The proliferation of new codes & standards for power generation equipment procurement, and their increased frequency of revision, contributes to an atmosphere of increasingly rapid change in global trade considerations. This dynamic environment has amplified intensely with each year, to an extent that the life cycle of a given standard is in many instances appreciably less than the delivery cycles of heavy machinery. Other issues are created by the slower pace of harmonization of codes & standards in the European Union (EU), US and elsewhere. These codes & standards cover requirements that include emissions, acoustics, and safety that exert pronounced effects on the design, manufacture, and integration of power plant components. Conformity assessment partnering and the importance of other expert interpretation services are a key component to successfully meeting evolving compliance requirements. Delivering Customer Fulfillment for the Order to Remittance (OTR) phase of a project must be circled back to the Inquiry to Order (ITO) front end of the business cycle for new proposals. Another interesting arena is the relationship of advanced prime mover design balanced with the need for standardization to meet these regulatory challenges in the face of high production volume. The typical power generation project cycle, measured in terms of years, coupled with the present high demand worldwide results in orders for equipment that in many cases can't foresee regulatory requirements 2 to 3 years into the future. Examples include projects in the EU where the Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) and Atmospheres Explosive (ATEX) Directive have mandatory compliance dates of May 2002 and June 2003 respectively. Electric power generation Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and their suppliers must plan for and price into contracts compliance with these laws years before the equipment is built and shipped. This is further complicated by the interpretation of specific requirements and the definition of the OEM conformity assessment strategy. To rectify this situation, it is recommended that steps be initiated to accelerate the worldwide harmonization of technical standards. In addition, consideration for the delivery cycles and commissioning of new power plants must be included in the regulatory process and in setting the dates for mandatory compliance with regional law.
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