British Standards Info

British Standards Information

british standards

About British Standards

Many organizations produce Standards, including government departments (such as the Department for Education and Skills), national organizations (such as the Food Standards Agency) and trade associations (such as the Advertising Standards Authority).

The British Standards Institution (BSI) is the UK’s national standards body, which brings together representatives from a range of organizations to develop formal Standards for the benefit of UK business and consumers.

Standards make our lives easier, safer and healthier. Without them, everyday actions we take for granted would be unpredictable. Standards help to make many of the products we use safer and more reliable.

History of BSI

In 1901 the Institutions of Civil Engineers, Mechanical Engineers, Naval Architects and the Iron and Steel Institute created a committee, to standardize iron and steel sections for bridges, railways and shipping.

The committee succeeded in cutting the production of different tram rails from 75 down to five. This saved the industry about £1 million a year!

By 1929, the committee became the British Engineering Standards Association and was granted a Royal Charter, which defined the Association’s objectives. A year later the Association became the British Standards Institution (BSI).

Today, more than 100 years after the British Engineering Standards Association first met, BSI has 5,500 employees world-wide and operates in over 100 countries. There are over 20,000 current British Standards.

Benefits of Standards

Why do we need Standards?

You don’t wake up in the morning and say, “Thank goodness I’ve got some Standards!” But if they weren’t there life would be more difficult. It’s a bit like many of the structures in our lives: you only notice them when they’re not there or they’re not working.

Standards are there to help industry, and society at large. So even if you’re not involved in developing or manufacturing products, you’re bound to come into contact with Standards every day.

How do Standards help industry?

Standards support innovation by:

Sharing best practice, so designers can focus on developing better products

Setting benchmarks for performance, quality and safety

Ensuring similar products work together (e.g. making sure all CDs are the same dimensions)

Making technical requirements

Reducing risks

Reducing costs

Example: DIY retailer selling timber

Standards ensure the timber is of suitable quality, e.g. not rotten

Standards enable the retailer to innovate by getting hold of environmentally friendly timber

Standards enable the company to strengthen market reputation for responsibility and innovation

Standards enable ideas from one country to become accepted internationally by:

Exporting ideas that open up overseas markets and raise the profile of national industries and commerce

Competitive advantage from being world leaders

International meetings lead to exchange of ideas

Example: nanotechnology

From self-cleaning windows to silicon structures that can take drugs to the exact location of the tumour, nanotechnology is predicted to create a market worth over $1trillion within the next 10 years

Standards are being developed to assist in the safe development of the technology and to deliver it to the marketplace.

Standards balance the needs of the producer and user by:

Creating market-led solutions (i.e. what do people want to buy?)

Reflecting all interests, including small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), consumers, regulators, industry and the environment

Promoting fair competition and avoiding unhealthy concentrations of economic power

Reducing costs for development and production

Increasing the diversity and quality of suppliers for producers and consumers

Example: Millennium Bridge, London

Almost 100,000 people walked across the Millennium Bridge in London when it opened, yet two days later it was closed because it wobbled due to Synchronous Lateral Excitation

Engineers immediately began working on a solution and, together with BSI, produced a modified British Standards Code of Bridge Loading

Future bridge builders will now be able to carry our stringent tests to make sure their bridge and its users won’t experience the same problem

How do Standards benefit society?

Standards protect consumers

Standards protect consumers’ fundamental right to safety, the right to be informed and the right to choose. These rights relate to products, services, processes and materials

Standards improve products and services

Standardization promotes effective research and development, and makes products easier to use

Standards encourage knowledge-sharing

Standardization relies on all sections of society being involved in Standards, providing an opportunity for everyone to share knowledge and make their voice heard

Standards also address broad social concerns, such as the environment and health and safety. For example, energy labelling and inclusive design are supported by Standards that have been developed in response to the needs of society.

Evaluation & Certification

Testing, inspecting, verifying

Some British Standards are enforced by regulation, such as health and safety regulations, but for most Standards, compliance is voluntary. Organizations that want to demonstrate that their product, process or service complies with a standard can use a company that provides testing, certification, inspection or calibration services.

The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) assesses these evaluation bodies against internationally agreed standards. Accreditation by UKAS demonstrates the competence and impartiality of evaluators.

Kitemark and CE marking

The Kitemark symbol was originally only used in the UK, but it is now recognised throughout the world as a mark of quality. Having a Kitemark associated with a product or service certifies that it complies with a particular Standard. BSI has developed many Kitemark schemes that cover a variety of products and services, from printed circuit boards to electrical contractors.

The letters ‘CE’ on a product are the manufacturer’s claim that the product meets the requirements of all relevant European Directives. Many products are covered by these directives and for some, such as toys, it is a legal requirement to have a CE mark. This shows that the product achieves a minimum level of quality, and ensures it can be moved freely throughout the European Single Market