ed l1 - importance of standards 2008-09-11

7/30/2019 ED L1 - Importance of Standards 2008-09-11

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The Mystery of Standards

Standards general ly go unnot iced.

They are mostlyqu iet , un seen forces, such

as specifications, regulations, andprotocols, that ensure that th ing s workproperly, interactively, and responsibly.

How s tandards come about is a mysteryto most peopleshould they even ponderthe question.John Gibbons, Forward to U. S. Congress Office of Technology

Assessment TCT-512, Global Standards: Building Blocks for the Future,

March 1992


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What is a Standard?

A simplistic but idealized working definition

Standard- a document,developed and used

by consensus (Majority of opinion)of thestakeholders, which describes how aproduc tis to be ob tained o r used.

document- can be electronic or paperstakeholders includes anyone with an interest without restrictionproduct- can include hardware, software, analysis result, test result,

protocol, definition, etc.ob tained or used- can mean designed, built, procured, calculated,

tested, etc.


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Featu res o f an Ideal Standard

Relevant and necessary, by providing specific value

to benefit development of a product.

Singular, by focusing on a specific concept. Unambiguous, by not being subject to multiple

interpretations.

Consistent, by not conflicting with other documents

within its family of standards.

Audi table(measureable), with a quantitative exit

criterion showing that the standard was followed.


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What Does (and Doesnt)

Go In to a Standard?

Best practices (things that have worked well)

Lessons learned(things that havent worked well)

Recent research results Able to stimulate further research in related areas

Standards cannot be created for every situation

Sometimes necessary in real practice for a subject matter

expert to extrapolate from one or more existing standards

and design principles to solve a specific need


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Benef it o f Standards

The eng ine of nat ional and global commerce is d r ivenby standards

Good standards those with credibility, integrity, andmarketplace acceptance reduce procurement costs,improve products, expand markets, and/or lower risk

Standards do this by

Reducing duplication of effort or overlap and combining resources Bridging of technology gaps and transferring technology Reducing conflict in regulations Facilitating commerce Stabilizing existing markets and allowing development of new markets Protecting from litigation And more


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Pract ic ing Eng ineers

Need Standards

Why?

To Produce Their Produ cts Eff ic ient ly

Deliverable products must be designed andbuilt - they make use of procured items and

must themselves be procured

Each of these phases, procurement

especially, requires speci f icat ion

Effective specification requires standards


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Basic Standards Know ledge for

Students

Purpose of standards

Types of standards

Sources of standards Standards Development Processes

Who controls the standards

How to update/correct existing standards

How to create new standards

Most Important standards for their

discipline

Proper Use of those standards


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Types o f Standards

ASTM currently recognizes five specifictypes:

1. Specification (in the sense of aprocurement document)

2. Test Method (produces a test result)

3. Terminology (or definitions)

4. Practice(a protocol that doesnt produce atest result)

5. Guide (informational description of anumber of options)


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Terminology Wars

Specification vs. Standard

The term speci f icat ionhas both a genericmeaning and a targeted meaning:

Generic part of common compound termindicating any type of standard, as instandard specification

Targeted a specifictype of standard, as perASTM, which forms the basis forprocurement of a product


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Standards Development

Organ izations (SDO)

International SDO An accepted set of principlesby which an organization engaged in thedevelopment of international standards must

comply has been adopted by the World TradeOrganization (WTO), Committee on TechnicalBarriers to Trade*

ISO conforms to this definition, but contrary towhat ISO prefers to emphasize ISO (and itssister IEC) is not the only International SDO

*G/TBT/ 1/REV. 8. Section IX, Decision of the Committee on Principles for theDevelopment of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations

with Relation to Articles 2, 5 and Annex 3 of the Agreement.
http://www.astm.org/GLOBAL/images/wto.pdfhttp://www.astm.org/GLOBAL/images/wto.pdfhttp://www.astm.org/GLOBAL/images/wto.pdfhttp://www.astm.org/GLOBAL/images/wto.pdfhttp://www.astm.org/GLOBAL/images/wto.pdfhttp://www.astm.org/GLOBAL/images/wto.pdfhttp://www.astm.org/GLOBAL/images/wto.pdf


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Differences in Standards

Development Phi losophies

US has a unique stakeholder-driven standards

development process, using a large number

(~400) of decentralized, non-governmental(and often international) SDOs ranging in size

from very large and broad-based, to very small

and specific SDOs, with ANSI (not a standards

producer) as the official US coordinatorRest of world uses a politically-driven,

government-based, standards development

process with ISO/IEC at the top level of this


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Lets Get Modern - and Hones t

ISOInternational, but Europe-driven, with a one-country/one vote approachthat gives Europe a definite voting edge

US-based SDOs now advertise their global-ness, and the major US SDOsmeet the WTO definition of international equally well or betterthan ISO

ASTMInternational largest US-based SDO, with substantial globalparticipation, voting by individual stakeholders, and more inclusivedefinition of consensus than ISO

SAE International US-based, but substantial global participation; and notjust Automotive

Technical content from US-based SDOs has driven adisproportionate amount of standards development for

the rest of the world, including the standards of ISO

ed l1 - importance of standards 2008-09-11

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