What are Industry Standards?

Generally speaking, a standard is a document that has been developed, adopted, and published by an association, group, industry segment, society, or government agency that outlines requirements of that group's procedures and regulations.  Standards can include guidelines for design, manufacture, testing, technical requirements, performance and/or practice.  Don't be surprised if the standards you are looking for average $40 - $50 per document and run as high as several hundred dollars.  Organizations spend time and money developing and updating standards and are not likely to give them away for free.  

Who Publishes Industry Standards?

Well known publishers of U.S. industry standards include:

• ASTM  - American Society for Testing and  Materials
• ANSI - American National Standards Institute
• NIST - National Institute of Standards and Technology
• IEEE - The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
• API-American Petroleum Institute
• ASME-American Society of Mechanical Engineers
• EIA-Electronics Industries Alliance
• NFPA-National Fire Protection Association
• SAE-Society Of Automotive Engineers, Inc.
• UL-Underwriters Laboratories Standards Service.
  

Are Industry Standards Available Online?

The General Libraries is paying for full-text online access to all active ASTM, ANSI, AASHTO, ASME, AWS, IEEE, NFPA, UL and API standards and the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code for UT Austin faculty, staff and students with a valid ID.  You can get to these standards by going to UT Library Online Databases and Indexes to Articles link.

Industry Standards Available in the Engineering Library

You may have noticed that we have not mentioned standards from other well-known, non-U.S. organizations such as ISO, DIN and JPO.  These standards are just too expensive for us to purchase.  If you need to buy a copy of one of these standards, contact a commercial vendor such as  Global Engineering Documents (http://global.ihs.com/), an IHS Group Company, to arrange a purchase.