What are standards and standardization systems

Standards are closely related to our production and life.  Standardization system is a scientific organic whole formed by standards within a certain range according to their internal connections. It specifies the quality policy, objectives, responsibilities and procedures, and carries out process management, quality planning, quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement through the establishment of relevant systems.

By the end of 2018, there were 36,949 Chinese national standards and 1,439 national standard samples. Among them, there are 2,111 mandatory standards, 34,464 recommended standards, and 374 guiding technical documents. There are 67 categories of industry standards in China. Total of 61,854 industry standards have been filed. A total of 37,066 local standards have been filed in China. As of the end of June 2019, there were 8,818 group standards in China, and a total of 2,470 social groups that set standards; enterprises self-declared about 1.07 million standards through a unified platform.

1.Definition and characteristics of the standard

Standard is a normative document formulated by consensus and approved by recognized institutions for common use and reuse in order to obtain the best order within a certain range. This is the definition of the standard jointly given by the three international standards organizations of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). From this definition, the standard has the following four characteristics.

Authority: Standards must be approved and published by authoritative organizations, with technical authority in related fields and recognized by the society. Recommended national standards shall be formulated by the administrative department of standardization under the State Council; industry standards shall be formulated by relevant administrative departments of the State Council and reported to the administrative department of standardization under the State Council for the record; local standards shall be formulated by the administrative departments of standardization of the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government. Once a mandatory national standard is issued, it must be enforced.

Democracy: The development of standards should be fully negotiated by stakeholders, and the opinions of all parties should be heard. For example, the mandatory national standard "Technical Specifications for Electric Bicycle Safety" issued in May 2018 was organized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the former State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (National Standards Committee) and other departments to organize electric bicycles. Experts from relevant scientific research institutions, testing institutions, production enterprises, colleges and universities, industry organizations, consumer organizations, etc. set up a working group to negotiate and revise together, and widely solicit opinions from the public.

Practicality: The formulation and revision of standards is to solve real or potential problems, obtain the best order within a certain range, and achieve maximum benefits.

Scientific: Standards come from the practical activities of human society, the basis of which is the achievements of scientific research and technological progress, and the summary of practical experience. In the process of standard formulation, the key indicators should be fully experimentally verified. The technical content of the standard represents the advanced scientific and technological innovation achievements, and the implementation of the standard is also an important process of the industrialization of scientific and technological achievements.

Two forms of standards, one is a text standard, the other is a physical standard, a standard sample. The text standard is an official publication and is copyrighted. A standard sample is a material or substance with one or more favorable property values, mainly used for calibrating instruments, evaluating measurement methods and assigning values ​​to materials.

2.The role of standardization

Standardization is the process of formulating standards, implementing them and supervising and managing them. As the application of standards is very extensive, the role of standardization is also reflected in all aspects.

First, standardization plays a bottom-line role in ensuring health, safety, and environmental protection. The purpose of the state formulating mandatory standards is to protect personal health, safety of life and property, national security, and ecological environment security. Whether the mandatory standards are well formulated or not implemented properly is related to the vital interests of the people.

Second, standardization plays a regulatory role in promoting economic transformation and upgrading, improving quality and efficiency, etc. The essence of the standard is the technical specification, which has strong influence and binding force within the corresponding scope. For many products and industries, the improvement of a key indicator will drive the technological transformation and quality upgrade of enterprises and industries.

Third, standardization plays a leading role in promoting the transformation of scientific and technological achievements and cultivating and developing a new economy. In the past, there were generally products first, then standards, and standards were used to regulate the development of the industry. And now there is a new trend, that is, standards are synchronized with technology and products, and even there are standards before corresponding products. The "multiplier effect" produced by the combination of innovation and standards can better promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements into industry, form a strong growth momentum, and truly play the role of innovation-driven.

Fourth, standardization plays a supporting role in promoting social governance and public services. Standards are an important method for scientific management, and an important tool for streamlining administration, eliminating harshness, and implementing fair policies. In the comprehensive management of social security, the construction of beautiful villages, and the improvement of basic public services in rural areas, the status of standardization is increasingly important

Fifth, in promoting international trade, technical exchanges, etc., standardization has the role of a passport. Products entering the international market must first comply with international or other national standards, and standards are also the basis for trade arbitration. Research by international authoritative institutions shows that standards and conformity assessment affect 80% of international trade.