The basics of standards and standardization

For more information about Standards visit the British Standards Institution (BSI) website at www.bsi-global.com Bullet-point

For more information about Accreditation visit the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) website at www.ukas.com Bullet-point

For more information about the Department for Trade & Industry's (DTI) work in promoting innovation visit www.dti.gov.uk/innovation Bullet-point

For more information about the work of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) visit www.cbi.org.uk Bullet-point

A standard is an agreed way of doing something.

A standard can be recorded and published formally, or may simply be a company's informal unwritten procedure. It may apply to a product, process or service.

Is it compulsory to comply with standards?

Standards may be designed for voluntary use or may refer to law and regulations making compliance with them compulsory.

What is standardization?

Standardization includes all stages in the process from concept to utilization of a standard. This includes requirements capture, development, promotion, acceptance, testing, conformity assessment and exploitation.

Bullet-point Find out more about the organizations involved in developing standards

Bullet-point Read about the different types of standard

Bullet-point Learn about the Kitemark, CE marking and other evaluation and certification services