World Standards Day - 14 October.

World Standards Day on October 14th pays tribute to the experts around the world who develop our International Standards.

International standards provide a way to get work done more efficiently. These standards also remove technical barriers to trade and improve supply chains. Compliance with these standards helps consumers, too. They know products are safe and good for the environment. Some of the industries and organizations using international standards include:

• Communication
• Manufacturing
• Measurement
• Science
• Symbols
• Time

Examples of items requiring standardization for communication include Braille and the International Code of Signals. The manufacturing industry standardizes products like paper sizes. Tracking time is an excellent example of standardization. We see it in the calendar, time zones, and clocks.

The onset of the Industrial Revolution prompted the necessity and implementation of standards. One early innovation requiring standardization involved the screw-cutting lathe. The invention revolutionized the industry. It also prompted one of the first standardizations – screw thread sizes. The harnessing of electricity made standardization quite complicated. Countries around the world developed their own standards for voltage, currency, and frequency. Lack of efficiency prompted the international standard for electrical engineering.

From there, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) organized, the first of its kind. Twenty years later, the International Federation of the National Standardizing Associations (ISA) was founded. In October 1946, the ISA and the United Nations Standards Coordinating Committee (UNSCC) created the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The UNSCC was represented by 25 delegates from different countries.

Each year the International Standards Commission, International Organization for Standardization, and the International Telecommunication Union promote World Standards Day. The first observance took place on October 14th, 1970. Each year since 1998 the organizations select a theme for the day.

World Standards Day 2022: Theme

Every year, the World Standards Event has a theme around which events and knowledge materials are created. The theme for World Standards Day 2022 is ‘Shared Vision for a Better World’. The theme is part of the IEC, ISO and ITU multi-year campaign to increase understanding about how standardisation is important to achieve the United Nations’ sustainable development goals.

Source: www.worldstandardsday.org

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