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Find Standards

A guide to introduce resources to find technical standards

Terminology

  • International Classification for Standards (ICS) codes

is a technical standard published by the International Organization for Standards (ISO) and serves as a structure for catalogues. Many platforms allow browsing/searching standards by ICS codes. Learn more about ICS.

  • Redline

refers to highlighted changes between versions of a standard.

How to open protected PDF documents

The PDF documents downloaded from the platform are protected files. Steps to open these PDF documents are:

  1. Install FileOpen plug-in in your device (PC, Mac, iOS, Android). You only need to install once per device.

     
  2. Locate the downloaded PDF document in your local folder. Double-click on the PDF document to open it in Adobe Acrobat reader. Please DO NOT open it in a browser.

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Why Standards Matter


Standards are published documents that establish specifications and procedures designed to ensure the reliability of the materials, products, methods, and/or services people use every day.

Standards can help us:

  • better understand the required specifications for products
  • ensure products, systems, services behave reliably and safely
  • learn how something works (treat standards as “how-to” instructions)
  • meet safety criteria required by law

Where to Find Standards


PolyU eligible users can access the full text of standards from the following subscribed databases:


More details about coverage of standards on each platform, no. of concurrent users, and specific requirements for opening the downloaded files. Navigate to individual pages to learn how to find standards in each database.

Database Standards Coverage
(in PolyU's Subscription)
No. of
Concurrent Users
Protected PDF files
(FileOpen plug-in required)
ASTM Compass
  • ASTM
Unlimited  
British Standards Online (BSOL)
  • BS
  • ISO
  • IEC*
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited


IEEE Xplore Digital Library
  • IEEE
Unlimited  
ACCURIS Engineering Workbench (formerly IHS)
  • AATCC
  • ANSI
  • ASME
  • JIS(JSA)
  • NFPA
Unlimited
1
Unlimited
3
Unlimited
 
Techstreet Enterprise
  • ASHRAE
  • CIE
  • UL
Unlimited
Unlimited
3



*Only those that have been adopted as British Standards


Creative Commons License

Except where otherwise noted, the content of this guide is licensed under a CC BY-NC 4.0 License.