is the online magazine of BSI Group, highlighting the vital role that standards play in today's business environment - delivering ROI, saving costs, improving quality and mitigating risk. Features include interviews with leading business figures, as well as news on the latest developments in management systems, standards, testing, healthcare and certification.
Viewpoint
Question: what is the value of a "non-standard" standard, such as a PAS?The PAS, or Publicly Available Specification, forms part of our spectrum of standards information ranging from full international consensus to bespoke individual company advice. Market demands in recent years are for sector-relevant, speedy but accurate statements of good practice and the PAS is our tool for meeting this need, producing guidance on some of the most pertinent subjects of the day.
Consider recent examples: PAS 11000 covers collaborative business relationships; PAS 78 deals with web accessibility; PAS 83 offers guidance on cell-based therapeutics - these are topical, practical guidelines responding to the specific demands of industry and its customers.
And when you come up with a timely solution to a demand, it can drive the agenda. Once in the market place we have the ability to go forward to a formal consensus standard as experience in its use develops and the scope broadens, as is the case with the recently launched BS 25999 business continuity management standard which began as PAS 56 Guide to business continuity management. Or it stands as a definitive statement of good practice as with PAS 71 Vocabulary - Nanoparticles which developed and encourages the use of a common language for nanotechnologies. Either way it represents a catalyst for business change and that's invaluable.
Mike Low, Director, British Standards
"'Non-standard' standards, such as a PAS, answer an industrial need in a timely fashion. Engagement with the key stakeholders is essential, to obtain the necessary user-community confidence, and as such, any non-standard standard must be developed in a rigorous and repeatable fashion. It must distil the quagmire of existing standards, legislation and best practice into a single, coherent and concise model that can be used effectively by the people who need it - the industry. A standard with rigour and stakeholder engagement means confidence and user buy-in. A standard without such will always be just another 'nice idea'."
Dr Jon Holt, PhD, BEng, CEng, FIEE, FBCS Managing director, Brass Bullet Ltd
"When you're looking at something significant - from the safety of hang gliders to IT service continuity management - giving organizations the ability to benchmark what they do against agreed best practice is essential. Having an informal standard where there is no applicable standard at all is the first step along the road to formal international standards, and a PAS allows BSI to produce a view of best practice much faster than they could if they were producing a formal standard."
Oscar O'Connor, Lead author, PAS 77 IT Continuity Management Programme director, Adam Continuity
For more information, visit:
www.bsi-global.com/feb07pas
Business Standards © 2010. Editorial produced by Caspian Publishing in association with The British Standards Institution. Editorial opinions expressed on are not necessarily those of BSI Group or Caspian Publishing. Neither Caspian Publishing nor BSI Group accept responsibility for advertising or editorial content, nor for that appearing on linked third-party websites. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden without written permission from BSI Group or Caspian Publishing.
How do you put a price on a brand? An international standard in the making will provide a consistent, reliable approach to brand valuation.
BSI is planning an informal free lunchtime roundtable in central London on 10 December 2009 to explore how small businesses and their trade bodies can work more effectively with standards. Places are limited so to register your interest or request more information, please email bsi.survey@bsigroup.com or call +44 (0)20 8996 7750.
A clear case for carbon neutrality
"Carbon neutral" sounds good on paper, but what does it really mean? Organizations are making claims about carbon neutrality for everything from products to travel, events, projects and buildings. The problem is that no one quite agrees what "carbon neutral" means or how far it extends.
While there was a time when companies would never consider working alongside the competition, today's marketplace demands a more flexible approach. Collaboration is fast becoming par for the course. For example, large government contracts often require expertise that goes far beyond any one company's capacity to deliver. Forming a consortium brings together the right experience in the right place, and it can mean the difference between winning or losing a tender.
Until now, there has been no strict guidance in the UK relating to how audiovisual (AV) installations are carried out. This includes everything from computers and projectors to interactive whiteboards, plasma screens and loud speakers. For AV installation companies, processes can vary significantly.
Question: Does business really need an integrated management systems standard?
Integrate or disintegrate - which would you choose? Some ten years ago the environmental standard, ISO 14001, was born and there are now over 100,000 organizations registered to it worldwide.
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