Be responsible for preparation of
strategic business plan

Be responsible for regular monitoring of
programme of work

Be responsible for preparation of the
meeting minutes

Be responsible for preparation of the
reports to the SMB
Roles of the Secretary
The TC/SC secretary shall

Manage the maintenance cycles of the committee’s
standards

Manage the editing committee (if applicable)

Ensure that the convenors & project leaders
(and experts, where necessary) are trained and
informed on subjects that are critical to the
standards development process
Roles of the Convenor
Once set up, the WG/PT/MT is under the responsibility of
the project leader or the convenor who is expected to:
 Manage the development of the project or
maintenance of the publication(s)
 Organize and chair the WG/PT/MT meetings
 Save the meetings agendas, minutes and working
drafts in the IEC Collaboration Tools, for future
reference
SMB Decision 142/19
Roles of the Convenor
The Convenor / Project Leader shall:
 Report to the TC/SC secretary and chairman on the
project progress/delays
 Report to the TC/SC secretary and chairman on any
significant problem affecting the project
 Report inactive experts so that corrective actions
can be taken
 Prepare drafts of all working documents related to
the project
 Assist the TC/SC Secretary, when requested, to
complete observations on NC comments on working
documents
Appointment of the Convenor / Project Leader
A Convenor is appointed by the TC/SC by the following
means:
 TC/SC Plenary meeting decision
 Circulation of a RQ document following a Q
document
A Project Leader is appointed by the TC/SC, by
circulating the RVN document following a NP
document
Consensus
One of the key roles for the TC officers is to facilitate the “consensus”.
IEC definition of Consensus:
General agreement, characterized by the absence of sustained opposition
to substantial issues by any important part of the concerned interests
and by a process that involves seeking to take into account the views of
all parties concerned and to reconcile any conflicting arguments.
NOTE : Consensus need not imply unanimity.
(ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1, Chap 2.5.6 page 27)
Contents




TC/SC Structure
Role & Responsibilities of TC/SC Officers
Role of Central Office
ISO/IEC Directives
Central Office organization
General Secretary
F. Vreeswijk
Council, CB & ExCo Secr.
K. Fraga
MSB
Secretariat
P. Lanctot
Standardization Strategy
J. Sheldon
TISS
Strategic Development
Communication
G. Ehrlich
SMB Secretariat
CAB
D. Hanlon
Technical Coordination
Affiliate Country Programme
F. Rauser
IECEE
K. McManama
Technical Department
R. Baillif
HR, General Services, General Meetings
S. Chardon, M. Heintz
Finance
F. Vieira
IECQ
C. Agius
IECEx
C. Agius
IT Operations
A. Maislisch
Roles of the Central Office

Monitoring of technical committees and their work

Distribution of documents to NCs (all documents except those used internally by
working groups)

Management of votes and comments on all documents submitted to the NCs

Editing of CDVs and verification, preparation and distribution of FDISs

Coordination and announcement of TC/SC meetings including IEC General Meetings

Administration of all liaisons (internal and external)

Preparation of documents for submission to the Standardization Management Board,
advisory committees and sector Coordination within IEC

Training of chairmen and secretaries

Maintenance of the IEC project database

Management of the IEC web site and document server

Marketing

Meeting facilities for meetings held in Central Office

Printing of the final publications
Technical Department organization
Technical Department
R. Baillif
Terminology Coordinator
J. Goodwin
S. Achard
M. Ahem D. Clagett
J. Genoud
C. Louca
Editing
A. Menzies
E. Monnet
K. Ogden
M. Sheldon
M. Sonnier
E. Volet
Geneva Tech. Team
R. Baillif
Document Control
A. Menzies
A. Bielfeld (layout)
C. Jacquot (drawings)
T. Ouk (layout)
A. Ponthus (drawings)
S. Song (layout)
North America Tech. Team
T. Rotti
Asia/Pacific Tech. Team
D. Chew
Technical Committees
C. Boyer
M. Cocimarov P. Sebellin
C. Jacquemart
Technical Committees
P. Lanctot
A. Redgate
T. Rotti
Technical Committees
D. Chew
S. Yap
D. Lee
Administration
S. Nikomidos (coordination)
N. Andrey
T. Barnett (Cenelec)
A. Blattler
I. Witik
Administration
M. Maillet
B. Vautour
Administration
K. Menon
J. Ong
P. Teo
S. Zhang
Roles of the Technical Officer

Project Management
 Advise on correct application of the Directives
 Supervise circulation of working documents
 Check incoming manuscripts

Meetings
 Presentation on SMB decisions, Directives, etc.
 Reporting back

Training of chairmen and secretaries

SMB Interface
Roles of the Administrative Assistant

Assist the Technical Officer in his daily tasks

Prepare and circulate documents to NCs

Send the Voting/Commenting results to TC/SC Secretaries

Prepare documents for the TC/SC plenary meetings

Provide support to TC/SC Secretaries on administrative procedures

Enter data in IEC Information System
 TC/SC Structure
 Project Information
Contents




TC/SC Structure
Role & Responsibilities of TC/SC Officers
Role of Central Office
ISO/IEC Directives
ISO/IEC Directives, IEC Supplement
Preparation of French versions of documents
 TC/SC Secretaries shall always request a
French version of documents from the
French National Committee
 Clause E.3.1.2 on CDVs is outdated and
replaced by AC/21/2012