What is a standard?

A standard is an agreement between the parties involved, such as manufacturers, sellers, purchasers, users and regulators of a particular product, process or service.

It contains a technical specification or other precise criteria designed to be used consistently as a rule, guideline, or definition.

Its adoption ensures to all operators a clear reference in terms of technical specifications, quality, performance and reliability. Its objective is to ensure that products and services are suitable for their purpose and they are comparable and compatible.

Standards are a summary of best practice. Their creation arises from the experience and expertise of all interested parties and they are drawn up to meet the demands of society and technology

Any standard is the result of a collective work that involves national standardisation bodies, producers, users, research organisations, and consumers.

European Standard history

In the post-war period there have been various different technical structures and regulations, e.g. standards, within the Member States of the EU. They have had an inhibitory effect on the free circulation of goods and services within Europe . To eliminate this problem, the EU decision makers have resorted to a uniform European standardisation system. It was served to dismantle the technical barriers to trade within Europe . In 1983, the system was initiated, backed-up by the Directive 83/189 EEC and revised in 1998 by the Directive 98/34 EEC

Standards and Small & Medium-sized Enterprises

Often SMEs consider standards as a burden, made by large groups for large groups; and think they are not concerned. It is commonly due to some standards' imperfections. A KAN questionnaire answered by German SMEs revealed widely spread points of view across Europe . SMEs would advise that standards should:

• Be comprehensible and clearly arranged,
• Contain instruction for implementing the standards and concrete technical solutions (instead of general concepts),
• Repeat excerpts from other standards instead of merely referring to them.

By applying standards, organizations can help to ensure that their products and services are consistent, compatible, safe and effective. SME managers are down to earth and rely more on experience than on believes with no proof. We provide examples where standard application have had extremely positive effects on the business. Those cases are in various sectors: Industry , Electricity , Food , and Dentistry