Why are Standards Important? And How are They Beneficial for a Business?

This ultra-modern world, after the wonders of globalization, can’t avoid standards in everything. As everything is industrially mass-produced, these standards ensure that we’re getting products that are safe to consume and made without harming the environment and manpower.

Standards are based upon the cooperation of trades, maintaining health and safety protocols, and helping flourish economic expansion without exploitation of any kind.

Standards help facilitate and regulate every industry and commerce for better service and product development. They provide guidance but don’t take away the creative freedom. Their legitimacy lies in completely voluntary and consensual development and adaptation. They provide utility to manufacturers and a sense of reliability to the end consumers.

First developed by Eli Whitney in 1973 for the cotton gin, standards have long been part of businesses. It was first noticed in a broad range in the railway industry when standards came into place for width between two rails, couplings, air brakes, and signals. 

In the 20th century, standards became more prominent. Organizations like BSI (British Standards Institution), ANSI (American National Standards Institute), and finally ISO (International Organization for Standardization) have tightened up the regulations on every kind of industry. 

ISO, established in 1947, has been a trailblazer in enforcing efficient standards. Their standards have been accepted and applied worldwide in various spheres, such as ISO 9001 for quality management, ISO 14001 for environmental systems, ISO 31000 for risk management, and ISO 26000 for social responsibility.

Standards are hugely important because they encourage companies to focus on the quality of products or services and the processes they follow. In addition, they offer a framework for better examinations, reviews, and, consequently, improvement. Businesses can even do this internally, but if they achieve confirmation from a properly-recognized certification institution, that can be a way to show off and attract more customers.

But standards also provide many other benefits. Such as- 

• Better productivity and performance

  Properly implemented standards enhance the efficiency of businesses, as they help to streamline processes. They also deduct the cost companies waste on the ‘trial and error process and save time.

Standardization makes mass production easier by eliminating endless possible combinations, and varieties businesses would have to try. But when you follow a standard, all of that becomes as simple as following the same instructions repeatedly.

Naturally, the performance and the outcomes also come with a set standard, which frees up other resources to employ creativity better. 

In many cases, following a standard also reduces costs related to regulatory compliance and even non-compliance. In that regard, you can hire companies like SAI Global that will help you comply with all the needed standards, saving you millions in the future.

And finally, they assure buyers of the highest possible performance, which in turn gives them confidence about the products or services and creates loyalty in the long run.

• Firing up innovation

   

As standards are based upon common terminologies and practices, any new information gradually gets incorporated into commercial frameworks, providing natural acceleration to innovation.

They encourage creative heads to keep pushing by with a set of knowledge that the experts and the authorities approve. This forges the foundation upon which future generations would try on their innovations. 

They create experienced communities and initiate a healthy exchange of knowledge that catalyzes collaboration inside industries, and new technologies come up better and much quicker.

They provide continuous unbroken improvement for a company at least, and at its best, for the whole industry. Organizations can utilize all their potential by using standards in their processes. 

• Seamless international appeal

Standards enable companies to present their products or services to a specific country or region, ensuring that they’ve made the product that appeals to the audience. 

And they don’t need to learn about the market or do surveys for this knowledge. Instead, they can comply with the standard and easily pass through every scrutiny. That makes it much easier for new companies to find attention in a new market.

Standards instill confidence in customers that the products are safe and fully usable, giving out wider acceptance. With this kind of transparency, buyers are assured of their loyalty. 

This reduces the costs of international trade and the overall need to test the products vehemently and repeatedly.

CONCLUSION

Standards are absolutely necessary in our modern world to maintain customers’ safety, innovate better products, and keep fraudulent activities and companies at bay.

It also works as a rating system like no other. As a result, customers know about the quality of a product or service, which gives some companies an advantage. 

So, all in all, standards are not only necessary, but they’re hugely beneficial too.