Primer on Engineering Standards

Chapter 5Jurisdictional Standards

5.1 Regulations and Jurisdictional Requirements

A special category of standards that affects practically all organizations is that group of regulatory standards promulgated by federal, state, and local jurisdictions such as OSHA, DOT, DOE, EPA, Cal-OSHA, counties, cities, and regional governing bodies. These standards have the distinction of being enforceable by legal sanction, typically fines, and in some cases incarceration. This is different from standards that may have been agreed upon by contract between two companies, which do not have the same means of enforcement.

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A regulation is an implementation of a law established by an official governmental jurisdiction for the purpose of achieving specific public good. It is put in place after action by a legislative body either instructing or authorizing an agency to create regulations in a particular area. The general category of regulations includes both administrative requirements and engineering regulations, the latter of which often have specific engineering requirements, but also almost always reference various local, national, or international codes and standards. As an example, many jurisdictions, especially at the state level, require compliance with the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code for pressure vessels, the International Building ...