Learn in the textbookStandardization Organizations
DefinitionIEC (the International Electrotechnical Commission) sets international standards only for electrical and electronic technology.
ExplanationFounded in 1906 and, like ISO, headquartered in Geneva, the IEC has a national committee from each country as its members. It covers the safety, performance and test methods of technologies that use electricity, such as home appliances, electronic components, batteries and power generation equipment. Standards that touch both fields, as information technology does, are written by a joint ISO and IEC committee and published under numbers that begin with ISO/IEC.
AnalogyIt is like a specialist hospital that treats only electrical cases, standing on its own beside a general hospital that covers a wide range of departments.
Memory hookThe E stands for Electrotechnical and the C for Commission, which the Japanese name renders as "conference" (会議).