Standards organization

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A standards organization, also sometimes referred to as a standards body, a standards development organization or SDO (depending on what is being referenced), is any entity whose primary activities are developing, coordinating, promulgating, revising, amending, reissuing, interpreting, or otherwise maintaining standards that address the interests of a wide base of users outside the standards development organization.

Most standards organizations are established exclusively for the purposes outlined above. There are, however, a few notable examples of organizations who unintentionally acquired a status as the standards setter when a standard they originally developed for internal use has become widely used and recognized by the industry as the de facto industry standard. This has happened with the modem protocol developed by Hayes, the Apple's TrueType font standard and the PCL protocol used by Hewlett-Packard in the computer printers they produced.

Normally, the term standards organization does not include the parties participating in the standards development organization in the capacity of founders, benefactors, stakeholders, members or contributors, who themselves may function as the standards organizations.

Overview[]

Generally, any given standards organization can be classified by its role, position and the extent of its influence on the local, national, regional and global standardization arena.

By geographic designation, there are international, regional, and national standards bodies (the latter often referred to as NSBs). By technology or industry designation, there are standards developing organizations (SDOs) and also standards setting organizations (SSOs) also known as consortia. Standards organizations may be governmental, quasi-governmental or non-governmental entities. Quasi- and non-governmental standards organizations are often non-profit organizations.

International Standards Organizations[]

Broadly, an international standards organization is an international organization which develops international standards.

There are many international standards organizations, but the three international organizations having the highest international recognition are the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). All three of these have existed for more than 50 years (founded in 1947, 1906, and 1865, respectively) and they are all based in Geneva, Switzerland. They have established tens of thousands of standards covering almost every conceivable topic. Many of these are then adopted worldwide replacing various incompatible 'homegrown' standards. Many of these standards are naturally evolved from those designed in-house within an industry, or by a particular country, whilst others have been built from scratch by groups of experts who sit on various technical committees (TCs).

ISO is composed of the National Standards Bodies (NSBs), one per member economy. The IEC is composed of “National Committees”, one per member economy. In some cases, the National Committee to the IEC of an economy may be the ISO member from that country or economy.

The World Standards Cooperation (WSC) is a cooperative effort between ISO, the IEC, and the ITU.

ISO and IEC are non-treaty international organizations. Their members may be non-governmental organizations or governmental agencies. The ITU and Codex Alimentarius are two examples of treaty-based organizations (where only governments are the primary members). The members of these organizations are the government foreign ministry, and/or appropriate regulatory body (telecoms regulator, agricultural, food safety or pharmaceuticals regulator, etc).

In addition to these organizations, there exist thousands of standards organizations that set standards within some more specialized context, such as IETF, W3C, IEEE or API. Often, these international standards organizations are not based on the principle of one member per country. Rather, membership in such international organizations is more granular having either organizational/corporate or individual technical expert members from around the globe.

Regional Standards Organizations[]

Regional standards bodies also exist such as CEN, CENELEC, ETSI, and the IRMM in Europe, the Pacific Area Standards Congress (PASC), the Pan American Standards Commission (COPANT), the African Organization for Standardization (ARSO), the Arab Industrial Development and Mining Organization (AIDMO), and others.

Sub-regional standards organizations also exist such as the MERCOSUR Standardization Association (AMN), the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ), and the ASEAN Consultative Committee for Standards and Quality (ACCSQ).

National Standards Bodies (NSBs)[]

In general, each country or economy has a single recognized Standards Body (NSB). Examples include ABNT, ANSI, BSI, DGN, DIN, IRAM, JISC, KATS, SABS, SAC, SCC, SIS, SNZ. An NSB is likely the sole member from that economy in ISO.

NSBs may be either public or private sector organizations, or combinations of the two. For example, the three NSBs of Canada, Mexico and the United States are respectively the Standards Council of Canada (SCC), the General Bureau of Standards (Dirección General de Normas, DGN), and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). SCC is a Canadian Crown Corporation, DGN is a governmental agency within the Mexican Ministry of Economy, and ANSI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with members from both the private and public sectors. The determinates of whether an NSB for a particular economy is a public or private sector body may include the historical and traditional roles that the private sector fills in public affairs in that economy or the development stage of that economy.

Standards Developing Organizations (SDOs)[]

Whereas the term national standards body (NSB) is generally used to refer to the one-per-country standardization organization which is that country’s member to ISO, the term Standards Developing Organization (SDO) generally refers to the thousands of industry or sector based standards organizations which develop and publish industry specific standards. Some economies feature only an NSB with no other SDOs. Large economies like the United States and Japan feature several hundred SDOs which are coordinated by the central NSBs of each country (ANSI and JISC in this case). SDOs are differentiated from Standards Setting Organizations (SSOs) (see Trends below) in that SDOs may be accredited to develop standards using open and transparent processes.

Scope of work[]

The developers of technical standards are generally concerned with interface standards, which detail how products interconnect with one another, and safety standards, which establish characteristics required for a product or process to be safe for the humans, animals and environment. The subject of their work can be narrow or broad.

Overlapping or competing standards bodies tend to cooperate purposefully, by seeking to define boundaries between the scope of their work, and by operating in a hierarchical fashion in terms of national, regional and international scope; international organizations tend to have as members national organizations; and standards emerging at national level (such as BS 5750) can be adopted at regional levels (BS 5750 was adopted as EN 29000) and at international levels (BS 5750 was adopted as ISO 9000).

Standards development process[]

Although it can be a tedious and lengthy process, formal standard setting is essential to developing new technologies. For example, since 1865, the telecommunications industry has depended on the ITU to establish the telecommunications standards that have been adopted worldwide. The ITU has created numerous telecommunications standards including telegraph specifications, allocation of telephone numbers, interference protection, and protocols for a variety of communications technologies. The standards that are created through standards organizations lead to improved product quality, ensured interoperability of competitors’ products, and they provide a technological baseline for future research and product development. Formal standard setting through standards organizations has numerous benefits for consumers including increased innovation, multiple market participants, reduced production costs, and the efficiency effects of product interchangeability.

Standards distribution[]

Since the standards development process costs a great deal of money, time and resources, virtually all but a few standards are distributed on a commercial basis rather than being provided free. Giving standards away free of charge would eliminate the significant source of funding for standards developers.

Some users of standards mistakenly assume that all standards are the works in the public domain. This assumption is correct only for standards produced by the central governments whose publications are not amenable to copyright. Any standards produced by non-governmental entities remain the intellectual property of their developers and are protected, just like any other publications, by copyright laws and international treaties.

Trends[]

The ever-quickening pace of technology evolution is now more than ever affecting the way how new standards are proposed, developed and implemented.

Since traditional, widely respected standards organizations tend to operate at a slower pace than technology evolves, many standards they develop are becoming less relevant because of the inability of their developers to keep abreast with the technological innovation. As a result, a new class of standards setters appeared on the standardization arena: the industry consortia or Standards Setting Organization (SSO). Despite having limited financial resources, some of them enjoy truly international acceptance. One example is the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) whose standards for HTML, CSS, and XML are used universally throughout the world. There are also community-driven associations such as the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), a world-wide network of volunteers who collaborate to set standards for lower level software solutions.

Some industry-driven standards development efforts don't even have a formal organizational structure. They are projects funded by large corporations. Among them are the Open office, a Sun Microsystems-sponsored international community of volunteers working on an open-standard software that aims to compete with Microsoft Office, and two commercial groups competing fiercely with each other to develop an industry-wide standard for high-density optical storage.

International standards organizations[]

3GPP - 3rd Generation Partnership Project - Website
3GPP2 - 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 - Website
Accellera - Accellera Organization - Website
AIIM - Association for Information and Image Management - Website
ASTM International
AUTOSAR - Automotive technology - Website
BIPM, CGPM, and CIPM - Bureau International des Poids et Mesures and the related organizations established under the Metre Convention of 1875. Website
CableLabs - Cable Television Laboratories - Website
CISPR - International Special Committee on Radio Interference
DIN - Deutsches Institut fuer Normung e.V. Website (english version)
Ecma International - Ecma International (previously called ECMA)
FAI - Fédération Aéronautique Internationale - Website
GS1 - Global supply chain standards (identification numbers, barcodes, electronic commerce transactions, RFID) - Website
IBTA - Infiniband Trade Association
IEC - International Electrotechnical Commission - Website
IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers - Website
IETF - Internet Engineering Task Force - Website
ISO - International Organization for Standardization - Website
ITU - The International Telecommunication Union - Website
- ITU-R - ITU Radiocommunications Sector (formerly known as CCIR)
- ITU-T - ITU Telecommunications Sector (formerly known as CCITT)
- ITU-D - ITU Telecom Development (formerly known as BDT)
IUPAC - International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry - Website
Liberty Alliance - Liberty Alliance - Website
N3P - Neutral Third Party - Website
OASIS - Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards - Website
OGF - Open Grid Forum (merger of Global Grid Forum (GGF) and Enterprise Grid Alliance (EGA)) - Website
SAI - Social Accountability International - Website
SI - Système International d'Unités (International System of Units) - this is a standard, rather than a standards organization. See BIPM above (ISO and many other standards organizations ar also involved in maintaining this standard). Website
SIF - Schools Interoperability Framework - SIF Website
WMO - World Meteorological Organization
W3C - World Wide Web Consortium - Website
Media Grid - Media Grid Standards Organization - Website

Regional standards organizations[]

Africa[]

ARSO - African Regional Organization for Standardization - Website
SADCSTAN - Southern African Development Community (SADC) Cooperation in Standardization – Website

Americas[]

COPANT - Pan American Standards Commission - Website
AMN - MERCOSUR Standardization Association – Website (in Portuguese)
CROSQ - CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality – Website

Asia Pacific[]

PASC - Pacific Area Standards Congress – Website

ACCSQ - ASEAN Consultative Committee for Standards and Quality - Website

Europe[]

CEN - European Committee for Standardization - Website
IRMM - Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (European Union)

Middle East[]

AIDMO - Arab Industrial Development and Mining Organization – Website

National standards organizations[]

Algeria - IANOR - Institut algérien de normalisation - Website
Argentina - IRAM - Instituto Argentino de Normalización - Website
Armenia - SARM - National Institute of Standards and Quality - Website
Australia - SA - Standards Australia - Website
Austria - ON - Austrian Standards Institute - Website
Bangladesh - BSTI - Bangladesh Standards and Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institutio, - Website
Belarus - BELST - Committee for Standardization, Metrology and Certification of Belarus - Website
Belgium - IBN/BIN - The Belgian Institution for Standardization - Website
Belgium - BEC/CEB - The Belgian Electrotechnical Committee - Website
Bolivia - IBNORCA - Instituto Boliviano de Normalización y Calidad - Website
Bosnia and Herzegovina - BASMP - Institute for Standards, Metrology and Intellectual Property of Bosnia and Herzegovina - Website
Brazil - ABNT - Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas - Website
Brunei Darussalam - CPRU - Construction Planning and Research Unit, Ministry of Development - Website
Bulgaria - BDS - Bulgarian Institute for Standardization - Website
Canada - SCC - Standards Council of Canada - Website
Chile - INN - Instituto Nacional de Normalizacion - Website
China - SAC - Standardization Administration of China - Website
China - CSSN - China Standards Information Center - Website
Colombia - ICONTEC - Instituto Colombiano de Normas Técnicas y Certificación - Website
Costa Rica - INTECO - Instituto de Normas Técnicas de Costa Rica - Website
Croatia - DZNM - State Office for Standardization and Metrology - Website
Cuba - NC - Oficina Nacional de Normalización - Website
Czech Republic - CSNI - Czech Standards Institute - Website
Denmark - DS - Dansk Standard - Website
Ecuador - INEN - Instituto Ecuatoriano de Normalización - Website
Egypt - EO - Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality Control - Website
El Salvador - CONACYT - Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología - Website
Estonia - EVS - Eesti Standardikeskus - Website
Ethiopia - QSAE - Quality and Standards Authority of Ethiopia Website
Finland - SFS - Finnish Standards Association - Website
France - AFNOR - Association française de normalisation - Website
Germany - DIN - Deutsches Institut für Normung - Website
Greece - ELOT - Hellenic Organization for Standardization - Website
Grenada - GDBS - Grenada Bureau of Standards - Website
Guatemala - COGUANOR - Comisión Guatemalteca de Normas - Website
Guyana - GNBS - Guyana National Bureau of Standards - Website
Hong Kong - ITCHKSAR - Innovation and Technology Commission - Website
Hungary - MSZT - Magyar Szabványügyi Testület - Website
Iceland - IST - Icelandic Council for Standardization - Website
IndiaBIS - Bureau of Indian Standards - Website
Indonesia - BSN - Badan Standardisasi Nasional - Website
Iran - ISIRI - Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran - Website
Ireland - NSAI - National Standards Authority of Ireland - Website
Israel - SII - The Standards Institution of Israel - Website
Italy - UNI - Ente Nazionale Italiano di Unificazione - Website
Jamaica - JBS - Bureau of Standards, Jamaica - Website
Japan - JISC - Japan Industrial Standards Committee - Website
Jordan - JISM - Jordan Institution for Standards and Metrology - Website
Kazakstan - KAZMEMST - Committee for Standardization, Metrology and Certification - Website
Kenya - KEBS - Kenya Bureau of Standards - Website
Republic of Korea - KATS - Korean Agency for Technology and Standards - Website
Kuwait - KOWSMD - Public Authority for Industry, Standards and Industrial Services Affairs - Website
Kyrgyzstan - KYRGYZST - State Inspection for Standardization and Metrology - Website
Latvia - LVS - Latvian Standard - Website
Lebanon - LIBNOR - Lebanese Standards Institution - Website
Lithuania - LST - Lithuanian Standards Board - Website
Luxembourg - SEE - Service de l'Energie de l'Etat, Organisme Luxembourgeois de Normalisation - Website
Malaysia - Department of Standards Malaysia - Website
Malta - MSA - Malta Standards Authority - Website
Mauritius - MSB - Mauritius Standards Bureau - Website
Mexico - DGN - Dirección General de Normas - Website
Moldova - MOLDST - Department of Standardization and Metrology - Website
Morocco - SNIMA - Service de Normalisation Industrielle Marocaine - Website
Netherlands - NEN - Nederlandse Norm, maintained by the Nederlands Normalisatie Instituut (NNI) - Website
New Zealand - SNZ - Standards New Zealand - Website
Nicaragua - DTNM - Dirección de Tecnología, Normalización y Metrología - Website
Nigeria - SON - Standards Organisation of Nigeria - Website
Norway - SN - Standard Norge (Standards Norway) - Website
Oman - DGSM - Directorate General for Specifications and Measurements - Website
Pakistan - PSQCA - Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority - Website
Palestine - PSI - Palestine Standards Institution - Website
Panama - COPANIT - Comisión Panameña de Normas Industriales y Técnicas - Website
Papua New Guinea - NISIT - National Institute of Standards and Industrial Technology - Website
Peru - INDECOPI - Instituto Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia y de la Protección de la Propiedad Intelectual - Website
Philippines - BPS - Bureau of Product Standards - Website
Poland - PKN - Polish Committee for Standardization - Website
Portugal - IPQ - Instituto Português da Qualidade - Website
Romania - ASRO - Asociatia de Standardizare din România - Website
Russian Federation - Rostekhregulirovaniye - Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology - Website
Saint Lucia - SLBS - Saint Lucia Bureau of Standards - Website
Saudi Arabia - SASO - Saudi Arabian Standards Organization - Website
Serbia and Montenegro - ISSM -Institution for Standardization of Serbia and Montenegro - Website
Seychelles - SBS - Seychelles Bureau of Standards - Website
Singapore - SPRING SG - Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board - Website
Slovakia - SUTN - Slovak Standards Institute - Website
Slovenia - SIST - Slovenian Institute for Standardization - Website
South Africa - SABS - South African Bureau of Standards - Website
Spain - AENOR - Asociación Española de Normalización y Certificación - Website
Sri Lanka - SLSI - Sri Lanka Standards Institution - Website
Sweden - SIS - Swedish Standards Institute - Website
Switzerland - SNV - Swiss Association for Standardization - Website
Syrian Arab Republic - SASMO - The Syrian Arab Organization for Standardization and Metrology - Website
Taiwan (Republic of China) - BSMI - The Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection - Website
Tanzania - TBS - Tanzania Bureau of Standards - Website
Thailand - TISI - Thai Industrial Standards Institute - Website
Trinidad and Tobago - TTBS - Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards - Website
Turkey - TSE - Türk Standardlari Enstitüsü - Website
Uganda - UNBS - Uganda National Bureau of Standards - Website
Ukraine - DSSU - State Committee on Technical Regulation and Consumer Policy of Ukraine - Website
United Kingdom - BSI - British Standards Institution - Website
United States of America - ANSI - American National Standards Institute - Website
Uruguay - UNIT - Instituto Uruguayo de Normas Técnicas - Website
Venezuela - FONDONORMA - Fondo para la Normalización y Certificación de la Calidad - Website
Vietnam - TCVN - Directorate for Standards and Quality - Website

External links[]

World Standards Services Network (WSSN) - a network of publicly accessible web servers of standards organizations around the world
NIST page on standards groups/resources

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fr:Organisme de normalisation

ja:標準化団体

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