The world of standards is much maligned, often mistrusted, and occasionally venerated, writes Ed Arnott.

White Label app

The very word ‘standard’ evokes images of lengthy tomes, words set in stone, as immutable and unchangeable as Hammurabi’s Code of Laws; ancient wisdom by authors long forgotten. Whatever your personal opinion, I assure you that nothing could be further from the truth; and if anything were to prove it, it would surely be the new ‘White Label’ standards trial.

'What is it?' I hear you ask. Put simply, the White Label app is a new way of accessing standards online. Conceived by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and still very much in the development phase, this platform will one day be the means by which you can read national and international standards. Users will be able to perform dynamic searches, add annotations, and cross-reference other texts.

'How is the NSAI involved?'. Like all national committees (NCs) which contribute to international standards, the Irish NC, headed by the NSAI, regularly proof-reads, steers and critiques drafts of international standards.

The Irish NC was selected, among a handful of other NCs, to run an internal trial of the White Label product using a sample standard; in this case the National Rules for Electrical Installations (AKA Wiring Rules) (IS10101). 

Members of the NSAI’s technical staff have, in collaboration with the IEC, created a new search platform for the Wiring Rules and programmed some new search and data filtering features within the White Label platform. Some members of the Electrical Installation Committee are now in the process of using, reviewing, and commenting upon the trial version of the standards portal.

'What’s so special about White Label? Isn’t there an online version of IS10101 already?'. The Wiring Rules have been available as an online resource for several years; more recently via the Intertek mobile app, i2i, as well.

Anybody who has purchased the hard-copy (AKA 'meatspace') version of the rules will automatically have been granted access to the online version.  The online standards have good keyword search facilities, simple text highlighting tools, and a navigation tree allowing users to quickly jump between chapters, headings and clauses. 

The White Label version of the Wiring Rules will have all of these things. The big difference is that every clause, subclause, bullet point and table has been uploaded to the database as its own entity with its own set of properties.

In practice this will mean that a user can highlight and search for different parts of the standard automatically based on key properties – for example, highlighting all parts which are recommended but not mandated. The structure of the standard will still remain, including all of the clause numbers and chapters. The more masochistic of you will be able to read the entire Wiring Rules from cover to cover as if it were any other book.

'I like my paper version of the Wiring Rules because I can write notes in the margin. Can the White Label version do that?'. In short, yes. The trial version allows users to store notes in the online portal and link them to specific clauses or lines of text.

There is a feature under development that will permit users to export lists of clauses and associated notes in PDF format. To date, there is no means to apply sketches, coffee stains or bad handwriting.

'Will all of these new features mean that tables and diagrams are lost?'. Not at all. The intent of the project is to make it easier to use the standard and not to change its content in any way. All the same hyperlinks in the existing online version of IS10101 to link the text to the diagrams will continue to work. Notes accompanying tables and diagrams will also be classified as normative, informative etc to facilitate searching.

'I live in Northwest Mayo (AKA the most remote place in Ireland – Google it) and have poor internet access. How can I access the Wiring Rules?'. To date, the NSAI has no plans to retire the printed version of the Wiring Rules, which carries the same information as the online portal. Additionally, all registered electrical contractors (RECs) are required to have access to a printed copy of the latest version of IS10101.

'I fear the march of progress and wish to hark back to a simpler time when standards were much shorter.' The complexity of modern standards is an effort to adapt to new technologies which were never previously considered.

While there is no way around this, the White Label system may eventually soften the blow with two key features. First, users will be able to filter out the relevant parts of the Wiring Rules which apply to their particular area of work. It is recommended that these filters are checked regularly to ensure that key requirements are not being missed, but they will eventually form the basis for a faster reference tool.

Second, there is a plan yet to be implemented, that will maintain an archive of outdated standards and allow comparison with the most recent versions. While only the latest version of a standard will apply for new work, the archives may be used in testing and verification of older equipment and installations built when previous standards were in force.

'What’s the process for reviewing the White Label version of IS10101?. I call this process a 'trial', and for good reason. If a clinical trial is a process of comparing a new treatment’s efficacy against a control group, and a trial by jury is an attempt to achieve consensus by a disparate group of individuals, then the White Label trial has elements of both.

A group of industry experts from the NSAI Electrical Installations Committee are in the process of using the new portal to conduct searches, make notes, create custom lists of clauses, and generally use the standard as if it were being applied in industry.

The committee members are already familiar with IS10101 and the associated online portals, so they are well placed to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the new system. All comments from the reviewers are being collated by the NSAI and will be fed back to the developers in the IEC, who will iteratively improve the White Label portal throughout the trial. I will be pleading 'insanity'.

'I think that the White Label system sounds great; when can I get access?'. Not any time soon. The beta testing of the IS10101 White Label platform is ongoing and will continue well into 2026. The test phase will be run in parallel with updates to the platform and therefore the final product will be an evolved version of the original portal. 

At the same time, the IEC is busy loading relevant parts of reference standards into the portal, to allow users to cross-reference IS10101 with clauses from other relevant sources. An industry-facing standards portal is still some way off.

'I am inexplicably enthusiastic about AI. Will the White Label system implement AI tools for searching, summarising or categorising standards?'. AI, and its possible applications, have been mooted within the IEC digital transformation team. However, the potential for misinterpretation or misrepresentation of standards by unmoderated AI tools has been noted within the Irish NC and elsewhere. To date, the NSAI White Label trial contains no AI features, nor are there any plans to develop any such features in the short term.

'If the new Standards portal is so smart, am I guaranteed a working solution if I follow what the standard says?'. All of these great strides in standards development come with a stark warning. Using and interpreting a standard must always be applied with good judgment and experience.

The IEC, the NSAI, and all the technical committees are locked in an endless struggle to update the standards according to the needs of industry and the landscape of available equipment.

There will always be situations which standards do not adequately describe and, should you find one, the NSAI will be keen to know. If you are a professional and you need advice on how the Wiring Rules should be applied, the NSAI will try to help. Ultimately though, a system designer and installer must always bear responsibility for their work.

'What does the future hold for IS10101 and other standards?'. The IEC is seeking to roll out a common format for all standards. A partnership agreement is in place with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). This agreement IEC & ISO 'One' Strategy aims to achieve SMART together, one time, one information model, one technology, one product portfolio and one approach.

There is a long-term plan that all national and international standards will be accessible and searchable in the same way. While the new data structure will be prioritised for new standards, there is a long-term plan to transform the back-catalogue of pre-existing standards to share the common format.

'Will Ireland and other countries continue to have a say in the content of standards?'. Yes, absolutely. All national committees will continue to contribute to international (and, where appropriate, European) standards, and will be able to apply their own special national conditions.

This article is dedicated to the hard-working members of all Ireland’s technical committees, and their NSAI handlers, whose tireless (and occasionally tiresome) effort brings a measure of stability amid the quagmire of conflicting technical demands. Your work is vital, and I count myself lucky to bear witness to your efforts. 

Author: Ed Arnott is an electrical engineer at ESB with a background in high- and low-voltage power systems. He has been the secretary of the Electrical Division Committee for more than three years and the Engineers Ireland liaison member of the NSAI ETC TC 2 Electrical Installations Committee for the last 24 months.