Again and again I am faced with a problem, that I am designing some kind of electronic device, be it specifically for industry, consumer, railway, etc.
Is there some resonable way how to find what all standards should be met? For example I recently almost by accident discovered that EN 61558-2-16 is relevant to design of SMPS transformers in certain situation.
How would I find that information with some systematic approach? I suppose that ultimately regarding standards it works the same way as with law, so i presume that "ignorance of law excuses no one" applies here as well.

 

British Standards Institution

EDIT: https://standards.ieee.org/standard/index.html

 

Not sure what you are trying to say, I have access to that particular standard as well as to possibly all other IEC, EN etc.
My question was how do I know I need to follow that one, without doing a ton of random searches for possible keywords. And how do I know that I should search for some aspect that I don´t even know it should be considered, like say end of life waste disposal or migratory bird protection or whatever else is applicable.

 

that I am designing some kind of electronic device, be it specifically for industry, consumer, railway, etc.
.

Usually every jurisdiction has it regulations in each area, in N.A. there is electrical NFPA70, NFPA79 as well as the AAR as it applies to railroads.
Max.

 

My question was how do I know I need to follow that one, without doing a ton of random searches for possible keywords

You need in your own department of standards.
It is why cost of even small two-transistor project was minimum $300K for customer (USA, 2000 y.).
EDIT: I think, when you contract with client, you both should decide:
or client will provide list of standards,
or you will do all that job, but for much bigger money.
EDIT: Every standard is part of International Classification for Standards (ICS) - it is start for searching.

 

Where I work that department should be covered (even though it rarely is)... But imagine you are a lone guy who wants to market his miracle invention, how are you supposed to comply with everything, when you have no idea what that is? And, if you find some company that can do that for you and will tell you what you need, will they still be there when you realize that they didn´t tell you some important detail that leads to recalls and ruined business?

I understand that technical people just love to standardize everything they see, and even refer to other standards that they extend, but has it not occured to anyone that there is no way to know which standards you need, unless you have read ALL the standards?
From my point of view, there are all kinds of standards that refer to some other more general standards and this goes all the way up to the ten commandements most likely, but there seems to be no easy way to go from the top to that my thing I am working on.

 

By definition, the standards which need to be met are SPECIFIED in the requirements document. If they're are not specified, then the customer has no call to complain if they're not met. And they still owe you what they agreed to pay. None of this "you need to meet...." after the work is complete.

 

Am I talking Gibberish? Let me reiterate. You got a great idea for a doodad. Forget about some higher power like requirement spec, it´s just you, your skills and your idea. How do you know what stadards does your doodad need to fulfill?
A bit of google gets you to some general public user safety and emc standards, but is there something else? How can you know?

 

Am I talking Gibberish? Let me reiterate. You got a great idea for a doodad. Forget about some higher power like requirement spec, it´s just you, your skills and your idea. How do you know what stadards does your doodad need to fulfill?
A bit of google gets you to some general public user safety and emc standards, but is there something else? How can you know?

I don't think so, and I'm pretty certain your English is better than my Czech! You may not know what standards need to be met, maybe the answer is none. I was speaking of the case where you do contract work for some person or entity. I've never actually done anything without having a customer lined up. I've never done the equivalent of building a spec house.