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CEI's PROFILE
Overview
Mission of CEI
Statutory Bodies
OVERVIEW

  PROFILE OF THE ASSOCIATION

THE ITALIAN ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMITTEE  

CEI, Comitato Elettrotecnico Italiano, founded in 1909, is the Italian Institution, formally recognized by the Italian Government and by the European Union in charge of standardization and unification in the electrical, electronic and telecommunications fields in Italy.

CEI technical standards define the best practices, i.e., the set of requirements enabling the design and construction of electric and electronic components, equipment, machines as well as installations, on the basis of defined safety principles, evolving in parallel with technological progress.

Indeed, in the electrical field the following technical and legislative framework is in force:

LAW n° 186, dated 1 March 1968 à …All electric and electronic equipment and installations must be built in conformity with the best practices. Those built according to CEI standards, are considered to be in compliance with such best practices…

LAW n° 791, dated 18 October 1977 à …It is mandatory to build and sell low-voltage electric material in compliance with the best practices… . A supplementary decree specifies that CEI is the Italian organization in charge of preparing harmonized standards.

LAW n° 46, dated 5 March 1990 à …Installation companies must build installations according to the best practices, using components built according to the requirements of the best manufacturing practices; materials and components constructed according to UNI and CEI safety technical standards are considered to be in compliance with such best practices...

CEI duty is not only to publish technical standards, but also to promote and spread technical-scientific culture and electrical safety in particular. Therefore, CEI performs a number of standardization and pre-standardization activities, including: the publication of technical standards at national level and the endorsement of those harmonized according to European Directives; co-ordination actions, research & development, communication and training activities in co-operation with the other parties involved in the standardization process at a domestic, European and international level.
THE MISSION OF CEI

CEI mission, as the Italian Standardization Organization in its field of competence, is to improve the quality of life, safety of people and environment protection, meeting the rights, needs and ideas of the community, through the broad consensus of all parties involved in the standardization process. 

The mission is fulfilled by and pursuing several goals:

preparation, publication, promotion and distribution of technical standards in the electric, electronic and telecommunications fields for materials, equipment, machinery, installations, processes and programs, setting the relevant quality and safety requirements needed for their conformity with the best practices;

provision of symbols, terminology, standardization and unification practices in the fields of direct competence;
definition of criteria, test methods and limits aimed at achieving appropriate safety, reliability and quality levels for products and processes; moreover, elaboration of rules and procedures for tests and verifications of compliance with technical standards; finally, setting of the evaluation criteria for laboratories, manufacturers and individual operators finalized to their accreditation by the organizations in charge;

study of scientific and technological problems related to the use, operation, safety or other characteristics of products in the electric field, spreading the knowledge and contributing to the national adoption;

promotion and development of a technical culture through various information and education activities, complementary documentary and editorial initiatives, including training courses, conventions and seminars, guides, manuals, application softwares and technical commentaries;
promotion and enhancement of certification activities;

participation in the work of international and European standardization bodies in order to endorse the harmonization of technical standards and to take decisions on normative projects to fulfil the received mandates aimed at complying with European Union policies.
STATUTORY BODIES

CEI is composed of: Sponsoring, Institutional, Full and Affiliate members, representing the most important Ministries, Trading Associations, Public and Private Organizations, Companies, Universities and Research Centres.

Sponsoring Members

 AEIT – Italian Federation for Electrotechnics, Electronics, Automation, Informatics and Telecommunications
 ANIE – National Electric and Electronic Manufacturers Federation
 ENEL Spa – the largest Italian Utility

Institutional Members

Ministry of Environment
 Ministry of Cultural Activities
 Ministry of Defence
 Ministry of Infrastructures and Transport
 Ministry of Interior
 Ministry of Labour, Health and Welfare
 Ministry of Economic Development
 Ministry of Education, University and Research
 CNR - National Research Council

Full Members

Public and Private Organizations, Companies or other bodies, interested in participating to CEI activities, which make a formal request of association and are approved by the Council.

Full Members contribute to the standardization activity and the development of standards and standardization documents through their representatives in CEI Technical Committees and Subcommittees. They contribute to define technical standards at a National, European and International level, and attend the Members Assembly.

Sponsoring, Institutional and Full members, with their experts, constitute the technical operating bodies of CEI, i.e. the Technical Committees, Subcommittees and Central Committees, and therefore contribute, at different levels, to the elaboration of technical standards at international, European and national levels.

Affiliate Members

Bodies or individuals, not directly contributing to the standardization activity, but benefit from all discounts granted to CEI Members for the purchase and subscriptions to CEI standards, editorial products and softwares and for the attendance to CEI training courses.

Technical Bodies

They are constituted by the experts, nominated by CEI members of the first three above-mentioned categories, who contribute to draft the standards and various other normative documents:

  • Central Technical Committee (CST) à has the task to coordinate horizontal-type activities relevant to common issues within the Technical Committees and to find solutions to technical problems of general nature;

  • Certification Committee (CERT) à has the duty to coordinate the activities of CEI in the fields of certification and accreditation, in agreement with the indications of the corresponding national and international organizations;

  • Technical Committees (CT) and Subcommittees (SC) à are national bodies, identified with a nomenclature by number and subject, that are in charge of drafting and preparing the standards of their specific competence;

  • Sectorial Groups, Joint and Special Committees à are created, when necessary, to meet specific needs of national and international liaisons, or to deal with particularly important issues or applications.

 

CEI - Comitato Elettrotecnico Italiano
Via Saccardo, 9
20134 Milano
tel. 02 21006.1 - fax 02 21006.210
e-mail: cei@ceiweb.it
http://www.ceiweb.it