Primer on Engineering Standards

Chapter 9Standards Interpretation and Relief

9.1 General Discussion

As described in Chapter 3, standards are generally produced by experts in the field using a deliberate and rigorous process. The writers and the developing organizations make every effort to produce a product that is clear, concise, and complete. Unfortunately, knowledge is incomplete and even with the best of intentions it can happen that there is a need for further interpretation, explanation, or relief. Both the interpretation process and the process by which relief is acquired depend on the type of standard, the way it was adopted, and whether the standard itself includes provisions for relief.

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There are times when an organization or a jurisdiction may need to take an exception to a recognized standard for product manufacturing or operation. This is usually formalized and documented with a variance or waiver (sometimes also referred to as deviations or tailoring). Waivers often involve complex issues and should only be pursued after careful evaluation of consequences as well as the amount of effort involved.

Use of the terms “variance” and “waiver” is somewhat ambiguous. Variance is generally fairly consistently defined, but in common usage the term “waiver” is frequently used in its place. The terms will be used interchangeably in this book:

1. Tailoring: ...