Standards & standardization handout

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Standards & Standardization

Standards and

Standardization

Newell Hampson-Jones Education Sector Representative

BSI Group

389 Chiswick High Road, London W4 4AL T: +44 (0)20 8996 7227 M: +44 (0)7767 886 713

E: [email protected] W: www.bsigroup.com

W: www.bsieducation.org © The British Standards Institution 2011

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Contents

Contents .............................................................................................................................................................. 2 Standards & Standardization – What Are Standards?............................................................................ 3 Before Standardization ................................................................................................................................... 3 The Birth of Standardization........................................................................................................................... 3 History of BSI ..................................................................................................................................................... 4 European Committee for Standardization (CEN)........................................................................................ 9 International Organization for Standardization (ISO) ............................................................................10 Types of Standard ........................................................................................................................................... 5 The Standardization Process .......................................................................................................................... 9 The Economic Impact of Standardization ...................................................................................................11 The Impact of Using Standards ....................................................................................................................11 Testing and Certification ...............................................................................................................................12 CE and Kitemark® ...........................................................................................................................................12 Standards & Standardization- How to Get Involved ..............................................................................14 Standards & Standardization- Making a New Work Proposal ...........Error! Bookmark not defined. Standards Relevant to Digital Inclusion .....................................................Error! Bookmark not defined. Standards & Standardization- Further Reading.......................................................................................17

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Standards & Standardization – What Are Standards?

Before Standardization

Humans have understood a need for creating measurement systems from early civilization. The earliest found example of measurement systems were found with the Indus Valley Civilization of 3000-1500 BC. Their measurements-for length, mass and time-have been described as very precise, in fact their “chert” weights weighed approximately 28 grammes, making them similar to the Imperial ounce. But it’s important to note that a comparison of various objects across the Indus territories have shown large scale variations in the systems used. Fast forward a few hundred years and Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, used contemporary measurement units to assist his work which led to him being commonly known as ‘The World’s First Engineer’. His writings inspired Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, seen here, which also shows the contemporary measurement units that Vitruvius used; the span, the cubit, the yard and the fathom. Even in the Magna Carta, you can see the government attempting to create consistent and unified measurements of certain items. Clause 35 states: “There shall be standard measures of wine, ale, and corn (the London quarter), throughout the kingdom. There shall also be a standard width of dyed cloth, russet, and haberject, namely two ells within the selvedges. Weights are to be standardized similarly.” (source: http://www.bl.uk/treasures/magnacarta/index.html)

The Birth of Standardization

The concept of standardization existed a long time before the first standards were written, but there were no formal standards or standards writing bodies. The need to standardize grew out of the Industrial Revolution. Sir Joseph Whitworth can be considered one of the true innovators of standardization, even though he was not ultimately involved in the process. In 1841, Sir Whitworth invented a standard for screw threads which some consider to be the first nationally standardized system. Known as the Whitworth screw thread, railway companies across the nation adopted this innovation over the years and decades that followed. Some disagree with this assertion, however, believing this is not a formalised standard, but an invention that was adopted by the railway companies who saw the advantages that using it would bring. In short, this is an example of companies working in their best interests by using an industry leading product. The fact that the industry and economy reaped benefits as well is coincidental. With both points considered, it is certainly fair to say that this invention was a pre-curser to formal standardization, at the very least. From 1850 onwards, the emerging British rail network changed the face of trade in the country and exacerbated the need to formally standardize. Markets were previously local and the rail lines offered producers the ability to transport goods into different markets and collaborate nationally with other suppliers. As Woodward points out: “Now the engineering shops of Birmingham, the steel mills of Sheffield, the cotton looms of Manchester had all Britain on their doorsteps — and beyond England there were further markets

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to conquer in all the other countries of Europe which, with England, were thrusting forward with their own railway networks and industrial development.” (Woodward, 1972, p.7) The emergence of the rail lines created a number of problems: • The diversity of the sizes and quality of products made in different regions increased the risk

for businesses to order from outside their locality and damaged competition and efficiency. • Matching components bought from different regions together to form a whole unit could very

rarely be done without costly adjustment. A letter to The Times in 1895, presenting the example of a contractor who had to procure iron girders from Belgium to complete an order, encouraged London iron merchant Henry Skelton to write: “Rolled steel girders are imported into Britain from Belgium and Germany because we have too much individualism in this country, where collective action would be economically advantageous. As a result, architects and engineers specify such unnecessary diverse types of sectional material for given work that anything like economical and continuous manufacture becomes impossible…no two professional men are agreed upon the size and weight of girder to employ for given work and the British manufacturer is everlastingly changing his rolls or appliance, at greatly increased cost, to meet irregular unscientific requirements of professional architects and engineers.” (Woodward, 1972, p. 8)

In 1900, Skelton was asked to present these views at a meeting of the British Iron Trade Federation where a prominent member of the Council of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Sir John Woolfe-Barry, took interest. Sir Wolfe-Barry was a famed engineer and the architect of Tower Bridge and used his influence to persuade the Institution to appoint a committee of leading civil engineers to consider standardizing iron & steel sections. On April 26th 1901, this committee met and founded the Engineering

Standards Committee, with two representatives each from the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Institution of Naval Architects and the Iron & Steel Institute.

History of BSI

In 1903 the first standard, written for steel sections, was released and the concept of a kite mark was first considered. The results of this standard were nothing short of impressive. The number of structural steel sections in common use reduced from 175 to 113. Tramway rails in use at the time reduced from 75 to 5. Most importantly, the estimated cost of production reduced across the economy, by £1m. That is worth, approximately, £91m today. On March 21st, 1929, the Royal Charter was granted to what was then known as the British Engineering Standards Association. The charter turned the Association from a collection of individuals into a single legal entity and established a council as the governing body of the Association. Two years later, in 1931, the Association changed their name to the British Standards Institution (BSI).

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Between 14th and 26th of October, 1946, BSI became one of the founders of the International Standardization Organization (ISO) at a meeting hosted in London. ISO publishes and manages international standards, which are developed through the collaboration of global experts. The organization is comprised of 162 national bodies including BSI, which is the second most active member, with experts on 709 ISO committees. In 1951, The Women’s Advisory Committee was founded with the purview of advising committees on issues related to the consumer in standardization. This committee still exists today as BSI’s Consumer & Public Interest Network, which coordinates consumer input to and representation on all BSI’s technical committees for consumer products and services. The CPIN also feeds into work in European and international committees, via a seat on those, or through the mirror UK committee, or via ANEC (‘The European voice of the consumer in standardization’) or ISO/COPOLCO (the consumer policy committee of ISO). Finally, CEN, the European Committee for Standardization, was established in 1964, when BSI was — again — one of the founding members. CEN is similar to ISO in that it is officially recognised as the European standards body.

Types of Standard

There are 6 commonly considered levels of standardization, the first 2 of which are not produced by BSI but by individual companies. Corporate Technical Specifications are explicit sets of requirements to be satisfied by a material, product, or service. An example could be the product specifications of your laptop or iPod. These standards are quick to write because they are highly controlled by the company producing them. As we move up the diagram below, you’ll notice that each level takes longer to write as it requires consensus from a wider spectrum of stakeholders. Private standards are private documents owned and written by an organization or corporation. These are used and circulated as they determine necessary or useful. A simple example of this could be a company’s branding guidelines or the equality/health & safety policies which add a level to previously existing legislation or standards, tailored to the explicit needs of the company.

The Publicly Available Specification (PAS) is a consultative document where the development process and written format is based on the British Standard model. Any organisation, association or group who wish to document standardized best practice on a specific subject, can commission a PAS, subject to the BSI acceptance process. The main difference is in the area of consensus; a British Standard must reach full consensus between all stakeholders on technical content, whilst a PAS invites comments from any interested party but does not necessarily incorporate them. This means that the timescale for the development of a PAS can be shorter, typically around 8 months.

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British Standards are the formally produced standards from BSI, the UK’s National Standards Body. The standards are written by consensus with input from industry, experts and other stakeholder groups like consumer representatives and academia where required. The different types of British Standards available (Specification, Code of Practice, Test Method, Guide, etc.) are detailed in the tables with your handouts. As, I said in the previous slide, there are also European and International standards bodies and these bodies produce, respectively, European standards and international standards. BSI, like most NSBs, adopts the standards at European and International level, so that these are effectively British standards as well (e.g. BS EN, BS ISO). In the case of European standards, we are obliged to adopt these and any UK work must stop (at ‘standstill’) if equivalent European work commences. This is why, for example, the international standards for quality management systems’ full registration in the UK is BS EN ISO 9000.

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The Standardization Process

The BSI process for standardization is quite simple; based on consensus between stakeholders. The process starts with the proposal of a new work item. Most work items may be born within the committee, but new work can be proposed by anyone and I’ll be explaining how you can do this later.

Once a proposal is received, a business case is made for it, to fulfill acceptance criteria and the proposal is entered into the formal acceptance process.

If it is accepted, a small group of experts will draft the standard and then present the draft to the technical committee for wider consultation. Once the committee has approved the draft, it goes out for public comment — this is when anyone is free to propose changes or additions to the draft document. The public comment stage ensures that every national, European and international standard is transparent and accepted by the wider public. Once the public comments have been considered and appropriate actions taken, the draft goes forward for final approval. At the national level, this would be done by committee consensus; however European and international standards are also subject to voting by the member bodies of the organizations. The secretary or chairperson of the committee then gives endorsement to publish and the standard becomes available to the public. Standards are not just one-off declarations. They are reviewed at least once every 5 years and one of 5 decisions is made: confirmed without change, confirmed after minor amendment, confirmed after major amendment, withdrawn or declared obsolescent.

European Committee for Standardization (CEN)

The European Committee for Standardization (Comité Européen de Normalisation; CEN) is the European standards body, comprising of member states in Europe. CEN is the only recognized European organization according to Directive 98/34/EC for the planning, drafting and adoption of European Standards (EN) in all areas of economic activity with the exception of electro technology (CENELEC) and telecommunication (ETSI).

These standards are also national standards in each of the 31 Member countries, with any conflicting national standard withdrawn. This approach helps stimulate innovation; a product can reach a far wider market with much lower development and testing costs by following European standards during the design and management process. More than 60,000 technical experts as well as business federations, consumer and other societal interest organizations are involved in the CEN network that reaches over 480 million people.

There are differences in the standardization process from the BSI process. There is still the public consultation process after which, taking into consideration the resulting comments, a final version is drafted. This draft is then submitted to the CEN Members for a weighted formal voting.

After ratification by CEN, each of the National Standards Bodies adopts the European Standard as an identical national standard and withdraws any national standards which conflict with the

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new European Standard. Hence one European Standard becomes the national standard in the 31 member countries of CEN. For example, the European Standard on toy safety, EN 71, has been adopted as NF EN 71 by AFNOR in France, EVS EN 71 by EVS in Estonia and BS EN 71 in the United Kingdom. These standards are made available by the National Standards Body in each country which is, in the case of the UK, BSI.

International Organization for

Standardization (ISO)

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world's largest developer and publisher of International Standards. The organization is a network of national standards bodies from 163 countries, one member per country, with a Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates the system.

ISO is a non-governmental organization that forms a bridge between the public and private sectors. On the one hand, many of its member institutes are part of the governmental structure of their countries, or are mandated by their government. On the other hand, other members have their roots uniquely in

the private sector, having been set up by national partnerships of industry associations. Therefore, ISO enables a consensus to be reached on solutions that meet both the requirements of business and the broader needs of society.

Decisions are taken within ISO on the basis of votes cast by ISO member bodies, on the basis of one country, one vote.

The ISO standardization process is also slightly different to both the CEN and ISO processes. A draft International Standard (DIS) is made available, at the enquiry stage, to all ISO member bodies. They are then all entitled to vote and comment on the document during a five month period. If the DIS receives 100% approval, it may proceed directly to publication once any comments received have been addressed. Otherwise, a final draft International Standard (FDIS) is sent to all ISO member bodies for voting for a period of two months, together with the report of voting on the DIS which includes all the comments received and how these have been addressed.

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The Economic Impact of Standardization

These final written standards have a big impact on national and global economies.

• In the UK, standards make an annual contribution of £2.5bn to the UK economy

• The economic benefits of standardization represent 1% of German GDP.

• 9% of the economic growth in Canada between 1981 and 2004 was attributed to standardization.

• Electrical and water industry standards alone contribute to AUD 1.9bn to the Australian economy.

• Globally, MPEG standards have created a massive USD 2.5tr worth of business

• International crane maintenance standards have saved global industry USD 3bn.

The Impact of Using Standards

Companies find that using standards can reap great benefits as well, as the examples below show:

• Mercedes GP Petronas attributed their F1 Championship win partly to the way BSOL was able to give them a competitive advantage over other teams during design

• The train company, First Group, used Environmental Management standard ISO 14001 to reduce energy consumption.

• LG Electronics India estimated that EN 16001, a European energy Management standard, reduced their energy consumption. It’s useful to note that, even though this is a European standard, it was still applicable and useful to a company outside the territory. Knowledge of national standards can give you a competitive advantage.

• Another Indian company, Shree Cement, used the same standard to reduce energy usage and cost by 2 %.

• The quarry firm, Ennstone, used BSI’s integrated management software, Entropy, to reduce insurance costs by a significant amount.

• Finally, Amba Reseach cut information security costs by a massive 33 % using information security standard ISO/IEC 27001.

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Testing and Certification

Two aspects of implementing standards may involve testing and certification. Testing has a number of issues that must be considered before going down that route. Firstly, testing is a snap shot in time. A sample might work at that moment, in those conditions, but will they work in a year’s time? You will also need to re-test if you make any design or operational changes to the product. Test subjects can also susceptible to golden sampling, so a company can choose its best products to go through the testing process, already assured it will pass. These issues mean that the wording of the final certificate is very specific, saying not that the product meets a standard, but instead, “The sample submitted complied with the requirements of EN XXXX”. Certification is a system of continual assessment to the standard, which means that any issues that might arise in testing are removed. This means that certification is more than just a test and more than just a quality control system. There are a number of certification bodies in the UK, but I must emphasise that, if you are interested in getting your products or services certified, you should check whether the company has been accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service. This will give you and your stakeholders peace of mind over the results.

CE and Kitemark®

Both the CE mark and Kitemark are widely recognized symbols of standardization, however there are many misconceptions about both The CE mark demonstrates compliance to the EU New Approach Directives, which is a legal requirement for all products sold within the EU. As the CE mark shows compliance with the law, rather than working to an industry standard, it is fair to say that it is not a quality mark. Standards bodies like BSI do not have the authority to give the CE marking; in some cases a company can self-declare that a product conforms to these Directives. They have to carry out a 1st Party conformity assessment (self-conformity) and keep documentary proof for authorities to access as and when they wish. The Kitemark is a term and mark owned by BSI which is issued under license and, unlike the CE, is a mark of certified quality and safety. The process for obtaining a Kitemark is much more stringent than the CE mark, as it involves 3rd Party assessment. There are a number of schemes, but not one for every standard, so the company will need to choose the correct scheme that applies to them. A pre-audit visit is required, which is followed up by an initial assessment visit. The product is then type tested against the relevant standard, followed by a review by that specific Kitemark scheme manager. Once all these stages are passed, the Kitemark is awarded. That’s not where the process ends, though. There are continuing assessment visits and audit testing to ensure that the requirements continue to be met.

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Standards & Standardization- How to Get Involved There are a variety of ways to become involved with standardization beyond the level of being a standards user. One could become:

• A committee member

There are currently 1,350 BSI committees with approximately 10,000 Members. All Committee Members give their time and expertise on a voluntary basis often with the support of their employer or trade association. The commitment required varies between and within committees, depending on the current work programme and the level of participation. Most committees only meet a few times each year but some members also represent the national view at European and international meetings abroad. BSI provides training in standardization issues, processes and bodies for all Committee Members and Chairs. There are teams of BSI staff supporting the work of all committees and dedicated meeting facilities at BSI’s headquarters in Chiswick, London. BSI also provides extensive online systems to support committee working. Visit the Committee Members microsite for more information. It is a requirement of BSI’s bye-laws that all national committees are representative of the interests of users, manufacturers, government departments and other bodies concerned with their work.

• A Consumer & Public Interest Representative

All standards affect the public directly or indirectly, even though most are produced to serve the immediate needs of business and industry. Many, though, have a direct and beneficial impact on the general public. These include ‘traditional’ consumer related standards such as those for domestic appliances, or signs and symbols, as well as those newer types of standard for sustainability, social responsibility or services.

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BSI is committed to trying to ensure that representation on its technical committees and access to the standards-making process is as wide as possible and maintains a Consumer and Public Interest Network (CPIN), responsible for coordinating the participation of those stakeholders who would not otherwise normally be involved at a day-to-day level, e.g. consumers and individual specialists in subjects such as child safety or ergonomics. The objective is to influence the content of standards to reflect the needs and proper expectations of the general public with regard to factors such safety and security, labeling, accessibility, fairness and redress. Very many subjects are covered by the CPIN, but current priorities are in the areas of sustainability, security, accessibility, and the new and expanding field of services standardization. We also continue to cover important ongoing work on product safety, child safety and symbols, where our expertise and contribution are crucial. Representatives are recruited and supported by BSI. They come from diverse backgrounds and have a range of high quality expertise and experience. Those who are unfamiliar with standardization are given suitable training and guidance in the standardization process, including specific skills required for researching, reporting and attendance at meetings both here and abroad.

• A BSI Member

Our Membership is made up of 21,000 organizations and individuals across the UK and overseas. Members come from a range of professions, including:

� government � industrial and commercial organizations � institutes, associations and professional bodies � local authorities, police and fire services � sole traders.

Standards are a powerful business tool. They define crucial aspects of safety, reliability and quality, and enable UK businesses to operate in global markets. Use of standards sends a valuable message to your customers, demonstrating your commitment to product quality and customer service. Read about how standards help.

• A British Standards Society member

The British Standards Society (BSS) is the UK standard users’ organization. Joining BSS will help you to keep up to date with standards development and implementation, and you can also benefit from guidance, support and practical experience of others in the application of standards. BSS feeds back users' views to BSI and operates via an online forum. Membership is for individuals only and differs from BSI Membership. Benefits include a network of contacts across a wide range of industrial, commercial, educational and public sector interests, and the opportunity of gaining practical advice and guidance on standards application. BSS is the UK member of the International Federation of Standard Users (IFAN), an association of national user groups, multinational companies and other industrial and professional bodies concerned with the use of standards.

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The Building Standards Group (BSG) is the UK standards users’ organization for those interested in construction standardization. The BSG hold monthly meetings in central London. All BSS members are welcome to the meetings, where a wide range of matters related to standardization in the construction industry are debated.

• An author for BSI

BSI publishes books, guidance and online self-assessment products to support the standards and their users and regularly has opportunities for writers to develop supporting guidance for standards and reviewers to peer review products under development.

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Standards & Standardization- Further Reading If you, like me, are now excited about standardisation and want to read more, I recommend the following resources

Books

Douglas Woodward, C. (1972). BSI: The Story of Standards, London, British Standards Institution. McWilliam, R. C., (2001) BSI: The First Hundred Years, 1901-2001. London, British Standards Institution

Journal articles

Kemenade, E.A. van, Hardjono, T.W. & Vries, H.J. de (2011). The willingness of professionals to contribute to their organisation's certification. The International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, 27-42. Oshri, I., Vries, H.J. de & Vries, H.J. de (2010). The rise of Firefox in the web browser industry: The role of open source in setting standards. Business History, 52(5), 834-856. Pedersen, M.K., Fomin, V. & Vries, H.J. de (2009). Open Standards and Government Policy. In K. Jakobs (Ed.), Information Communication Technology Standardization for E-Business Sectors (pp. 188-199). Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference. Vries, H.J. de (2008). Best Practice in Company Standardization. In Kai Jakobs (Ed.), Standardization Research in Information Technology - New Perspectives (Advances in IT Standards and Standardization Research (AISSR) Book Series) (pp. 27-47). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. Swann, G.M.P.(2007)., "Standards are Central to Wealth Creation", Wissenschaftsmanagement, Vol.2007/2, pp. 26-27. Swann, G.M.P.; Temple, P.; Shurmer, M.(1996)., "Standards and Trade Performance: The British Experience", Economic Journal, Vol.106 (438), pp.1297-1313. Swann, G.M.P.; Temple, P.(1995)., "BSI Standards and Trade Performance", BSI (British Standards Institution) News. Swann, G.M.P.; Shurmer, M.(1994)., "The Emergence of Standards in PC Software: Who Would Benefit from Institutional Intervention?", Information Economics and Policy, Vol.6 (3/4), pp.295-318.

Chapters in Books

Loya, T. A., Boli, J. (1999)., “Standardization in the World Polity: Technical Rationality Over Power”, in Boli, J. and Thomas, G.M. (eds.) Constructing World Culture International Non-Governmental Organizations Since 1875, Palo Alto, Stanford University Press. Swann, G.M.P.; Temple, P.; Shurmer, M.(2005)., "Standards and Trade Performance: The British Experience", in Henson, S.; Wilson, J.S. (ed) The WTO and Technical Barriers to Trade, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. Swann, G.M.P.(1997)., "Quality and British Industrial Competitiveness", in Buxton, A.; Chapman, P.; Temple, P. (ed) British Economic Performance, (2), pp.117-140, Routledge. Swann, G.M.P.(1994)., "Reaching Compromise in Standards Setting Institutions", in Pogorel, G. (ed) Global Telecommunications Strategies and Technological Change, pp.241-253, Elsevier.

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Swann, G.M.P.(1993)., "Standards, Beneficial Competition, and Market Failure", in The Value of Competition, Milan, Observatory Giordano Dell'Amore. Swann, G.M.P.(1993)., "User Needs for Standards: How Can We Ensure that User Votes are Counted?", in B. Meek et al (ed) User Needs in Information Technology Standards, Butterworth/Heinemann. Swann, G.M.P.(1990)., "Standards in Information and Communications Technology: Consensus, Institutions and Markets", in Locksley, G. (ed) Information and Communication Technologies and the Single European Market, Frances Pinter Publishers. Swann, G.M.P.(1990)., "Resources for Standardisation", in Berg, J.; Schumny, H. (ed) An Analysis of the IT Standardisation Process, Amsterdam, Elsevier Science Publishers. Swann, G.M.P.(1990)., "Standards and the Growth of a Software Network", in Berg, J.; Schumny, H. (ed) An Analysis of the IT Standardisation Process, Amsterdam, Elsevier Science Publishers.

Reports

Temple, P.; Witt, R.; Spencer, C.; Blind, K.; Jungmittag, A.; Swann, G.M.P., 2005, "The Empirical Economics of Standards", in DTI Economics Paper no. 12, London, Department of Trade and Industry. Swann, G.M.P., 2000, "The Economics of Standardization", in Report for Department of Trade and Industry, Standards and Technical Regulations Directorate, p.90, http://www.dti.gov.uk/strd/fundingo.htm#swannrep.

Websites

www.bsigroup.com www.bsieducation.org http://standardsdevelopment.bsigroup.com/ http://standardsproposals.bsigroup.com/ https://bsol.bsigroup.com www.cen.eu www.iso.org http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/innovation/standardisation http://bis.ecgroup.net/Publications/Innovation/Standardisation.aspx