Less waste, better results - Standards increase efficiency - 43rd World Standards Day - 14 October, 2012.
2012-10-14 – World Standards Day is celebrated each year on 14 October to pay tribute to the efforts of thousands of experts worldwide who collaborate within IEC, ISO and ITU to develop voluntary International Standards that facilitate trade, spread knowledge and disseminate technological advances.
The theme of World Standards Day 2012 is, "Less
waste, better results – Standards increase efficiency".
The World Standards Day message is signed by the
leaders of the three principal international standardization organizations: Dr.
Klaus Wucherer, President of the International Electrotechnical Commission
(IEC), Dr. Boris Aleshin, President of the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO), and Dr. Hamadoun Touré, Secretary-General of the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The three organizations are the
partners making up the World Standards Cooperation (WSC).
"International standards such as those from
IEC, ISO and ITU are crucial for increasing efficiency," the three
partners underline. "This issue has come to the forefront as global
challenges like sustainability and financial uncertainty mean that
organizations are challenged to achieve better results with less waste."
They define efficiency as the ability to achieve
objectives by implementing processes to develop products or services of optimal
quality with minimal waste, expense, or unnecessary effort. Efficiency helps
organizations maximize profits and meet their goals, and is crucial for success
in today’s challenging and competitive economic environment.
In today’s highly competitive and complex world,
the issue of sustainability, viewed from an economic, environmental and
societal perspective, means that businesses must be more efficient across a
wide range of measures and issues.
The heads of IEC, ISO and ITU emphasize on: "International
standards are powerful tools for helping organizations capitalize their
potential in the global marketplace. Developed by experts from around the
world, they contain internationally harmonized best practice which can be used
to measure, compare and increase efficiency and reduce waste.
For example, by providing common specifications,
international standards enable products, services and technology from different
vendors to fit together like pieces in a puzzle. They support interoperability
and compatibility, providing a solid base for developing innovations and
facilitating market access to new products. They ensure that countries,
organizations, regulators and researchers, do not have to reinvent the wheel,
and can invest in other priorities."
The World Standards Day 2012 message points out
that the state-of-the-art know-how contained in international standards is
accessible to all, including developing countries, helping them make the best
use of their human and material resources. More efficient industrial and
business processes, facilitated by standards, empower companies to compete
globally, and produce faster for more markets at a lesser cost.
In this way, standards help organizations meet
their customers' needs while focusing and optimizing company processes.
Regulators can use international standards as a means to show compliance and as
a basis for market- and consumer-friendly regulations. And consumers can rest
assured that international standards promote efficiency on issues that matter
to them, like product labelling or safety.
The leaders of IEC, ISO and ITU conclude: "The
bottom line? International standards from IEC, ISO and ITU not only make good
business sense, but greater efficiency helps society to make better use of its
resources, contributing to a more sustainable world."
Source: www.iso.org
14 Öctober, 2012.