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BSI BS*O: PARTS3 8 3 Lb24bbS 0 3 0 9 4 6 3 2

B8O B S 0 : P a r t l : 1981
UDC 006.053 : 006.01

British Standard Guide

A standard for standards
Part Is
General principles of standardization

Une norme concernant les normes

Partie 1. Principes généraux de la normalisation

Eine Norm über Normen

Teil 1. Grundlagen für Normung

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British Standards Institution

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 B S I BS*O:
BS O : Part 1 : 1981
Contents
Foreword Inside front cover
Guide
1. Scope
2. Definitions
3. Aims of standardization
4 Principles of standards work
5 The British Standards Institution
6. Range of BSI standards publications
7. Status of British Standards
Compliance with a British Standard does not of itself confer immunity from legal obligations.
Foreword
This British Standard is concerned with the principles of
standardization, the content and presentation of British
Standards and the mechanics of their preparation. It is
primarily for the use of BSI committees and staff, and
organizations providing first drafts, but it will be of interest
to many other associations and individuals involved in
standards work in this country and overseas.
BS O was originally published in four Parts in 1974. It
provided a formulation of procedures and practices in all
branches of standards production, which had not been
available until then. Changes in BSI structure and practice,
as well as the publication of several British Standards
concerned with fundamental standardization concepts,
have made this revision necessary. The revised standard
is published in three Parts:
Part 1 is an introduction to standardization and the role
of standards;
Part 2 describes the organization of BSI and its
committee procedures;
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Page Page
8. Contractual use of standards 3
9. Standards and regulations 3
1
1 Appendices
1 A. Short guide to international organizations
1 concerned with standards 5
B. ISO/IEC Code of principles on ’reference to
2 standards’ 7
3
Part 3 gives guidance on the drafting and presentation
of British Standards.
This Part of BS O supersedes BS O : Part 1 : 1974 which is
withdrawn. The revised text includes some basic
definitions of general terms relating to standardization and
a more detailed treatment of the legal status of standards
than was given previously. It contains as appendices a
short guide to international organizations concerned with
standards and the code of principles on ’reference to
standards’ issued jointly in 1974 by the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the
International Eiectrotechnical Commission (IEC).These
appendices were previously included in PD 4845 : 1977,
the remainder of which is superseded by the 1981
revision of BS O : Part 2.
Suggestions for improvement of any Part of BC O will be
welcomed by BSI Secretariat at 2 Park Street,
London W1A 26s.
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 B S I BS*O: PART*L
British Standard Guide
A standard for standards
Part 1. General principles of standardization
1. Scope
This Part of BS O describes the general aims and
principles of standardization, the range of BSI standards
publications and the role of standards within the
framework of the law.
NOTE. The titles of the publications referredto in this standard
are listedon the inside back cover.
2. Definitions
For the purposes of this British Standard, the definitions
given in BS 4778 apply, together with the following taken
from IS0 Guide 2: 1980.
2.1 standard*. A technical specification or other
document available to the public, drawn up with fhe
cooperation and consensus or general approval of all
interests affected by it, based on the consolidated results
of science, technology and experience, aimed at the
promotion of optimum community benefits and approved
by a body recognized on the national, regional or
international level.
2.2standardization. AÏIactivity giving solutions for
repetitive application, to problems essentially in the
spheres of science, technology and economics, aimed a t
the achievement of the optimum degree of order in a given
context. Generally, the activity consists of the processes
of formulating, issuing and implementing standards.
2.3national standards body. A nationally recognized
body whose principal function at the national level, by
virtue of its statutes or the law of the country, is the
preparation and/or publication of national standards
and/or approval of c-randardsprepared by other bodies.
This body is eligible to be the national member of the
corresponding international and regional standards
organizations.
2.4 regulation. A binding document which contains
legislative, regulatory or administrative rules and which is
adopted and published by an authority legally vested with
the necessary power.
3. Aims of standardization
3.1 Summary of aims. By providing technical criteria
accepted by consensus, standards promote consistent
quality and economic production. They simplify
manufacture and encourage interchangeability. They
* Measurementstandardsof mass, length, time, etc. (étalons in French) are relevant to standardization, but the work of BSI as a
national standards body concerns documentary standards as defined in 2.1 (normes in French).
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BS O : Part 1 : 1981
rationalize processes and methods of operation, making
communication and the exchange of goods and services
easier. Their use gives confidence to manufacturers and to
users alike.
The broad aims of standardization can be summarized as:
(a) provision of means of communication amongst all
interested parties;
(b) promotion of economy in human effort, materials
and energy in the production and exchange of goods
(see 3.2);
(c) protection of consumer interests through adequate
and consistent quality of goods and services (see 3.3);
(d) promotion of the quality of life: safety, health and the
protection of the environment (see 3.4);
(e) promotion of trade by removal of barriers caused by
differences in national practices.
3.2Variety reduction. Standards promote economy
through variety reduction. The nature of the standard will
determine where the reduction lies, for example in a range
of product sizes, a number of different types of equipment
or a variety of test methods. An early example of the value
o f this approach was the successful reduction in 1903 of
the existing seventy-five sizes of tramway rails to five in
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the original BS 2. The economic advantages of
standardization are described in PD 6470.
3.3 Quality. Standards provide for quality of goods and
services b y defining those features and characteristics
that govern their ability to satisfy given needs. A guide to
quality assurance is given in BS 4891. Quality assurance
terminology is explained in BS 4778. BS 5750 specifies
quality systems applicable to all industries.
3.4Safety.The setting of standards of safety implies the
definition o f w h a t is acceptable as a reasonable level of
risk in the foreseeable use or even misuse of a product,
process or service. The drafting of safety provisions in
British Standards is explained in clause 1 0 o f BS O:
Part 3 : 1981.
4. Principles of standards work
4.1 General. Standardization involves both preparation
and use of standards. Main principles for this are given in
’The aims and principles of standardization’, published by
IS0 and available from BSI. These principles may be
1
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 B S I BSXO:
BS O : Part 1 : 1981
grouped under the following headings:
(a) standards should be wanted (see 4.2);
(b) standards should be used (see 4.3);
(c) standards should be planned (see 4.4);
(d) standards should not be duplicated (see 4.5).
4.2 Standards should b e wanted. The production of
standards relies upon the willingness of all parties
concerned to reach voluntary agreement among
themselves for one or more stated purposes.
4.3 Standards should be used
4.3.1 Application of standards relies upon the voluntary
commitment required in their preparation being extended
to their use. The publication of a standard is of little value
if it is not applied. The intended application of a standard
should be clearly understood a t t h e start and borne in
mind throughout its preparation.
4.3.2 Standards should be written in a simple and clear
way. Verification of compliance with specified
requirements should always be possible within a realistic
time and at a reasonable cost. The implications of this
principle for the drafting of British Standard specifications
are discussed in 8.6 of BS O : Part 3 : 1981.
4.3.3 The legal enforcement of standards is discussed in
clause 9.
4.4 Standards should be planned
4.4.1 The social and/or economic benefits of a standard
should be compared with the total cost of preparing,
publishing and maintaining it. The responsible committees
should consider whether it is likely to be feasible to
prepare the proposed standard in a technically and
commercially acceptable form in time to be of use. In
areas of rapid development, the balance should be struck
between the risk of inhibiting innovation by premature
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standardization and the danger of allowing the spread of
divergent and mutually incompatible solutions to the
same problem. If the latter occurs, the cost of subsequent
standardization is likely to be much greater.
4.4.2 A standard expresses what has been established or
is about to be established. The process of writing
standards is essentially one of selection. A standard can
contain only what the interested parties are prepared to
agree on at the time it is written. Thus decisions are
needed on when and how it is appropriate to standardize
in a rapidly developing industry or to satisfy new
community needs relating to safety or the environment.
4.4.3 Standards should be reviewed at regular intervals
and appropriate action taken. A standard that does not
evolve in keeping with changing circumstances or
technological advance may become irrelevant or inhibit
progress. The review procedure for British Standards is
explainedinclause 14of B S O : Part2: 1981.
4.5 Standards should not be duplicated
4.5.1 Standardization can be pursued at different levels:
by individuals, firms, associations, countries, regions such
as Western Europe, and worldwide. For economy of total
effort, a standard should logically be prepared at the
broadest level consistent with meeting the needs of
interested parties within an acceptable timescale. The
simultaneous preparation, at different levels, of standards
on identical aspects of identical subjects should be
avoided as far as practicable.
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4.5.2 For the same reason, any standards body embarking
on a new project should take account of existing
standards on the same subject, from whatever source.
Even at international level, a de facto standard, suitable for
formal adoption, may already be found to exist. In this
respect the intended result of regional and international
standardization is the 'harmonization' of different
countries' national standards through standards being
adopted that are identical with, or a t least technically
equivalent to, those in other countries. (See clause 18 of
BS O : Part 2 : 1981.)
5. The British Standards Institution
5.1 The national standards body in the United Kingdom is
the British Standards Institution (BSI), an independent
association incorporated by Royal Charter. Its
organization and activities are described in BS O : Part 2,
together with the committee procedures involved in the
preparation of British Standards.
5.2 BSI is the UK Member Body of the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the European
Committee for Standardization (CEN). Its Electrotechnical
Council forms the British Electrotechnical Committee, the
UK National Committee of the parallel electrotechnical
organizations, the International Electrotechnical
Commission (IEC) and the European Committee for
Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC). BSI also
participates on behalf of the UK Member State in
standards work on EURONORMS for the European Coal
and Steel Community (ECSC). A short guide to these and
other international organizations concerned with
standards is included as appendix A.
5.3 UK participation in the work of international standards
organizations, and the nature and presentation of the UK
view, is decided through the BSI committees dealing with
the relevant subject matter, as explained in BS O : Part 2.
6. Range of BSI standards p u b l i c a t i o n s
6.1 British Standards (BS)
6.1.1 Contents OfBritishStandards. British Standards may
be used to promulgate standardization a t any of the
following, normally consecutive, stages:
(a) terminology, symbols;
(b) classification;
(c) methods of measuring, testing, analysing, sampling,
etc.; methods of declaring, specifying, etc.;
(d) specifications for materials or products: dimensions,
performance, safety, etc.; specifications for processes:
practices, systems, etc.;
(e) recommendations on product or process
applications: codes of practice.
6.1.2 Types ofBritish Standards. The drafting of different
types of British Standards is discussed in depth in
section three of BS O : Part 3 : 1981. The best known type
is the British Standard specification, which lays down a
set of requirements to be satisfied by the material, product
or process in question and embraces, often by reference,
the relevant methods by which compliance may be
determined. The title and scope of a specification
themselves reflect standardization of terminology and
classification. Like other British Standard guides or
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 BSI BS*O: P A R T * 1 81 W 3 b 2 4 b b ï O307465 T
recommendations, British Standard codes of practice are
written in the form of guidance only, and are not intended
t o provide objective criteria by which compliance may be
judged. Other types of standard commonly produced are
British Standard glossaries and British Standard methods
of various kinds. These t w o types constitute reference
documents, to be called up where appropriate in other
documents.
6.2 Other standards publications
6.2.1Drafts forDevelopment (DD). Drafts for
Development are a comparatively recent addition to the
range of BSI publications and are equivalent to the
'provisional' or 'tentative' standards issued in some other
countries. They are published when guidance is urgently
needed which, though theoretically sound, has not yet
been subjected to enough practical application t o justify
the publication of a British Standard. Guidance on Drafts
for Development is given in clause 15 of BS O : Part 2 :
1981. They can be converted to British Standards of any
type or withdrawn when sufficient experience has been
fed back to BSI.
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6.2.2 PublishedDocuments (PD). The description
'Published Document' is used for miscellaneous BSI
publications containing supplementary information
relating t o standardization.
6.2.3 Handbooks. Handbooks comprise texts taken from a
number of separate standards publications relating t o a
particular field.
7. Status of British Standards
7.1 Voluntary nature. British Standards are publicly
available documents voluntarily agreed as a result of
processes of public consultation designed t o secure public
acceptance. However, the publication of a standard by
BSI does not, in itself, ensure its use. Its application
depends on the voluntary action of interested parties. It
becomes binding only if a claim of compliance is made, if il
is invoked in a contract or if it is called up in legislation.
7.2 Legal recognition.(See also clause 9.) Support for the
application of British Standards, as agreements produced
and promulgated in the public interest, is given by the
Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976. Agreements to use
British Standards are specifically excluded from the
requirement for registration with the Director General of
Fair Trading.
7.3 Duty of care. A special duty of care is owed by BSI as
the publisher of authoritative national documents offering
definitive information or expert advice. The care exercised
in the production of standards is relied upon by users of
the standard who themselves owe a similar duty to the
public. It remains the responsibility of users to ensure that
a particular standard is appropriateto their needs. Within
their scope, national standards provide evidence of an
agreed 'state of the art' and may be taken into account by
the Courts in determining whether or not someone was
negligent.
7.4Trade descriptions.A British Standard forms part of
the trade description of a product when quoted by number
or when compliance with it is claimed. Whether or not
marking with the British Standard number is specifically
required by a standard, manufacturers and others will
often mark their product with it. Such marking constitutes
a unilateral claim that the product complies with all the
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BS O: Part 1 : 1981
requirements of the British Standard quoted. The person
making the claim is responsible for its accuracy underthe
Trade Descriptions Act 1968.
To support their claims, manufacturers may apply t o have
their products independently certified as complying with
the requirements of British Standard specifications.
Several bodies including BSI, whose certification and
assessment activities are described in more detail
in 6.2 of BS O : Part 2 :1981, offer third party certification
facilities.
7.5 Copyright. Copyright subsists in all BSI publications,
irrespectiveof the origins of the material they contain. No
part of a British Standard may be reproduced in any form
without the prior permission in writing of BSI (see 6.5.4 of
BS O : Part 2 : 19811. This does not preclude the free use,
in applying a standard, of necessary details such as
symbols and size, type or grade designations.
8. Contractual use of standards
8.1 A specification commonly forms part of a contract or
an annex t o it. The existence of relevant British Standards
facilitates the preparation of contract specifications.
Standards or parts of standards invoked in contracts
become legally binding on the contracting parties.
However, no British Standard can purport to include all
the necessary provisions of a contract.
8.2 The usefulness of British Standards for contract
specifications depends on how well their scope covers the
needs of the contracting parties. BS 4778 defines a
number of kinds of specification that British Standards
may include. Drafting of British Standard specifications is
discussed in detail in clause 8 of BS O : Part 3 : 1981.
8.3 Many British Standards contain options and other
matters that need to be clarified by additional contractual
provisions, when invoked in contract specifications.
8.4 Some British Standards are deliberately drafted in
advisory form, ¡.e. codes of practice, guides and
recommendations, and are therefore inappropriate for
simple reference in contracts.
9. Standards and regulations
9.1 Reference to standards. Standards may be referred
to in regulations to avoid inclusion of detailed technical
provisions in the body of the law, and duplication of the
task of writing technical criteria. Reference in this way
does not mean delegation of responsibility. The regulatory
authority is entitled t o cancel a reference at any time and
to replace it either by another reference or by insertion of
the necessary technical provisions into the legislation
itself.
9.2 Status of standards referred to in legislation.
Reference to standards in regulations may have one of
t w o effects.
(a) Standards made mandatory. The standard or part of it
referred to must be followed, or a specific result in a
standard test must be achieved in order to obey the
statutory requirement, ¡.e. the text of the standard
ceases to be voluntary in the context of the legal
requirement.
(b) Standards deemedto satisfy. Here compliance with
the standard is indicated as one way of fulfilling a
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 BS O: Part 1 : 1981
regulatory.requirement. Anyone choosing another route
may be required to prove that his solution complies with
the regulation.
9.3Methods of reference t o standards. There are three
distinct methods of reference to standards.
(a) Reference to standards by exact identification (strict
reference). One or more specific standards is
designated in such a way that later revisions of the
standard or standards will not be applied unless the
regulation is modified. The standard is usually
designated by its number and date.
(b) Reference to standards by undated identification
(undated reference). One or more specific standards is
designated in such a way that later revisions of the
standard or standards will be applied without the
regulation needing to be changed. The standard is
usually designated only by its number. ,
(c) Generalreference to standards. Reference is made in
a general way to present or future standards. This
general way normally means that the relevant
regulation includes a general clause so that all the
present or future standards in a specific field are
regarded as meeting the aim of the regulation.
Reference to standards by exact identification is the
method normally followed in the UK, where regulations
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made under a number of Acts of Parliament invoke
altogether some 300 British Standards, The Department
of Trade booklet 'Guidelines for government
representatives on standards committees' covers this
aspect of standardization and others related to
government policies and responsibilities.
9.4 International implications. Intergovernmental bodies
have endorsed the value of international standards as the
basis of regulations designed to overcome trade barriers.
The implications of the regulatory interest have been
formulated by I S 0 and IEC jointly in a code of principles
on 'reference to standards' reproduced in appendix B.
9.5 Regional implications: Europe. Following acceptance
by the European Communities of the principle of reference
to standards, CEN and CENELEC have undertaken to
provide, using I S 0 and IES standards whenever possible,
the European Standards needed to support the EEC
programme of legislation for tho elimination of technical
barriers to trade under Article 1O0 of the Treaty of Rome
and other Community objectives under the Treaty. Once a
European Standard is called up in an EEC directive,
binding on Governments in all Member States, the terms
of the directive will determine its status. EEC directives
similarly refer to some of the EURONORMS drawn up
under the aegis of the European Coal and Steel
Community.
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 BSI ûS*O: PART*L 81
Appendix A
Short guide to international organizations
concerned with standards
NOTE. The initials and titles given are those used in English
speaking countries. The list is not exhaustive and does not
include the many trading and manufacturing associations that
may be involved in various degrees in international
standardization.
A.l Standards organizations
IS0
International Organization for Standardization. Founded
1947.Comprises national standards bodies of 88
countries (72member bodies and 16 correspondent
members). More than 4300 I S 0 Standards published,
based on approval by 75 % of member bodies. More than
21 O0 technical bodies for the preparation of international
standards (1 60technical committees, 600
subcommittees and some 1350 working groups).
Governed by I S 0 Council.
IS0 Councilcommittees
CERTICO Committee on certification.
COPOLCO Committee on consumer policy.
DEVCO Development Committee. Aimed a t the
needs of developing countries.
EXCO Executive Committee. Includes
. responsibility for finance.
INFCO Committee on information
PUCO Planning Committee.
REMCO Committee on reference materials.
STACO Committee o n standardization principles.
I EC
International Electrotechnical Commission. Founded
1906.The electrotechnical counterpart of ISO. Comprises
national electrotechnical committees of 43 countries.
Standards or reports are approved if notmore than 20 %
of National Committees cast a negative vote.
Approximately 1800 current standards or reports. Over 80
technical committees, over I20 subcommittees.
Governed by IEC Council and its Committee of Action.
IEC special committees
ACET Advisory Committee on Electronics and
Telecommunications.
ACOS Advisory Committee on Safety.
CISPR International Special Committee on Radio
Interference.
ITCG Information Technology Co-ordinating
Group.
I FAN
International Federation for the Application of Standards.
Official standards user bodies recognized by their national
standards organizations.
CEN
European Committee for Standardization. Founded 1961.
Comprises national standards bodies of 16 EEC and EFTA
countries, plus Spain. Prepares European Standards that
* In French, CEE is distinguished as CEE (Arnhem)from CEE (Bruxelles)and CEE (Genève), which are known in English as EEC and
ECE respectively (see A.2).
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L b 2 4 b b î OL09qbî 3
BS O: Part 1 : 1981
are published without variation of text as national
standards in the countries approving them. Each member
has one vote. About 55 active technical committees.
CENCER CEN certification body
CENELEC
European Committee for Electrotechnical
Standardization. Eiectrotechnical counterpart o f CEN.
Founded 1973from union of CENEL and CENELCOM.
Comprises national electrotechnical committees of EEC
and EFTA countries. Prepares European Standards for
identical publication nationally and also Harmonization
Documents as the basis of technically equivalent
standards. Weighted voting system. About 35 technical
committees.
CECC CENELEC Electronic Components
Committee. European system to facilitate
international trade by harmonization of
specification and quality assessment
procedures for electronic components, and
by the granting of an internationally
recognized mark and/or certificate of
conformity. Founded 1970.Comprises
national electrotechnical committees of
1 1 West European countries. About
20 active working groups.
CEE*
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international Commission for Conformity Certification of
Electrical Equipment. Founded 1946.Comprises national
electrotechnical committees of 23 European countries,
with Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Japan,
South Africa and the USA as observer members; 'CB'
certification board for domestic electrical equipment,
operating 'E' mark.
Tripartite Committee for Standardization
Governments and standards bodies of UK, France and
G ermany.
ARS0
African Regional Organization for Standardization.
Founded in January 1977 under the auspices of the UN
Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). Membership
open to the national standards bodies of African countries
who are members of ECA and Organization of African -
Unity.
ASMO
Arab Organization for Standardization and Metrology.
Founded in 1965 to serve as a specialized technical body
for the League of Arab States in the fields of
standardization, metrology and quality control.
C M EA
Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. Founded in 1949
to promote coordination between the USSR and East
European national standards bodies and t o assist the
production of common or harmonized standards.
Membership now includes Cuba, Mongolia and Viet Nam.
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BS O: Part 1 : 1981

COPANT Decides final policy on the basis of proposals from the

Pan American Standards Commission. Founded 1961. Commission. Presidency held for 6 months in turn by
Comprises national standards bodies of USA and 11 Latin each member state. Assisted by a Committee of
American countries. A coordinating organization Permanent Representatives (COREPER)and a general
concerned with the regional implementation of I S 0 and secretariat of 1500 staff.
IEC standards and recommendations. Commission
PASC The Commission of the European Communities
Pacific Area Standards Congress. Founded in 1973 t o help comprises 13 Commissioners responsible for initiating
the Pacific countries participate in international standards and executing community policy adopted by the Council
activities and promote closer cooperation between its of Ministers. Answerable to the European Parliament.
members. Acts as mediator between member governments and
as guardian of the Treaties. 8000 administrative staff
located in Brussels and Luxembourg. The President and
A.2 Intergovernmental organizations Vice-president are appointed from the Commissioners
UN (United Nations) agencies for renewable two-year terms.
CODEX Codex Alimentarius Commission-created European Parliament
to implement the joint FAO-WHO Food 41 O members holding 12 plenary sessions per year,
Standards Programm e. assisted by 12 committees. Has power to remove the
ECA Economic Commission for Africa. Commission by two-thirds majority, supervises the
ECE Economic Commission for Europe. Acts to Commission and the Council, often addressing written
facilitate trade in Europe and notably and oral questions to them, and is called upon to give its
prepares regulations associated with opinion on Commission proposals before the Council
'E' mark certification scheme (now can make its decision. All major decisions involving
operating for motor vehicle equipment) expenditure from the Community budget are required to
ECLA Economic Commission for Latin America. be submitted to the European Parliament for approval.
ESCAP Economic Commission for Asia and the The Parliament's secretariat numbers some 1400
Pacific (formerly ECAFE). officials.
FA0 Food and Agriculture Organization.
GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. ECOSOC
IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency. Economic and Social Committee. 144 members
ILO International Labour Organization. representing employers, trade unions, consumers and
IMCO Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative other interested groups. Expresses opinion on
Organization. Commission proposals.
ITU International Telecommunications Union. The remaining Community institutions are the Court o f
UNCTAD UN Conference on Trade and Development. Justice and the Court ofAuditors.
UNESCO UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization. EFTA
UNIDO UN Industrial Development Organization. European Free Trade Association. Austria, Norway,
WHO World Health Organization. Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Iceland and Finland
WMO World Meteorological Organization. (associate member).
European Communities O ECD
There are three European Communities: Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development. Founded 1961. Comprises West European
EEC European Economic Community. The countries, USA, Canada and Japan.
'Common Market' founded by the Treaty of
Rome, 1957. Extended 1973. Membership: OIML
Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, International Organization for Legal Metrology. Founded
Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, UK, West in 1955 to resolve the technical and administrative
Germany. Adopts standards in directives problems of legal metrology raised by the construction,
for harmonization of national technical use and checking of instruments of measurement and to
regulations. facilitate cooperation between states in this field.
ECSC European Coal and Steel Community 42 member states.
founded by the Paris Treaty, 1951. CGPM
Responsible through coordinating
General Conference of Weights and Measures.
committee (COCOR) for producing
Membership drawn from those 41 nations who are
EURONORMS, European specifications for
signatories to the Metre Convention. The Conference
steel and pig iron.
meets at approximately four-year intervals. Responsible
EURATOM European Atomic Energy Community
for implementing decisions of the CGPM and preparing for
founded by a second Rome Treaty, 1957,
each Conference is the International Committee of
Within the framework of the three Treaties, the Weights and Measures (CIPM).The International Bureau
Communities are managed by six institutions: of Weights and Measures (BIPM), a metrological
Council of Ministers laboratory under the responsibility of the CIPM, can
Ten Ministers of member governments, the actual arrange for the measurement standards of any country to
Minister present depending on the subject in question. be compared with internationally agreed standards.
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 B S I BS*R: PARTS1 B 1
A.3 Other organizations
CEOC
Colloque Européen des Organisations de Contrôle.
Comprises leading independent technical inspection
organizations i n most European countries. Exchanges
information and aims t o harmonize practical standards for
inspection of plant and machinew.
EOQC
European Organization for Quality Control. U K member
body is the industrial division of the Institute of Quality
Assurance ( D A I .
FID
International Federation for Documentation.
IOCU
International Organization of Consumers Unions.
O RGALI M E
Organization for liaison between the European electrical
and mechanical engineering industries, representing
national trade organizations of the EEC/EFTA countries.
UNICE
Union of the Industrial Federations of the EEC countries of
which the Confederation of British Industry is the UK -
member.
Appendix B
ISO/iEC Code of principleson 'reference to
standards'
The following policy statement was issued jointly by IS0
and IEC in January 1974and is available as ISOAEC
Guide 15.
The advantages of the principles of 'reference to
standards' in legislatiori and regulations are by now well-
known among governmental agencies. For example, a
document drawn up by a group of experts of the UN
Economic Commission for Europe in May 1973 makes
clear that if technical requirements are expressed in
standards:
(a) the legislative work is simplified and accelerated;
(b) the elimination of barriers to trade is facilitated;
(c) the results of the work of international standards
organizations can he more easily taken into account;
(d) technical regulations can be changed more easily to
take account of technological advance;
(e) technical requirements are better observed as
technical staff are more accustomed to using standards
in their daily work than laws;
(f) all technical regulations could be arranged within one
unifiedsystematic collection, if the method is applied
consistently;
(9) the implementation of national technical regulations
is better secured and discordances between the
national standards of different countries are avoided if
all interested parties participate in the preparation of the
standards.
The standards-making procedures of I S 0 and IEC and
their members are at the disposal of intergovernmental
organizations and national governmental agencies
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1624669 0109467 7
BS O: Part 1 : 1981
wishing to use the principle of reference to standards.
With a view t o guiding the work of I S 0 and IEC and their
members towards standards which can be referenced in
legislation or regulations, the I S 0 and IEC Councils have
adopted principles 1 to 5 below.
1. IS0 and IEC will give special attention to work
requested by intergovernmental organizations which
plan to recommend enactment of nationai legislation or
regulations making reference to standards. Target dates
for the completion of such work will be established on
request. Similar principles will be observed by members
of IS0 and IEC in relations with national governmental
authorities.
2. The national committees and their delegations
engaged in the relevant standardization work should be
fully representative of the views of all interested parties:
government, public authorities, producers, distributors,
users, etc.
3. With a view to ensuring widespread governmental
acceptance of IS0 or IEC standards for reference in
conjunction with legislation and regulations, IS0 and
IEC technical committees will pay special attention to
preparing international standards which have the
widest possible geographical support.
4. I S 0 and IEC members shall contributeto the
implementation of the relevant international standard,
as soon as and as far as possible, either by
endeavouring to ensure the closest possible conformity
of the respective national standard with the
international standard, or by conferring the appropriate
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status to the latter directly, within their o w n territov. If
deviations from the international standard are
necessary, these should be indicated in the national
standard, at the time of its next revision.
5. If a regional intergovernmental authority should call
upon a regional standards organization for the
preparation of standards t o which national
governments refer in conjunction with regulations, the
I S 0 and LEC members belonging to that regional
organization shall ensure that relevant I S 0 and
IEC standards are taken into account in the
development of a regional standard, preferably,
wherever possible, by direct adoption of the I S 0 or IEC
standard as a regional standard.
Successful application of the principle of 'reference to
standards' requires close collaboration between
government and standards bodies. The I S 0 and IEC
Councils have therefore also drawn up principles 6 to 1O
below, sefting out certain desiderata for such
collaboration. I S 0 and IEC members are requested to
draw these t o the attention of their respective
governmental authorities, inviting acceptance of them.
6. When national authorities or intergovernmental
organizations wishing t o refer t o international standards
in their regulatory work put requests to I S 0 and IEC or
through member bodies for such standards,
understanding should b e sought from the beginning on
the scope of the standardization work requested.
7. I n such cases the interested national authorities or
intergovernmental organizations should consider
agreeing that during a certain period they would abstain
from regulatory action which could hamper the work of
developing the standard.
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 B S I BS*0:
BS O : Part 1 : 1981
8. The interested national authorities should be willing
to offer appropriate assistance in the standardization
work thus undertaken; their experts are invited t o
participate in the work together with the other
delegates and should be willing to envisage any
appropriate modifications of their national legislation or
regulations in the field in question.
9. Wherever international standards exist, national
authorities and intergovernmental organizations should
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P A R T * & B1 S 1 b 2 4 b b 9 0 1 0 9 4 7 0 3 IDS
refer thereto in their regulatoty texts either directly or
through harmonized national standards.
10. National and international standards are revised in
the light of experience and technical progress. When
choosing among the various techniques of reference to
standards it is desirable that governmental authorities
adopt a technique which will take advantage of these
revisions with the least delay.
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 Publications referred to
BS o A standard for standards
Part 2 BSI and its committee procedures
Part 3 Drafting and presentation of British Standards
BS 2 Tramway and dock rails and fishplates
ES 4778 Glossaryof terms used in quality assurance (including reliability and maintainability terms)
BS 4891 A guide to quality assurance
BS 5750 Quality systems
PD 6470 The management of design for economic production
IS0 Guide 2 Generalterms and their definitions concerning standardization and certification
ISO/IEC
Guide 15 ISO/IEC Code of principles on 'reference to standards'
Guidelinesfor government representatives on standards committees (published by the Department of Trade)

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This British Standard was published under the authority of the
Board of BSI and comes into effect on 30 November 1981.
O British Standards institution, 1981
First published February 1974
First revision November 1981
ISBN0680 126609
The following BSI references relate to the work on this standard:
Committee reference OC/- Draft for comment 80/00222 DC
British Standards Institution. Incorporated by Royal Charter, BSI is
the independent national body for the preparation of British
Standards. It is the UK member of the International Organization
for Standardization and UK sponsor of the British National
Committee of the International Electrotechnical Commission.
In addition to the preparation and promulgation of standards, BSI
offers specialist services including the provision of information
through the BSI Library and Standardline Database; Technical Help
to Exporters; and other services. Advice can be obtained from the
Enquiry Section, BSI, Milton Keynes MK14 6LE, telephone
0908 221166, telex 825777.
Copyright. Users of British Standards are reminded that copyright
subsists in all BSI publications. No part of this publication may be
reproduced in any form without the prior permission in writing of
BSI. This does not preclude the free use, in the course of
Amendments issued since publication
Amd. No.
I -1
~ ~
British Standards Institution 2 Park Street London W I A 2BS . Telephone 01-629 9000 . Telex 266933
8809 -2 - 2.5k- B
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implenlenting the standard, of necessary details such as symbols and
size, type or grade designations. Enquiries should b e addressed to
the Publications Manager, BSI, Linford Wood, Milton Keynes
MK14 6LE. The number for telephone enquiries i s 0908 220022
and for telex 825777.
Contract requirements. A British Standard does not purport to
include all the necessary provisions of a contract. Users of British
Standards are responsible for their correct application.
Revision of British Standards. British Standards are revised, when
necessary, by the issue either of amendments or of revised editions.
It is important that users of British Standards should ascertain that
they are in possession of the latest amendments or editions.
Automatic updating service. BSI provides an economic, individual
and automatic standards updating service called PLUS. Details are
available from BSI Enquiry Section at Milton Keynes, telephone
0908 221 166, telex 825777.
Information on all BSI publications i s in the BSl Catalogue,
supplemented each month by BSI News which is available to
subscribing members of BSI and gives details of new publications,
revisions, amendments and withdrawn standards. Any person who,
when making use of a British Standard, encounters an inaccuracy or
ambiguity, is requested to notify BSI without delay in order that
the matter may be investigated and appropriate action taken.
Date of issue Text affected
~~ ~
.
oc/-
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