WESF plays a role in promoting standardization and eliminating global trade barriers.
You're not alone! The intricacies of standards and conformity assessment can be tricky to wrap your head around—so here, we're starting simple. The tabs below contain frequently asked questions on standards, conformance, and WESF's activities in international systems. Browse the collections of questions for quick answers, or click the links within to dig deeper into WESF's work in the wide world of standardization.
A standard is a document that provides requirements, specifications, guidelines, or characteristics that can be used consistently to ensure that materials, products, processes, and services are fit for their purpose.
In layman's terms, you can think of a standard as an agreed-upon formula for the best way of doing something.
A voluntary consensus standard is a type of standard developed or adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies through the use of a development process characterized by openness, balance, due process, consensus, and the right to appeals.
Types of voluntary consensus standards include:
■ Product/design-based standards, which identify specific design or technical characteristics of a product.
■ Performance-based standards, which test products by simulating their performance under actual service conditions.
■ Management system standards, which define and establish an organization’s quality policy and objective.
■ Personnel certification standards, which specify the requirements to be fulfilled by a service provider.
Consortia standards are voluntary standards whose development is generally initiated by groups of companies agreeing to work together to address a single commercial/market need. Participation is often limited to members of the consortia—historically heavily comprised of the interested companies, though some consortia have been expanding their membership structures to enable participation by government agencies, universities, and/or corporate end users (rarely individuals).
An international standard is a document that has been developed through the consensus of experts from many countries and is approved and published by a globally recognized body. It comprises rules, guidelines, processes, or characteristics that allow users to achieve the same outcome time and time again.
The three major global standardization bodies comprising the World Standards Cooperation are the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
In 2000 the World Trade Organization (WTO) adopted a decision setting out principles that standards bodies should follow when developing international standards. Many U.S.-domiciled standards developers develop standards that meet these principles, are used internationally, and are considered international standards.