International standards ensure positive change
We live in an amazing world, following incredible opportunities and endless possibilities. But it can also be a complex and an overwhelming place. When things don't work as it should it often means that something is absent. This could be the absence of trust, absence of trust upon the products we use, foreign currency note we take. Absence of algorithm in computer codes or this could be the probability of double crossing in measuring and weighing things. For trust to be made and quality to be ensured, some standards’ embodiment is needed as morals are needed for an ethical society. These standards might be National; a standard adopted by a national standardization body and made available to the public, International; a standard adopted by an international standardization organization, or Standards by Economic Forums such as SAARC, NAFTA, EU and so on.
Standards exist for programming languages, operating systems, data formats, communications protocols, length measurements, weighing masses and electrical interfaces. From a user's and supplier’s standpoint, standards importance is obvious in almost all kind of industries. For example: the computer industry, they allow the combination of products from different manufacturers to create a customized system. Without standards, only hardware and software from the same company could be used together. Also, standard user interfaces can make it much easier to learn how to use new applications. It means that standards like these must be standardized. A framework of agreements is created in which all relevant parties in an industry or organization must adhere to ensure that all processes associated with the creation of a good or performance of a service are performed within set guidelines. This is done to ensure the compliance of one company’s software with that of other company’s hardware or the end product has consistent quality, and that any conclusions made are comparable with all other tantamount items in the same class.
Historically, sizes for screws, nuts bolts and other threaded fasteners were first standardized. The screw base size and thread dimensions of electric lamp bulbs was standardized. In the modern world an example of standardization would be the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles to which all companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges much conform. GAAP, a standardized set of guidelines created by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), ensure that all financial statements undergo the same processes so that the disclosed information is relevant, scrutable, reliable, comparable and consistent. Standardization can be found in business processes when companies require that a consistent level of quality be achieved. That is many fast food franchises have detailed processes documented to make sure that a burger is prepared in the same manner regardless of which chain in its franchise a consumer visits.
To police these standards all over the globe there exits International Organizations just as World Trade Organization for trade inspection among the states. ISO (International Standards Organization), ITU (International Telecommunication Union) and IEC (International Electro-Technical Commission) are the popular and highly adherer-able organizations. These organizations established WSC (The World Standards Cooperation) in order to strengthen and advance the voluntary consensus. Their defined International Standards are being directly implemented or they are modified as per the requirement and local conditions of the recipient country. However, countries are not bounded to their rules implementations unlike WTO whose members (states) must conform to their required standards.
Generally, International Standards provides three dimensions of sustainable development: Economic, Environmental, and Societal. Economically, standards provide tools for governments to assess and evaluate conformity, and provide a legitimate base for health and safety legislation. Having standards in place facilitates fairer trade between regions by ensuring that both the importer side and exporter side of foreign trade transactions know about the relevant set of standards. For governments in developing countries, International Standards informs about expected attributes of products and services for export markets. This economics-based information gives a basis for governments to allocate resources accordingly, and produce goods and services that will be accepted and entertained in different regions. Similarly, businesses can deem their resources on producing goods and services that are internationally standardized. With an industry-wide set of standards in place, businesses are better equipped to develop and offer products and services to foreign markets that recognize the same set of standards. This improves production by making each activity such as developing, producing and supplying, more efficient. Its role is quite vital in the development of high-tech goods. When a business innovate a new technology, international standards facilitate the development of terminology and compatibility, making the innovation marketable.
For society, standards make an enormous and positive contribution to most aspects of our lives. The importance of standards may be better appreciated when considering what would happen in its absence; when a product is made according to predefined standards and meets customer expectations, it is often taken for granted. However, in an environment without standards, people would very likely voice concerns about poor quality and unsafe products. Whether a business manufactures goods or provides services, when it meets standards relevant to its industry, it ensures that positive characteristics such as quality, efficiency, durability, safety and environmental friendliness are reinforced. Similarly formalizing judicial procedures and establishing uniform criteria for diagnosing fatal and chronic diseases. Benefit consumers by safeguarding their interests and by realizing that the products and services they purchase are safe and reliable. Standardization in this sense is often discussed along with, or synonymously to such large-scale social changes as modernization, bureaucratization, homogenization, and centralization of society.
At last for environment, these international standards help reduce environmental impact of industries operations by publishing accepted levels of gas emissions; especially greenhouse gases, and radiation emissions. For controlling water, air and soil quality. In addition, standards drive toward most sustainable production processes; ISO synchronizes and aligns businesses to cleaner and safer production methods by laying down operational guidelines for different industries. In these cases not only nature give smile but people also feel the sense of happiness, prosperity and above all the sense of humanity.
Author: Raheel Shahab
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