Research Guides: Civil Engineering: Standards, Codes, and Regulations

Engineering & Science Librarian

she/her

Email Me

Contact:

Douglas Library, Office 512

613-533-6000 ext. 75685

Subjects: Civil Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Mechatronics and Robotics Engineering

Introduction to Standards, Codes, and Regulations

A standard is a "document that provides requirements, specifications, guidelines or characteristics that can be used consistently to ensure that materials, products, processes and services are fit for their purpose." (ISO, 2013) A code is a collection of standards; for example, the Canadian National Building Code. Standards and codes that are incorporated into law are often referred to as regulations.

Organizations that develop standards are called standards developing organizations (SDOs) or standards setting organizations (SSOs). This includes organizations, committees, companies, governmental agencies, and other groups. There are hundreds of thousands of standards and codes in force worldwide.

Standards apply to everything from Christmas trees to nuclear power stations and children's toys to medical scanners. Standards are why a smartphone made in South Korea will work on a North American cell phone network.

For more information on Standards and Codes, please visit our Standards and Codes LibGuide.

Regulations are the rules used to carry out the intent of statutes (Acts) enacted by the Parliament of Canada. They are instruments of legislative power and have the force of law. Regulations contain more specific guidelines than Acts. These can include definitions, licensing requirements, performance specifications, exemptions, forms and other details.

Major Standards Collections

Queen's subscribes to several standards collections of interest to biomedical engineers. Make sure to also check Omni for standards published by other organizations.

ASTM International Standards & Digital Library
The ASTM Library covers a broad range of journals and standards in the engineering disciplines, including aerospace, biomedical, chemical, civil, environmental, geological, health and safety, industrial, materials science, mechanical, nuclear, petroleum, soil science, and solar engineering.
CSA Canadian Standards Association
The Canadian Standards Association is a not-for-profit standards development, membership-based association, in business, industry, government and consumers. Queen's Library's subscription to the CSA Standards includes current and previous standards in the following areas: construction and engineering; electrical; energy; environmental; health and safety; mechanical and industrial equipment; quality and business management systems. Examples of available standards include the Canadian Electrical Code and the design of concrete structures.
IEEE Xplore Digital Library
The IEEE Xplore® digital library provides access to IEEE journals, transactions, letters, magazines and conference proceedings, IET journals and conference proceedings, and IEEE Standards. The subscription includes access to the full-text of IEEE content published since 1988 with select content published since 1872.

Regulations

Regulations, Guidelines, and Environmental Assessments

Municipal by-laws: for most municipal jurisdictions find by-laws and regulations at the municipal web site, for example the City of Kingston website includes the city property standard

Federal Regulations

Use CanLII to find federal and provincial legislation and regulations.

Ontario Regulations

Ontario Ministry of the Environment - Environmental Assessment
Ontario Ministry of the Environment: Manuals, Forms and Guidelines
Ontario Provincial Standards for Roads and Public Works
Use e-Laws to locate official copies of Ontario's statutes and regulations