October 14, the whole world celebrates International Standardization Day. On this holiday congratulate people involved in difficult work: rule-making.
What is standardization?
This is the observance of uniform requirements in all spheres of human activity. Standardization developed and improved along with the development of society. Today it is a process, the result of which is the definition and documenting of universal rational norms and rules.
International relations in various fields require the same approach to reaching agreements. The market must have unambiguous regulatory requirements for the manufacturer and consumer. The separation of production processes between countries producing and consuming goods and services requires the presence of uniform regulatory documents and standards.
Products, terms, methods, designations and so on - these are the objects of standardization today. Standardization and metrology are interconnected, they work to ensure the quality of products, services, works.
Why October 14th?
In 1946, the London standardization conference of the world communities began on this day. 65 delegates from 25 countries attended. A delegation from the USSR was also represented at this event.
The result of her work was the birth of the International Organization for Standardization - ISO. Since 1970, this day has been celebrated as World Standardization Day. The holiday has become a sign of respect for people involved in the development of this type of activity in the world.
The generally recognized fact: standardization significantly affects production, its level and pace of development. It should keep pace with the latest developments and achievements implemented and applied by mankind, normalizing and documenting their parameters.
International Organization for Standardization ISO
When the organization was created, much attention was paid to its name. It was required that the abbreviation be pronounced the same in all languages. We settled on a brief ISO, from the Greek word "equal."
Today, 165 countries are part of ISO. International Standardization Day, first of all, is their holiday.
The standard development procedure has been established; it consists of six stages. It takes 5-6 years to create one document. It is being developed by the technical commissions of the organization and subcommittees. The documents reflect the agreement of participants in ISO countries. It can be introduced into state standards as a basis or used in activities in their original form.
The volume of work can be estimated from the following data: the organization has developed more than 7 thousand international standards, annually publishes about 500 revised or new documents.
The USSR, formerly one of the organizers of ISO, was also constantly included in the governing bodies. Russia took the place of a member of the ISO Council as its successor in 2005.
Along with ISO, there is a previously created International Electrotechnical Commission dealing with issues of electrical engineering, electronics and communications. All other issues are the focus of ISO.
These organizations have developed more than ninety percent of international standards. There are several institutions that are also involved in this work. Standardization Day and their holiday too.
Standardization History
Standardization methods began to be applied for a very long time. In ancient Rome, the selection of pipes of the same diameter when laying a water supply system are elements of this type of activity. In the Renaissance, if it was necessary to build a large number of ships, galleys in Venice were assembled from knots prefabricated in different places. In the XVIII century, 50 locks for guns were made at a French arms factory, which fit them without adjustment.
With the adoption in 1875 of the International Metric Convention and the organization of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures with the participation of 19 states, it was possible to start celebrating Standardization Day on the planet.
In our country, the first application of standardization refers to the reign of Ivan the Terrible. To unify the cores for the cannons, circles of standard sizes were introduced. The development of trade relations with other states and within the country required the streamlining of Russian measures and weights. Work in this direction has been long and difficult. And only the Decree “On the Introduction of an International System of Weights and Measures” adopted in 1918 and the transition from fathoms and pounds to meters and kilograms can be considered standardization day in Russia.