Logo

What is a Standard?

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

Often legally valid, it provides the user with a set of guidelines and protocols that have possible legal ramifications if ignored. Standards may be created by a government, alliance, standards-developing organization, or national standard body. Standards are created and regularly modified to support free and fair trade practices. Often used in the trades, standards allow for enhanced quality and reliability.

To learn more about standards and purchasing standards, you can explore our complete guide here.

Each country has a national standards body (NSB) that may produce or adopt standards. There are also numerous standard development organizations (SDOs) who create standards by bringing together committees of interested parties in various industries.

Standards require significant resources to develop, including research, consultation with industry experts, and public reviews. Standards-developing organizations (SDOs), such as ISO, ASTM, API and IEC, rely on sales of standards to fund this process. The fees cover the costs of maintaining, updating, and distributing standards globally, ensuring that they remain relevant and up to date.

It should be noted that “standards” is used broadly in this document and the engineering document we are discussing include guides, manuals, technical papers and other documents that engineers and managers require to ensure compliance for their operations and products.

93% of all products are subject to standards. They ensure that products are safe, meet quality requirements, and have consistent results when used correctly. Everyday objects that are made according to standards include cardboard boxes, toys, and electrical devices like computers or your cell phone.

Villages needed a way to evenly share harvests amongst their people, especially during times of famine. Historians surmise that the earliest standard of grain distribution was the contents of two hands cupped together.

Pyramids were built from blocks that were regular, symmetric, and aligned with the Earth's axis. Documents found in tombs describe devices used to standardize units of measurement.

The Akkadian Empire in Sumeria created standardized counting tokens to measure a person's wealth, eventually leading to the creation of basic accounting practices.

Athens instituted the Tholos — an official depository of weights and measures. Today, in the U.S., the NIST (National Institute of Science and Technology) serves a similar purpose.

This is the oldest recorded standards-developing organization in the United States. 11 physicians came together to create drug standards and to protect patients from being harmed by inconsistent medical preparations.

International Standardization began with the formation of the ITU (International Telegraph Union, now the International Telecommunications Union) when representatives from 20 countries gathered in Paris.

The NFPA developed fire code standards after a large portion of Baltimore city was incinerated. Washington DC's fire hoses were not compatible with Baltimore fire plugs, leaving a wave of volunteers to helplessly watch as the city burned.

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 under a different name, ISO initially focused heavily on mechanical engineering and fostering international cooperation through standards. Now it covers all standardization efforts except for electrotechnical and telecommunications.

Standards continue to evolve! There are over 400,000 active standards around the world that underpin modern civilization and help keep us safe. With hundreds of SDOs and NSBs, it is more important than ever to manage, track, and access the standards that impact your products and operations.