1st Edition

Standardization Essentials Principles and Practice

By Steven M. Spivak, F. Cecil Brenner Copyright 1993

    This ready reference surveys the discipline of standards and standardization, defining common terms, clarifying descriptions, describing how standards could be used to restrain trade, and explaining how international trade is stimulated by the due process provisions of standards writing organizations.
    Containing real-world examples provided by experienced standards professionals, Standardization Essentials is a
    vital, forward-looking reference for mechanical, civil, electrical and electronics, materials, chemical, mineral, cost, quality, reliability, industrial, developmental, safety, forensic, and consulting engineers; standards managers; architects; project managers; upper-level undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education students in these disciplines.
    Crystallizes the essential role that standards play in strategic standardization management, purchasing, contractual agreements, and international trade!
    Covering costs, benefits, limitations, uses, and abuses of standardization programs, Standardization Essentials

  • Considers whether standards build or bar trade and the use of international standards to leverage world markets
  • Presents a case study of conformity assessment related to international technical trade barriers
  • Focuses on consumer safety standards for automobile tires and other products
  • Addresses implementation of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 management system standards in industry
  • Highlights voluntary (nongovernmental) and mandatory (governmental) standards and regulations developed by a variety of organizations
  • Reveals competition, incongruities, and harmonization among national and international standards
  • FUNDAMENTALS OF STANDARDIZATION
    Introduction
    Through the Ages with Standards
    Semantics and Terminology
    Purposes and Scope of Standardization
    Genesis of Standards and the Law
    Varieties and Relationships Among Standards
    Procurement Standards

    ELEMENTS OF GLOBAL STANDARDIZATION
    National and International Standardization
    Conformity Assessment: Laboratory Accreditation, Quality System Registration, and Product Certification
    National Versus International Standards: Products and Processes
    Introduction to ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Management System Standards
    ISO 9000 and the Real World
    Strategic Standardization in Heavy Industry
    The U.S. Standardization System: A New Perspective
    The Modern-Day Archimedes: Using International Standards to Leverage World Markets
    Standardization and Technical Trade Barriers: A Case in Europe
    Safety Standards and Product Certification in a Global Market
    Consumer Product Safety in the Global Marketplace

    REMINISCENCES OF EXPERIENCED STANDARDS MAKERS
    Reengineering Standards for the Process Industries: Process Industry Practices
    Laboratory Accreditation Programs in the United States: The Need for Cooperation
    Test Methodology and Standardization Parables
    Performance Testing and Correlation
    Standardization and Quality Assurance in Developing Countries
    International Standards: The Key to Global Competitiveness
    The Informal Versus the Formal Standard Development
    Process: Myth and Reality

    Appendix A: Standards Organizations and Acronyms
    Appendix B: OMB Circular A-119, Revised 1998

    Biography

    Steven M. Spivak, F. Cecil Brenner

    "The contributions come from both the editors and an impressive group of 16 well-respected standards experts. … Overall, and true to the goal of providing an introduction to standards and standardisation, the book covers an extremely wide range of topics. … [A] very good overview of the basics of standardisation."
    - Journal of the Operational Research Society

    "[This book] is clear enough and short enough to be a primer, but complete enough to be a useful reference for experienced professionals in the standards community. … [S]tudents in business management … should use this book as the core of a second-semester freshman course … . … In the last semester of the senior year, there should be another … course with this book as the core reference to illustrate what standards and standardization cannot accomplish. … The practicing loss control professional needs this book to prepare for the 'slings and arrows of outrageous fortune' that the standards writing bodies… are turning out … . … The articles included are of uniformly high quality … . This is a forceful, enlightened, intensive, theoretical and practical guide and follow-up to a vital but neglected discipline."
    - LUCE Information Services

    "The authors [are] both widely respected standards professionals in the US and internationally … . … Do the authors succeed in meeting their stated goal of providing us with a 'primer and review' of the subject matter at hand? The answer is a resounding 'Yes!' And they manage to reach every stated targeted audience mention in their Preface. … Spivak and Brenner have assembled many of the 'notables' in our profession and woven their … contributions into a seamless, easy flowing text."
    - Standards Engineering, May/June 2001


    "…can serve as the foundation to any standards-based course being taught….should be on the shelf of every standards professional."
    - Standards Engineering

    "…comprehensive and scholarly…a benchmark publication … a valued reference guide."
    - Popular Plastics and Packaging

    "…comprehensive and scholarly…a benchmark publication that brings standardization into public visibility."
    -Colourage

    "…would serve as a valued reference guide by seasoned standards practitioners as well as those new to the field."
    -Chemical Business

    "…has the knack of putting technical jargon into plain English ... the topic is timely today."
    -San Juan Star

    "...This book allies theory and practice and brings the discipline to life, not only at a national level, but in a far wider international context. What is unusual about this book, apart from the very broad content, is its tone that makes it easy reading about a technical subject, with anecdotes and historical aside, cartoon, and plenty of examples."
    - ISO Bulletin, 2001