ASTM, ANSI, IEC-electrical insulation standarization

Standardization work on insulating material appears at first look to be involved and complicated. While simplification is desirable, the standard activity, nevertheless, is coordinated. To the uninitiated the standards work may seem to be slow, dull and tedious. What appears to be slowness is actually the extremely important and necessary give-and-take between a large number of different interests.