SAE Offers Historical Standards Collections Exclusively Through IHS

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--Feb. 8, 2005--

Instant Access to 8,000 Historical Aerospace and Ground Vehicle Standards Enables Rapid Response to Safety & Compliance, Maintenance & Repair, and Regulatory & Training Issues

IHS Inc. (www.ihs.com) and SAE International (www.sae.org) today announced an agreement to provide improved access to SAE Historical Standards. The Engineering division of IHS will become the exclusive distributor of SAE Historical Aerospace Standards and SAE Historical Ground Vehicle Standards via online or DVD subscriptions -- available immediately for the first time in electronic format -- enabling easier access to these mission-critical standards and material specifications.

"With SAE Historical Standards, customers are able to track the historical pathways and evolution of standards," said Scott Klavon, director, Aerospace Businesses, SAE International. "This data enables engineers to quickly identify the technology and standard that was used to design a particular component or system, know how and why it was developed, and determine the best strategy to repair or replace the particular part, component or system."

A primary customer benefit of making these historical standards available is compliance. Aerospace companies, for example, manufacture products that can be in service over a long period of time (20+ years) and they have a responsibility to maintain the associated data for the life of the product. Any standards that were used in the development of an aircraft must remain within the company's records for the product's lifecycle.

The SAE Historical Standards subscription from IHS is continually updated as revised standards are issued and includes 8,000 SAE standards and material specifications spanning the 1940s to the present. The SAE Historical Standards databases covering Aerospace and Ground Vehicle applications include all cancelled and prior revisions of current documents, and deliver the following customer benefits:

-- Advanced search capabilities with clear, easy-to-read search results: Current standards shown first with all revisions listed in reverse chronological order

-- Comprehensive bibliographic information with links to full-text PDFs of historical standards

-- Easy online access to all historical standards saves time and effort; print-only copies tend to get lost or misplaced

-- Find the standard in effect at the time a part, component, system or vehicle was designed

-- Ensure that maintenance and repair activities meet the criteria of the standards used for the original design

-- Determine how new standards relate to previous design versions

-- Link to related standards and documents -- old, new, cancelled and revised -- from one convenient location

-- Access to historical standards helps develop a better-educated, well-informed team of engineers

"In the world of new design, engineers use the most current standards available; however, in the maintenance and repair world, engineers also need access to older standards to identify compliance issues," said Tom Littman, senior vice president, Standards Business Development, IHS. "The SAE Historical Standards from IHS, with its quick, reliable and convenient online access, gives engineers the insight to evaluate how these revisions affect component, system or vehicle quality and safety, in addition to optimizing parts inventory and procurement."

About the Society of Automotive Engineers International (SAE)

Since 1905, the Society of Automotive Engineers has played a vital role in advancing mobility engineering worldwide. SAE is a leader in the development and distribution of global standards. Through the voluntary work of more than 7,000 committee members and participants in over 250 committees, subcommittees, and task groups, SAE maintains more than 8,500 technical standards and related documents covering such areas as electronics, materials, components, systems, and processes.

About IHS Inc. (www.ihs.com)

IHS is one of the leading global providers of critical technical information, decision-support tools and related services to customers in a number of industries including energy, defense, aerospace, construction, electronics, and automotive. We serve customers ranging from governments and large multinational corporations (including a majority of the Fortune 500 companies) to smaller companies and technical professionals in more than 100 countries. Our customers rely on our offerings to facilitate decision making, support key processes and improve productivity. We have been in business for more than 45 years and employ more than 2,300 people around the world.

IHS solutions are available via Internet, extranet, intranet, DVD & CD-ROM, subscription and custom collections, and single-document delivery. For more information, please visit the newly redesigned Company website: www.ihs.com.