VDI Guidelines and their significance
Today, approximately 200 guidelines based on the latest technical developments are produced by the VDI’s technical divisions per year. That way the VDI has systematically built up a set of technical regulations, wich today contains more than 2000 valid VDI Guidelines extensively covering the broad field of technology. Today’s topics range from securing loads on road vehicles to testing of optical fibres up to biomimetics and monitoring the consequences of genetically modified organisms.
VDI Guidelines play a very important role as pioneers for international standardization: Accessible for all market participants, they allow savings by reducing information and control costs as well as costs for adjustment and trading. Technical knowledge can spread faster. Standards thereby facilitate contractual arrangements, commercial transactions, and serve to reduce technical trade barriers.
With the VDI Guidelines the VDI fulfils its primary function: the transfer of technical knowledge as a service to engineers and students.
The first VDI Guideline was already published in 1884. The document on examination of steam boilers and engines was issued for the first time as part of the scientific journal of the Associatin of German Engineers on October 1884 and has been the launch of VDI Guidelines as integral part of the German technical-economic infrastructure.
Everyone can suggest a topic for a VDI Guideline. If a committee is established after examination of the appropriate VDI division, it consists of honorary experts coming from all areas of research and teaching, planning and development, industry, technical surveillance and authorities. The first result of this professional exchange of experience is a draft, which is submitted to a public scrutiny. After examination of the comments received, the final version, the so-called “white paper”, is published. This guarantees, besides the state of the art, neutrality with regard to individual commercial interests as well as relevance and practicability. The “white” paper is usually published as a German/English version.
Copyrights for VDI Guidelines are held exclusively by Verein Deutscher Ingenieure e.V.
In addition to the direct ordering of VDI Guidelines, it is possible, for specific purposes, for licences to be issued. These include copying on licensed paper, translations, publications of excerpts, creation of software on the basis of VDI Guidelines, input into internal company networks etc. The conditions for these procedures are governed by the VDI Notices.
VDI guidelines Documentation Centres
In various places inside and outside Germany, usually in university libraries, it is possible to consult VDI Guidelines. Some of these Documentation Centres also offer the facility of copying VDI Guidelines on licensed VDI copying paper (marked with *).
Verein Deutscher Ingenieure e. V.
VDI Guidelines Department
P. O. Box 10 11 39
40002 Duesseldorf
Germany
phone +49 211 6214-230
fax +49 211 6214-174
E-Mail: rili@vdi.de
