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What is a Standard?

A standard is a document that defines a product, policy, procedure or material.

It is generally legally valid and provides the user with a set of guidelines and protocols that could lead to legal implications if not followed. Standards are created and regularly modified to support free and fair trade practices. It may be created by a government, by an alliance, or by a standards-developing organization. Often used in the trades, standards allow for enhanced quality and reliability.

Standards and regulatory compliance are an essential component in commerce. Compliance with differing requirements, required by regulations in various jurisdictions, can be a real challenge for many organizations.

If this type of information is your responsibility, this website will guide you through the maze of standards, regulations and other conformance documents. You'll learn to set up a methodology for identifying documentation critical to your organization's success and how to ensure your organization is aware of on-going changes to this documentation.

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In the U.S., our primary set of compliance documents are Industry Standards, usually created by committees of interested parties, which can include members from industry, government and the public. ANSI, the American National Standards Institute, acts as the umbrella organization in the U.S. to coordinate standards activities and assure that a thorough and well-balanced procedure is maintained throughout the standards developing process. The principles adhered to are those of openness, due process, and balance.

Standards are used in manufacturing and commerce. They allow for products that are safe, meet quality requirements, and have consistent results when used correctly. Some things you use that are made or function according to standards include cardboard boxes, toys, electrical devices like computers, and your cell phone. Standards can be used as a competitive tool, or as a tool for protectionism. However, the global trend in standards is currently towards harmonization, towards developing a single standard for a product, process, or material that will be recognized and accepted internationally.

People needed a way to distribute crops, especially during times of famine. Meteorologists surmise that the early standard of grain was the contents of two hands cupped together.

The Akkadian Empire in Sumeria created a standard for counting tokens to measure a person's wealth.

Pyramids were built with blocks that are regular, symmetric and aligned with the Eart's axis. Details of measuring devices in documents found in tombs indicate the use of standard units of measurement.

Athens had instituted the Tholos, an official depository of weights and measures, much as we have NIST, the National Institute of Science and Technology, here in the U.S.today.

Formed in 1820, the oldest standards-developing organization in the United States is the Pharmacopeial Convention to adopt uniform standards for drugs.

The NFPA developed fire codes after a fire in Baltimore occured where Washington DC's fire hoses were not compatible with Baltimore fire plugs, leaving the volunteers who had come to help sitting helplessly by as the city burned.

International Standardization began with the formation of the ITU, International Telegraph Union (now the International Telecommunications Union)

The IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) was founded in June, 1906 in London, UK, focusing on the requirements for the world's electrotechnical industries.

Originally founded as the International Federation of the National Standardizing Associations (ISA), the ISO focused heavily on mechanical engineering. Now ISO covers all standardization efforts except for electrotechnical and telecommunication.

  • Someone has to suggest the need for a standard, or the need for reviewing an existing standard. This is getting the work project into the standard organization's pipeline. Usually there is a methodology in any given standards-developing organization for suggesting and getting approval for a new standards project. In a perfect world, this methodology should consider if there is already a standard on the topic, if standardization is appropriate for the topic, and if there will be a market for the standard once developed (will the standard be used?). Good standards practice suggests the need for a formal review of existing standards on a scheduled timeline (the American National Standards Institute requires a 5 year review for standards that are ANSI-approved, for example). This means that existing standards should flow back into the pipeline on a regular basis as well.
  • The work project needs to be assigned to a particular committee or administrator. If it is unclear that an existing committee has the right balance of input for the topic, it may be necessary to recruit participants for this task. Again, the goal for good standards development is to have a balanced mix of committee members. They should reflect both the creator and the user of the subject matter, as well as possibly regulators and other members of the supply chain. For example, if we were working on a parachute standard, we might want participation from parachute manufacturers, silk fabric manufacturers, the Air Force, skydivers themselves and the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration).
  • The committee (authors) work out a tentative document (the Committee Draft). This will involve a number of meetings, either online or face-to-face. They may start from a straw man document, an existing standard, or from scratch. Certainly, there will be an amount of give and take as the needs of each participant must be brought into balance. Normally, there are strict protocols on how drafts are accepted, so we would expect a number of draft attempts prior to a result that satisfies the committee.
  • The tentative document is labeled as a draft for public comment (sometimes called a Draft Standard) and handed out to interested parties not involved with the committee work. Comments are solicited in an attempt to improve the standard and to avoid difficulties which could cause a standard to either be inferior technically or not acceptable for widespread usage. It is normal for there to be a specific time period for distribution of a draft like this, with a deadline for public comment.
  • The committee meets and addresses each public comment one by one. The draft may be modified or not. But for each comment, there usually is a formal response as to why it is or is not implemented. If the draft undergoes significant changes, it may go back into the public comment cycle until it meets general approval.
  • When finalized, the document may go into a formal approval process, such as being voted on by an association's membership at the Annual General Meeting. When a standard passes such an approval, but prior to printing, it is labeled a Final Draft. At this point, it is not published but has been approved in its final form.
  • At the point where the document is released from the printers, it becomes a Standard. With technology's impact, this may be a very short time after approval or sometimes not. Normally, it is only when the document is released for public distribution that it is considered to be in force and will continue to be in force until a replacement document is actually released for public distribution.