Primer on Engineering Standards

Chapter 11Getting Involved in Standards Development

11.1 Introduction

The many thousands of standards currently in existence require the work of many more thousands of people dedicated to their development and maintenance. While administrative aspects are often taken care of by the SDO, the technical work is typically performed by highly qualified experts in their respective fields, most often funded by their employers who are affected by the standard. There are many reasons to be involved in standards development, and many opportunities for interested parties to contribute significantly to society by doing so.

11.2 Reasons to Get Involved

Interested parties see an opportunity to get involved, although the reasons vary from person to person and organization to organization. Some reasons are discussed here.

11.2.1 Influence the Process and the Product

Many organizations that are influenced by standards want to have a say in what those standards look like, what they cover, and what they require. Companies recognize that standards can be beneficial to them, but also that a poorly written standard, one with incorrect, insufficient, or excessive requirements can be detrimental to them and to their industry. By contributing skills to the production of a standard, a company can ensure that its needs and views are considered in the development process, that the standard is reflective of current state of the art in that field, and that the level of detail and the requirements in ...