Standards And Quality

Anwar El-Tawil

• Publisher: WSPC
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9789814623599
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Science General
• Index: Biological Sciences

The book brings together a number of subjects of prime importance for any practicing engineer and, students of engineering. The book explains the concepts and functions of voluntary standards, mandatory technical regulations, conformity assessment (testing and measurement of products), certification, quality and quality management systems as well as other management systems such as environmental, social responsibility and food safety management systems.

The book also gives a comprehensive description of the role of metrology systems that underpin conformity assessment. A description is given of typical national systems of standards, quality and metrology and how they relate directly or through regional structures to international systems. The book also covers the relation between standards and trade and explains the context and stipulations of the Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Contents:

• Standards and Their Benefits
• The Standardization Process
• The National Standards Body
• International Standardization
• Conformity to Standards — Certification and Accreditation
• Standards and Trade
• Quality and Quality Management Systems
• Environmental Management Systems
• Oview of Other Management Systems
• The Role of Metrology — The Quality Infrastructure

Readership: Practicing engineers and managers in industry who wish to understand quality infrastructure and quality management, and their relation to regional and international standards.
Key Features:

• The book gives information about all aspects of the quality infrastructure in one publication
• The material represents the state of the art at national and international levels
• The narrative and explanation provide easy reading without sacrificing the necessary depth of the info

CHAPTER 1

STANDARDS AND THEIR BENEFITS

1.1 WHAT ARE STANDARDS?

In common language the word “standard” signifies several things and is used in many different contexts. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the following meanings of the word standard: 1) level of quality or attainment; 2) something used as a measure, norm or model in comparative evaluations; 3) a military or ceremonial flag; 4) a tree that grows on an erect stem of full height; 5) an upright water or gas pipe. The English word “standard” stems from an old French word that means a flag (cf. meaning no. 3 of the Oxford Dictionary above). This word indicates the position of a standard, which is that of a lead object that is followed by the troops of an army or by people in general.

In social sciences the word standard is used in the expression “standard of living”, in economics we encounter the “gold standard”, in animal husbandry the “breed standard”, in mathematics the “standard deviation” and in cryptology the “encryption standard”.

This and the following chapters deal with documentary standards applicable to production and service processes and to the outcome of those processes: products and services. Documentary standards are best described by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electro-technical Commission (IEC), the two apex international standards organizations. The definition of “standard” given by these two organizations is as follows^a:

A Standard: is a document established by consensus and approved by a recognized body that provides for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics of activities or their results aimed at achieving the optimum degree of order in a given context.

Several important characteristics of documentary standards follow from this definition. First, it implies that standards are established by consensus, which means that those concerned by the standard, usually called the stakeholders, have agreed that a given standard is the best way of doing business and that it safeguards their interests in a balanced manner. Secondly, the definition mentions that standards are established for common and repeated use. This distinguishes a standard from an agreement between business partners that deals with one particular situation and may be fixed in a contract or in letters of acceptance but need not be fixed in a document available to other parties such as a standard. Thirdly, the definition describes the possible content of a standard as being rules, guidelines or characteristics that apply to activities or processes as well as to their outcome. Such an outcome could be a product or a service.

The definition also states that standards are established by a recognized body. This limits the establishment of formal standards to recognized bodies that are in a position to get the stakeholders of standardization together in a way that promotes the establishment of consensus. Such bodies provide a suitable forum for precise formulation, further development and updating of the standard. Those bodies facilitate the publication of standards, make them available to users and act as a repository for the collection of standards in the given field or fields. For a more detailed description of the status and functioning of standards bodies, see Chapter 3.

An important aspect of documentary standards as defined by ISO/IEC is expressed in the last phrase of the definition, which states that a standard aims at achieving the optimum degree of order in a given context. Obviously, standardization is about putting order in a given situation. Better order is ensured by specifying characteristics of the product or service. Order is also improved by limiting variety, since unlimited variety may lead to an unacceptable increase in the cost of the product or service not matched by an increase in the degree of satisfaction of the user. Searching for the optimum degree of order is one of the prime tasks of standardization. Those engaged in standardization are constantly looking for the best possible compromise between two extremes: on one hand, an excessive variety that leads to an increase in cost not matched by a worthwhile improvement of the product or service and, on the other hand, a severe limitation of variety which may lead to a reduction of satisfaction of the customer or user of the product or service. A good example of the optimum degree of order is evident in the case of sizes of clothes and shoes. Too many finely spaced sizes would lead to a great increase in cost as the advantages of mass production are lost and stocking and distribution become more difficult. On the other hand, too coarse a gradation of sizes would mean badly fitting clothes and uncomfortable shoes!

1.2 THE BENEFITS OF STANDARDS

Standards have numerous benefits and this fact explains their widespread application in most areas of human activity. Standards are especially important to ensure product safety and minimum quality, to facilitate compatibility between product components and between products, to optimize variety and to facilitate communication and the provision of information about products, services and situations.

1.2.1 Standards ensure product safety and minimum quality

Most products can be a source of hazard to the health and safety of people, if not properly made and packed or if not properly stored and used. Examples of such products are food products, toys, electric and gas appliances. Standards play an important role in ensuring the safety of such products by requiring that mandatory safety measures be incorporated into the products, not allowing sources of risk and specifying adequate packaging, storage and use instructions to be provided to the users.

Standards for fire-prevention and fire-fighting equipment play an equally important role in protecting people and property against fire hazard. A fire extinguisher in a building or in a car manufactured and maintained according to standards gives assurance that it will perform adequately and will not fail in the critical moment of a fire breaking out. Equally important is the written and/or graphical information on how to use the extinguisher, which should be provided in a clear, easily understandable manner.

For all products, whether hazardous or not, standards provide an important benefit as they guarantee a minimum level of quality. Standards for products and services often specify minimum use and efficiency characteristics which, if absent in the product or service, would lead to a waste of resources rather than a tangible benefit for the user. For example, if a product or appliance does not give good and efficient performance or breaks down after a very short time, this would mean a waste of consumer money and of natural resources.

1.2.2 Standards facilitate market entry and promote competition

The existence of standards facilitates the job of new producers of goods and providers of services who wish to enter the market. By consulting existing standards, those potential producers and service providers can get a reasonable idea of which characteristics should be present in the products and services they intend to offer. This allows smooth planning of production or service provision and good chances of acceptance of the resulting product or service in the intended markets. Easier market entry promotes competition as new producers can relatively easily start production or service provision. This promotes the interests of consumers since competition and the avoidance of monopoly situations help improve quality and reduce prices.

1.2.3 Standards are essential for trade facilitation

Standards are extremely useful for trade facilitation. The existence of standards makes it much easier to set-up clear contracts: rather than trying to specify in the contract the detailed characteristics of the contracted product or commodity, it is sufficient to refer to an existing standard. Not only would this save pages and pages of specifications, it would also save the possible haggling over the actual specifications themselves! In addition, the reference to a standard would reduce to a minimum possible litigation at the time of delivery: standards not only specify important characteristics of the product or service, they also specify how to sample and test the product and how to interpret test results.

1.2.4 Standard are necessary to ensure compatibility

The modern world provides numerous advantages to people many of which are based on compatibility. Compatibility exists on two levels: a) between parts and components of a product and b) between products.

When a part of a complex machine such as a car or a plane is broken or wears off, it is possible to replace it with an equivalent “spare” part produced by the same producer or by another producer on the other side of the globe, which then performs the same functions as the original part. This simple act is so commonplace in today’s world that people take it for granted and are mostly unaware of the sophisticated standardization and engineering effort behind it. The “interchangeability” of parts and components, as this is called, is based on standardization of fitting sizes of the parts as well as their other properties such as strength, hardness, electrical properties (in the case of electric components), resistance to rust and chemicals and others. The advantages of the interchangeability of parts and components are too obvious to be enumerated. Suffice it to say that, in the absence of interchangeability, every bolt and screw would fit only into a specially made nut or screwed hole^b; sophisticated machines would be extremely vulnerable to breakdown, as failure of their weakest component would lead to a breakdown and loss of value of the whole machine or would make repair extremely costly.

Compatibility between different appliances and machines makes it possible to use together different devices having different functions. For example, a digital camera using a memory card can be connected to a computer; pictures can be transferred from it to the computer for editing, storage, posting and e-mailing; the pictures can be projected on a screen using a projector or printed using a printer. In this case, “interoperability” of the camera, the memory card, the computer, the e-mail system, the projector, the TV and the printer is made possible by standardization of the inputs and outputs of each of these devices as well as the connections between them. The Universal Serial Bus (or USB as it is commonly known) is a marvelous example of a standardized device that enables the connection of different information technology appliances. Other examples of interoperability abound not only in information and communication technologies but in transport, construction and other fields as well.

1.2.5 Standards improve economy by reducing unnecessary variety

Variety is a costly good. Consumers and users who wish to receive products and services that fit exactly their individual needs are quite aware of this fact. As individual needs vary with the individuals themselves, an infinite variety would be needed to completely fulfill the desire to have products and services that fit exactly each individual need. This would mean individual production and/or fitting of each product and service to the needs of the particular customer. In the majority of cases, this implies a great increase in cost, as the advantages of high volume or mass production can no longer be realized. Standards help solve this problem by pointing to an optimum variety that would satisfy needs to a reasonable degree without raising the cost of the product or service to a level prohibitive for most consumers.

The theoretical basis for an optimum choice of variety was laid by Colonel Charles Renard of the French Army in the 19^th century. “Preferred numbers”, proposed by Renard allow an optimum choice of variety in a particular situation. Renard’s preferred numbers incorporated in the International Standard ISO 3 published by the International Organization for Standardization in 1952 offer a choice of variety from a coarse gradation (low variety) to an increasingly finer gradation (high variety).

1.2.6 Standardization of graphical symbols and colors facilitates communication in all fields

International travelers appreciate the value of standardized symbols and colors which allow them, irrespective of the language or the country where they happen to be, to use cars safely without infringing traffic rules, use public transport, find their way in buildings, airports and stations (in particular, find exits, find toilets and use elevators), use equipment, find what they are looking for in health care establishments, be warned about dangers and do a host of other things. This is made possible thanks to agreements incorporated in international standards such as the ISO 7000 series — Graphical Symbols. The use of standardized graphical symbols continues to grow and this has salutary effects on communication in the fields of traffic, sports, science and many others.

1.3 THE EVOLUTION OF STANDARDIZATION

Standardization is not a new activity: it has existed in societies since the dawn of civilization. Ancient civilizations standardized weights and measures and this facilitated the replacement of barter by a monetary economy. The ancient written languages such as ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and the Chinese script were a manifestation of the standardization of graphical symbols to convey given meanings. Ancient civilizations also standardized the calendar, which in its primitive form consisted of 12 months of 30 days each, then was corrected to include five “forgotten days” and subsequently corrected again to include the leap year and its modifications that coincide with the solar year in a more faithful manner.

Ancient civilizations applied standardization to building construction. This made possible the marvelous construction projects that mark the great civilizations of the past. In ancient Egypt, the great pyramid of Khufu was built over 20 years (around 2560 BCE) of an estimated 2,300,000 stones of standard size. In China, the Great Wall built by Emperor Qin Shi Huang starting 221 BCE followed a standardized pattern over its length of 10,000 Li (1 Li is equal to 500 meters). With 25,000 standardized watchtowers, the Great Wall of China is a good example of standardization applied to great construction works of ancient times.

Centuries after these amazing manifestations of standardization in ancient times, standards took on new dimensions with the industrial revolution. The use of new types of power such as steam and electric power exposed workers and the public to new hazards.^c As accidents multiplied, many of them fatal, the industrializing countries responded by establishing standards for the safety of pressure vessels, gas and electric machines. The industrial revolution also saw the development of mass production and the introduction of interchangeability of parts of complex machines. This made necessary the establishment of standards to facilitate the production and supply of spare parts.

Later, standards were established to facilitate inter-operability of machines and devices. In 1904, a great fire broke out in Baltimore. When firefighters rushed from far to the city to extinguish the fire, they found that their hose couplings could not be attached to the hydrants or to other hoses. This prompted the standardization of hose couplings by the US National Fire Protection Association.

Pipe sizes and sanitary fittings were standardized to facilitate the construction of plumbing systems in homes. The development of the automobile industry based on the assembly of parts and components produced by many small producers gave a strong impetus to standardization in mechanical engineering. In electrical engineering, plugs and sockets were standardized and so were lamps and their fittings as well as voltages and frequencies utilized in electricity production and distribution. In building construction, modularly coordinated spaces are built with standard bricks and blocks. In information technology, standardization had a dominant role from the start, which enabled the interoperability of devices and facilitated the interconnection of individual computers into a worldwide network — the Internet. The era of standardized products, services, buildings, information and communication was started and is still in full swing.

1.4 SHOULD STANDARDS BE MADE MANDATORY?

A question often debated by those concerned by standards is whether standards should be made mandatory in view of the many benefits they provide to society. The answer to this question in centrally planned economies (for example, the ex-Soviet Union and its satellites) was in the affirmative. It was argued that it is in the interest of society to make all standards mandatory and, indeed, standards were used in conjunction with quantitative planning to evaluate the performance of economic units such as factories and collective farms. This approach provided a substitute for the evaluation of the success or failure of enterprises in a situation where the traditional market indicators profit and loss played a much lesser role than in a free market economy.

In advanced market economies, however, the general attitude is that, while some standards should be made mandatory to safeguard the health and safety of people and the environment, the majority of standards should remain voluntary. The reasoning behind this attitude is that mandatory standards for all products and services would put unnecessary constraints on innovation and that market forces are sufficient to guide producers and service providers to produce products and offer services that satisfy the needs of consumers. Indeed, those innovative entrepreneurs who wish to propose a new design for existing products or a new line of products find it easier to act, where there are no mandatory standards that oblige them to follow a particular solution.

To avoid confusion in terminology, the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade of the World Trade Organization uses the term “standard” to designate voluntary standards and the term “technical regulation” to designate mandatory technical rules. Technical regulations can be based on existing voluntary standards that have been transformed into mandatory regulations or can be established independently. In market economie...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Preface
• Content
• List of Figures
• Chapter 1 STANDARDS AND THEIR BENEFITS
• Chapter 2 THE STANDARDIZATION PROCESS
• Chapter 3 THE NATIONAL STANDARDS BODY
• Chapter 4 INTERNATIONAL STANDARDIZATION
• Chapter 5 CONFORMITY TO STANDARDS — CERTIFICATION AND ACCREDITATION
• Chapter 6 STANDARDS AND TRADE
• Chapter 7 QUALITY AND QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
• Chapter 8 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
• Chapter 9 OVERVIEW OF OTHER MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
• Chapter 10 THE ROLE OF METROLOGY — THE QUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE
• Appendix A
• Appendix B
• Bibliography
• Index