Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
DD IEC PAS — IEC Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) Single-File Series Overview (30 Standards)
IEC Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) Adopted as Drafts for Development — 30 Standards
📋 DD IEC/PAS are IEC Publicly Available Specifications adopted by BSI in its Draft for Development (DD) series. An IEC PAS is a rapidly issued technical document that meets urgent market needs for new-technology specifications; its development cycle is far shorter than that of a formal International Standard, and it usually originates from real industrial practice or from interim results of the standardisation process. This review brings together 30 single-file PAS in this batch, covering industrial automation and real-time Ethernet, semiconductor devices and electronic components, fuel cells, household and commercial appliance performance, LED lighting, environmental compliance and material declaration, radio-frequency connectors and marine electronic equipment.
💡 A typical feature of IEC PAS is fast, non-traditional publication: it is often based on de-facto industry specifications, published openly before a formal IEC standard is complete, providing a unified technical baseline for the market, and reviewed after a defined period for conversion to a formal standard.
1. Series Background 📌
The IEC Publicly Available Specification (PAS) mechanism allows industrial organisations or research bodies outside the IEC TC structure to publish technical specifications quickly through a simplified process. A PAS does not require the same level of consensus as a formal International Standard, yet it remains international, public and citable — particularly suited to fiercely competitive fields that need rapid alignment of interfaces and methods. BSI adopts these in the DD series as DD IEC/PAS.
The 30 PAS in this batch fall roughly into: industrial communication and automation (RAPIEnet real-time Ethernet, 62633 Fieldbus profiles, 62443-3 network security); components and materials (thermistors, semiconductor couplers, reed switches, LED modules, long-duration storage of electronic components); testing and interoperability (board-level drop, washing performance, air cleaners, commercial vacuum cleaners, half-wavelength voltage measurement, marine data exchange); and environment and compliance (material declaration, restricted-substance sampling, lead-free marking, environmental information EIEEE).
⚠️ A PAS is “quasi-standard” technical content; it differs from a formal IEC standard and must be reviewed after its validity period. In product claims and contractual citations, verify its current validity and avoid treating a PAS as a formal standard.
2. Standard Inventory (30 items) 📚
The table below lists all 30 single-file DD IEC/PAS specifications in this batch, ordered by number, with the document number and subject.
| Document | Subject |
|---|---|
| DD IEC/PAS 60539-2-1:2009 | Directly heated negative temperature coefficient thermistors – Part 2-1: Blank detail specification |
| DD IEC/PAS 60704-2-15:2008 | Household appliances test code for airborne acoustical noise – Part 2-15: Household food waste disposers |
| DD IEC/PAS 60747-17:2011 | Semiconductor devices – Discrete devices – Part 17: Magnetic and capacitive coupler for basic and reinforced isolation |
| DD IEC/PAS 61156-1-4:2009 | Multicore and symmetrical pair/quad cables for digital communications – Part 1-4: Cables with transmission characteristics up to 1000 MHz |
| DD IEC/PAS 61162-102:2003 | Maritime navigation and radiocommunication equipment and systems – Part 102: Interoperable data exchange between shipborne equipment |
| DD IEC/PAS 61169-4:2006 | Radio-frequency connectors – Part 4: Sectional specification for R.F. coaxial connectors – Series BNC |
| DD IEC/PAS 61280-2-10:2003 | Fibre optic communication subsystem test procedures – Part 2-10: Digital systems – Time-resolved chirp and alpha-factor measurement |
| DD IEC/PAS 61906:2005 | Procedure for the declaration of materials in products of the electrotechnical and electronic industry |
| DD IEC/PAS 61996-2:2005 | Maritime navigation and radiocommunication equipment – VDR voyage data recorder – Part 2: Simplified voyage data recorder |
| DD IEC/PAS 62050:2004 | Board level drop test method of components for handheld electronic products |
| DD IEC/PAS 62246-2-1:2008 | Reed contact units – Part 2-1: Heavy-duty reed switches – Quality assessment specification |
| DD IEC/PAS 62282-6-150:2011 | Fuel cell technologies – Part 6-150: Micro fuel cell power systems – Safety – Direct methanol and indirect methanol fuel cells |
| DD IEC/PAS 62338:2002 | Screened balanced cables – Coupling attenuation |
| DD IEC/PAS 62400:2005 | Structuring principles for technical products and technical product documentation |
| DD IEC/PAS 62435:2005 | Electronic components – Long-duration storage |
| DD IEC/PAS 62437:2005 | Radio disturbance characteristics for the protection of receivers |
| DD IEC/PAS 62443-3:2008 | Security for industrial process measurement and control – Network and system security |
| DD IEC/PAS 62473:2007 | Clothes washing machines for household use – Methods for measuring the performance |
| DD IEC/PAS 62500:2006 | Process management for avionics – Guide for defining and applying advanced avionics systems and equipment reliability programs |
| DD IEC/PAS 62515:2007 | Requirements for interoperability between electromechanical and electrical applications in CAx systems |
| DD IEC/PAS 62545:2008 | Environmental Information on Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EIEEE) |
| DD IEC/PAS 62569-1:2009 | Generic specification of information on products – Part 1: Principles and methods |
| DD IEC/PAS 62573:2008 | Real-time Ethernet – Real-time Automation Protocol for Industrial Automation (RAPIEnet) |
| DD IEC/PAS 62587:2008 | Method for measuring performance of portable household electric room air cleaners |
| DD IEC/PAS 62588:2008 | Marking and labeling of components, PCBs and PCBAs to identify lead-free fabrication and related materials |
| DD IEC/PAS 62593:2008 | Measurement method of half-wavelength voltage for Mach-Zehnder optical modulators |
| DD IEC/PAS 62596:2009 | Electrotechnical products – Determination of restricted substances – Sampling procedures |
| DD IEC/PAS 62611:2009 | Vacuum cleaners for commercial use – Methods for measuring performance |
| DD IEC/PAS 62633:2009 | Industrial communication networks – Additional Fieldbus profiles for real-time Ethernet |
| DD IEC/PAS 62717:2011 | LED modules for general lighting – Performance requirements |
3. Technical Points of Representative Documents 🔬
1. DD IEC/PAS 62443-3:2008 — Security for Industrial Process Measurement and Control: Network and System Security
This PAS is an early output of the industrial control system (ICS) cybersecurity standards family (the IEC 62443 series), setting technical requirements and implementation guidance for network and system security in industrial processes, covering defence in depth, the zone and conduit model, access control, risk assessment and security management. It was the first to bring IT security methods systematically into ICS environments, laying the foundation for the later formal IEC 62443 series, and is a key document for understanding the evolution of industrial cybersecurity frameworks.
2. DD IEC/PAS 62573:2008 — Real-Time Ethernet: RAPIEnet Protocol
RAPIEnet (Real-time Automation Protocol for Industrial Automation) is a protocol for real-time communication in industrial automation; this PAS specifies its protocol structure, service interfaces, real-time scheduling mechanisms and conformance requirements within the real-time Ethernet framework. By deterministic scheduling it guarantees the timing behaviour required by high-real-time applications such as motion control, and is an important reference among industrial real-time Ethernet technologies (coexisting with EtherCAT, PROFINET and others).
3. DD IEC/PAS 62717:2011 — LED Modules for General Lighting: Performance Requirements
This PAS specifies performance requirements for LED modules for general lighting, covering luminous flux, luminous efficacy, colour parameters, lifetime, and electrical- and safety-related performance indicators together with test conditions. Against the backdrop of the rapidly expanding LED lighting market, it provides a unified basis for comparing product performance across manufacturers and for the credibility of performance claims, and drove the later development of the formal IEC 62717 standard.
4. DD IEC/PAS 62050:2004 — Board Level Drop Test Method of Components for Handheld Electronic Products
This PAS gives the board-level drop test method for printed-circuit assemblies (PCA) in handheld electronic products, covering drop height, impact orientation, drop posture and failure criteria, used to evaluate the reliability of solder joints and interconnection points under drop impact. It compensates for the difficulty of locating failure sites in whole-product drop tests and is an important method in reliability engineering of portable electronics.
5. DD IEC/PAS 62596:2009 — Electrotechnical Products: Determination of Restricted Substances — Sampling Procedures
This PAS specifies sampling procedures for tests to determine restricted substances (e.g. RoHS-controlled substances) in electrotechnical products, defining sampling-unit division, sample preparation, homogeneity handling and sampling records. It provides a unified sampling method for hazardous-substance conformity testing of electrical and electronic products, ensuring representativeness and consistency of test results.
✅ The five representative PAS above cover industrial network security, real-time Ethernet, LED lighting, drop reliability and restricted-substance sampling, illustrating the value of PAS in “rapidly supporting emerging industries and compliance needs”. The remaining 25 are listed in the full inventory table.
4. Engineering Practice 🛠️
- 🏭 Industrial automation: RAPIEnet (62573) and additional Fieldbus profiles (62633) support real-time industrial network selection; 62443-3 provides early methodology for ICS cybersecurity design.
- 🔌 Components and lighting: thermistors (60539), semiconductor couplers (60747-17), reed switches (62246) and LED modules (62717) support component selection and performance acceptance.
- 📊 Household and commercial appliances: washing machines (62473), air cleaners (62587), commercial vacuum cleaners (62611) and food-waste-disposer noise (60704-2-15) provide measurement methods for performance and noise claims.
- 🌱 Environmental compliance: material declaration (61906), restricted-substance sampling (62596), lead-free marking (62588) and environmental information (62545) together support RoHS/REACH-style compliance management.
5. Frequently Asked Questions ❓
❓ Q: What is the difference between an IEC PAS and a formal IEC International Standard?
A: A PAS is a Publicly Available Specification with a short cycle and lower consensus requirements, often based on industry practice; a formal IEC International Standard goes through a full TC development and balloting process and has stronger normative status. A PAS is normally reviewed after a defined period for conversion, revision or withdrawal.
A: A PAS is a Publicly Available Specification with a short cycle and lower consensus requirements, often based on industry practice; a formal IEC International Standard goes through a full TC development and balloting process and has stronger normative status. A PAS is normally reviewed after a defined period for conversion, revision or withdrawal.
❓ Q: Are DD IEC/PAS documents mandatory?
A: No. They are voluntary technical documents adopted by BSI as Drafts for Development; they become binding only where legislation or a contract explicitly references them.
A: No. They are voluntary technical documents adopted by BSI as Drafts for Development; they become binding only where legislation or a contract explicitly references them.
❓ Q: Can a PAS be used as a basis for product certification?
A: It may serve as a technical reference where no formal standard exists, but certification bodies usually require a currently valid formal standard; confirm the applicability and validity of the PAS with the certification body in advance.
A: It may serve as a technical reference where no formal standard exists, but certification bodies usually require a currently valid formal standard; confirm the applicability and validity of the PAS with the certification body in advance.
🔍 Q: How do I track changes in the status of a PAS?
A: Verify periodically via the BSI/IEC official catalogue; once a PAS is converted to a formal standard, switch to the new number and assess the continuity of the original technical clauses.
A: Verify periodically via the BSI/IEC official catalogue; once a PAS is converted to a formal standard, switch to the new number and assess the continuity of the original technical clauses.