Standardisation

Standardisation is a voluntary activity concerning the drafting and adoption of standards. This activity is carried out by the interested parties under the supervision of a recognised body.

A standard is a formalised set of technical specifications for common, repeated use. It prescribes good practice regarding a product, service or production process.

Standards aim to:

• develop a defined framework in order to optimise the relationship between customers and suppliers;
• ensure a balance between societal and economic interests as well as technological progress.

Standards provide a suitable reference system for the quality of goods and services.

Different types of standards

There are several different types of standard:

• descriptive standards, which determine the features of a product;
• performance standards, which define the performance levels products must achieve on the basis of tests;
• testing standards;
• calculation method standards;
• classification standards;
• organisational standards etc.

The benefits of using standards

Using standards has the following benefits:

• optimising the relationship between customers and suppliers;
• cost and time savings;
• facilitating market access (simplifying trade);
• maximising transparency in quality, safety and environmental impact;
• facilitating innovation.

Voluntary application of standards

Standards are voluntary. They are therefore not binding in any way.

They may, however, be made mandatory by laws and regulations, by contract or according to specifications.

Standards development

Standards are developed by independent recognised standards bodies.

All interested parties can participate in standards development, namely representatives from:

• businesses;
• public authorities;
• compliance assessment bodies;
• the science industry;
• consumer organisations;
• workers’ associations;
• non-governmental organisations etc.

Standards are developed by various different technical committees.

In Belgium, the law of 3 April 2003 on standardisation established a decentralised standardisation system in order to better meet the needs of interested parties. The daily running of these committees is now entrusted to sectoral operators approved by the Standards Bureau. These sectoral operators include:

• collective research centres;
• professional federations;
• universities;
• public sector technical departments.

To enable the development of standards on relevant scientific and technical bases, the FPS Economy supports pre-normative research programmes at the collective research centres.

Standardisation bodies

Standardisation work takes place at several levels:

• national;
• European;
• international.

The Standards Bureau (Bureau de Normalisation – NBN) is the Belgian standardisation body.

In Europe, there are three standardisation bodies:

• the European Committee for Standardization – CEN;
• the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization – CENELEC;
• the European Telecommunication Standards Institute – ETSI.

There are also three international standardisation bodies:

• the International Organization for Standardization – ISO;
• The International Electrotechnical Commission – IEC;
• The International Telecommunication Union – ITU.

The Supreme Council for Standardisation – CSN

Alongside the Standards Bureau, the law of 3 April 2003 established the Supreme Council for Standardisation  [only available in French], which seeks to advise the government on all matters relating to standards policy and development.

Standards and SMEs

In order to educate and assist SMEs on aspects of standardisation, FPS Economy supports the Standards Offices established at the Collective research centres.