CES Secretariat under new leadership

The 52-year-old Mario Schleider, dipl. Ing (FH) ET\NT joined Electrosuisse on 1 September 2019 and, as of 1 October, has taken up the position of Secretary General of the CES from his predecessor Jörg Weber. Mario Schleider comes from industry and has worked in both SMEs and large companies, most recently as senior project manager in a major infrastructure project in railway technology, and before that with various manufacturers of components and systems in ICT as well as education and training.

With more than 15 years of experience in national and international standardization, Mario Schleider already brings profound knowledge and a corresponding network to the CES Secretariat. He will work to ensure that CES continues to be recognized and perceived as reliable by all stakeholders. His predecessor, Jörg Weber, looks back on a successful time at Electrosuisse. He joined the then SEV on 1 October 2001 and, as Secretary General of the Swiss National Committee CES from 1 January 2003, was responsible for standardization at national, European and international level.

Decisive changes

During the past 17 years, standardisation has changed decisively. At national level, communication (documents, meeting invitations, notices, etc.) has entered the electronic age. Today, the CES sends 99.9 % of documents electronically. In the past, several tons of paper were sent per year.

In 2019, for the first time, the CES, with its staff of five, will have more than 10,000 documents from the IEC and the CENELEC treated. This is only possible with a uniform, high-performance IT infrastructure, which was introduced in 2009.

Important coordination body

The most important governing body of the standard-setting organizations at the Swiss level is the National Standards Coordination Body. All seven standard-setting organisations in Switzerland are represented on this body. Here, under the leadership of the Swiss Association for Standardization, the following are developed SNV coordinates Switzerland's standardisation needs and thus ensures that these are properly introduced at European and international level.

IEC or CENELEC standards as a basis

The "Swiss standards portfolio" has been streamlined. Only five (!) purely national standards remain for the CES; the remaining approximately 7,300 valid electrotechnical standards have their basis in IEC or CENELEC. Furthermore, the two conformity committees KK IECEE - for the testing and certification of electrotechnical equipment and components - and KK IECEx - for equipment for use in explosive atmospheres - were founded in 2017.

Fundamental changes

At European level, there have been two fundamental changes in the Comité Européen de Normalisation Électrotechnique CENELEC. In 2004, with the enlargement of the EU, ten new countries joined CENELEC, the majority from the Eastern region of Europe. Many of these new CENELEC members had to establish their National Committee first, as no standards organisation existed due to their historical country development.

The most radical change since CENELEC was founded in 1973 was the Standardization Regulation 1025/2012 introduced by the EU Commission, which Switzerland must also comply with if it wishes to remain a member of CENELEC. With this regulation, the participation of SME, consumer, environmental and social organisations in standardisation is bindingly regulated and the principle of the separation of legislation and standardisation (New Approach) is thus consolidated.

IEC - no more clear divisions

At the International Electrotechnical Commission IEC, system committees (SyCs) now participate in standardization work in addition to the traditional technical committees (TCs). Today's technologies no longer permit a clear separation between different technology areas. The SyCs established for this purpose are intended to ensure coordination within the respective system under consideration and with the TCs across the board. This is all the more important for Switzerland, since almost 80 % of the Swiss SN electrical standards have their origin in the IEC.

Jörg Weber's conclusion at the end of his term:

"In summary, it can be said that in the past 17 years, in a globalized world, the importance of international standardization has increased enormously and has become crucial for the export-oriented Swiss economy. Participation in standardization bodies can provide clear competitive advantages."

The CES has risen to the challenges of evolving technologies and has continued to develop self-critically in order to be able to meet the demands placed on standardization in the future. (Source: electrosuisse)