BUSINESS STANDARDS
is the quarterly magazine of BSI Group, highlighting the vital role that standards play in today's business environment. Regular features include interviews with leading business figures, as well as news on the latest developments in management systems and standards.
Viewpoint
Question: Can standards really help minimize the need for regulation?Regulation and legislation keep business on a level playing field and help mitigate against risk, as was acknowledged by The Hampton Review in 2005. The Review argued that the government should help businesses cut down on risk through the right systems and tools, and that regulators need to take these into account during inspection and enforcement - something that is not typically done. One of these tools is standards.
As the Review pointed out, "regulators should use all available good quality data in their risk assessments. This means... considering standards such as those from the British Standards Institution." This reflects the fact that use of standards can help relieve the impact of compliance, the first step in what Prime Minister Gordon Brown has referred to as "the risk-based approach" to modern regulation.
With all of this in mind, how can standards help? First, they are designed to mitigate risk. Second, they are written in collaboration with stakeholders (consumers, industry and regulators), working together to define best practice. Third, they can be audited and verified by a recognized body, such as BSI, and are regularly updated.
As such, standards are doing much of the same work as regulation, without the red tape and form filling, and they play an important role in making markets work more transparently.
Fundamentally, standards complement regulation. For example, ISO 14001 offers guidance on environmental management systems, which will leave businesses well-prepared for any future environmental regulation.
We've been working closely with Defra on this approach and we're hopeful that it is the best way forward. After all, the more businesses that take this on board, the less the need for regulation in the first place. And that's got to be good for everybody.
Marcus Long, head of external affairs, BSI British Standards
"In modern communications and IT, for example, it makes immense sense for standards - principally those driven by the industry itself - to become the de facto mechanism for regulating some of the technologies. Otherwise, you have people driving on roads towards the border and on the other side of the border people have built the road somewhere else. In my view, in areas of technology application, in particular, regulation is very much better done through the industry working together. I think most of the industry will agree on the best way of going about things."
Andrew Miller MP, chairman of the House of Commons Regulatory Reform Committee - from Enabling lighter touch regulation, BSI, 2006
"If there are interested parties who get together - for example, through the British Standards Institution - on how best to regulate industries, they are the experts. Why then regulate on top? Especially as that is often ham-fisted regulation, which doesn't do the job. Why not stick with British Standards, for example? Particularly in the IT industries, where practitioners are very keen on British Standards in terms of interoperability and data security, and apply British Standards pretty rigidly."
Mark O'Conor, partner at law firm DLA Piper Rudnick - from Enabling lighter touch regulation, BSI, 2006
Business Standards © 2007. 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.
Driving change in the bodyshop industry
High Wycombe-based Motofix has become the 100th bodyshop to earn certification to the Thatcham BSI Kitemark, having demonstrated that it conforms to Kitemark standards. These include skills, repair methods, equipment and materials. The bodyshop was assessed by BSI inspectors and met stringent benchmarks in order to achieve Kitemark status.
New web standards: first in class
In a world first, BSI British Standards and UK web compliance expert Magus have launched PAS 124 Defining, implementing and managing website standards, a Publicly Available Specification that aims to improve the effectiveness of corporate websites through a new best practice approach to the application and management of website standards.
BSI British Standards and the independent authority Public Concern at Work have launched PAS 1998:2008, new guidance for organizations on whistleblowing arrangements. The launch marked the tenth anniversary of the Public Interest Disclosure Act (2 July 2008), itself recognized as an international benchmark on the subject.
Fast glass: Kitemark® for Norvik
Barnsley based Norvik PVCu Window Systems Ltd has achieved Kitemark certification to BS EN 1279 for its new range of double-glazed sealed units in record time, following assessment from BSI Product Services.
Elaine Westwood, founder and CEO of The Glassworks - one of the largest glass processors in the Midlands area - was named The Midlands Business person of The Year' 2008 at the inaugural Midlands Business Awards.
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.
Have a standards-related question for BSI or a comment on the website? We'll find the right person to answer.
