Editing Standardization (section)

==History==
===Early examples===
Standard weights and measures were developed by the [[Indus Valley civilization]].<ref name=Iwata2254>Iwata, Shigeo (2008), "Weights and Measures in the Indus Valley", ''Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures (2nd edition)'' edited by [[Helaine Selin]], pp.&nbsp;2254&ndash;2255, Springer, {{ISBN|978-1-4020-4559-2}}.</ref> The centralized weight and measure system served the commercial interest of Indus merchants as smaller weight measures were used to measure luxury goods while larger weights were employed for buying bulkier items, such as food grains etc.<ref name=Kenoyer265/> Weights existed in multiples of a standard weight and in categories.<ref name=Kenoyer265>Kenoyer, Jonathan Mark (2006), "Indus Valley Civilization", ''[[Encyclopedia of India]] (vol. 2)'' edited by Stanley Wolpert, pp.&nbsp;258&ndash;266, Thomson Gale, {{ISBN|0-684-31351-0}}</ref>  [[Technical standard]]isation enabled gauging devices to be effectively used in [[angular measurement]] and measurement for construction.<ref name=Baber_b>Baber, Zaheer (1996), The Science of Empire: Scientific Knowledge, Civilization, and Colonial Rule in India, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|0-7914-2919-9}}.</ref> Uniform units of length were used in the planning of towns such as [[Lothal]], [[Surkotada]], [[Kalibangan]], [[Dholavira|Dolavira]], [[Harappa]], and [[Mohenjo-daro]].<ref name=Iwata2254/> The weights and measures of the Indus civilization also reached [[Persia]] and [[Central Asia]], where they were further modified.<ref name=Iwata2254_quote>In the third millennium BCE the Indus measuring system was further developed in the ancient regions of Iran and Afghanistan -- Iwata, 2254.</ref> Shigeo Iwata describes the excavated weights unearthed from the Indus civilization:

{{Quotation|1=A total of 558 weights were excavated from Mohenjodaro, Harappa, and [[Chanhudaro|Chanhu-daro]], not including defective weights. They did not find statistically significant differences between weights that were excavated from five different layers, each measuring about 1.5&nbsp;m in depth. This was evidence that strong control existed for at least a 500-year period. The 13.7-g weight seems to be one of the units used in the Indus valley. The notation was based on the [[Binary numeral system|binary]] and [[decimal]] systems. 83% of the weights which were excavated from the above three cities were cubic, and 68% were made of [[chert]].<ref name=Iwata2254/>}}

===18th century attempts===
[[File:Maudslay screw-cutting lathes of circa 1797 and 1800.png|thumb|[[Henry Maudslay]]'s famous early screw-cutting lathes of {{Circa|1797}} and 1800]]

The implementation of standards in industry and commerce became highly important with the onset of the [[Industrial Revolution]] and the need for high-precision [[machine tool]]s and [[interchangeable parts]].

[[Henry Maudslay]] developed the first industrially practical [[screw-cutting lathe]] in 1800. This allowed for the standardization of [[screw thread]] sizes for the first time and paved the way for the practical application of [[Interchangeable parts|interchangeability]] (an idea that was already taking hold) to [[Nut (hardware)|nuts]] and [[Screw|bolts]].<ref name="Ping">{{citation|url=http://www.eastwestcenter.org/fileadmin/stored/pdfs/econwp117.pdf|title=A Brief History of Standards and Standardization Organizations: A Chinese Perspective|author=Wang Ping|publisher=EAST-WEST CENTER WORKING PAPERS|date=April 2011|access-date=2014-01-13|archive-date=2019-06-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190612142253/https://www.eastwestcenter.org/fileadmin/stored/pdfs/econwp117.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Before this, screw threads were usually made by chipping and filing (that is, with skilled freehand use of [[chisel]]s and [[file (tool)|files]]). [[Nut (hardware)|Nuts]] were rare; metal screws, when made at all, were usually for use in wood. Metal bolts passing through wood framing to a metal fastening on the other side were usually fastened in non-threaded ways (such as clinching or upsetting against a washer). Maudslay standardized the screw threads used in his workshop and produced sets of [[Tap and die|taps and dies]] that would make nuts and bolts consistently to those standards, so that any bolt of the appropriate size would fit any nut of the same size. This was a major advance in workshop technology.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rolt|first=L. T. C.|title=Great Engineers|year=1962|publisher=Bell and Sons}}</ref>

===National standard===
Maudslay's work, as well as the contributions of other engineers, accomplished a modest amount of industry standardization; some companies' in-house standards spread a bit within their industries.

[[File:JFIScrewThread300.png|thumb|left|Graphic representation of formulae for the pitches of threads of screw bolts]]
[[Joseph Whitworth]]'s screw thread measurements were adopted as the first (unofficial) national standard by companies around the country in 1841. It came to be known as the [[British Standard Whitworth]], and was widely adopted in other countries.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gilbert|first1=K. R.|last2=Galloway|first2=D. F.|year=1978|chapter=Machine Tools|editor-first1=C.|editor-last1=Singer|title=A history of technology|place=Oxford|publisher=Clarendon Press|display-editors=etal}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Lee|editor-first=Sidney|year=1900|title=Dictionary of National Biography|volume=LXI|publisher=Smith Elder|place=London|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=tzsJAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA166}}</ref>

This new standard specified a 55° thread angle and a thread depth of 0.640327''p'' and a radius of 0.137329''p'', where ''p'' is the pitch. The thread pitch increased with diameter in steps specified on a chart. An example of the use of the Whitworth thread is the [[Royal Navy]]'s [[Crimean War]] gunboats. These were the first instance of "mass-production"  techniques being applied to marine engineering.<ref name="Ping" />

With the adoption of BSW by British [[railway]] lines, many of which had previously used their own standard both for threads and for bolt head and nut profiles, and improving manufacturing techniques, it came to dominate British manufacturing.

[[Unified Thread Standard|American Unified Coarse]] was originally based on almost the same imperial fractions. The Unified thread angle is 60° and has flattened crests (Whitworth crests are rounded). Thread pitch is the same in both systems except that the thread pitch for the {{frac|1|2}}&nbsp;in. (inch) bolt is 12 threads per inch (tpi) in BSW versus 13 tpi in the UNC.

===National standards body===
By the end of the 19th century, differences in standards between companies were making trade increasingly difficult and strained. For instance, an iron and steel dealer recorded his displeasure in ''[[The Times]]'': "Architects and engineers generally specify such unnecessarily diverse types of sectional material or given work that anything like economical and continuous manufacture becomes impossible. In this country no two professional men are agreed upon the size and weight of a girder to employ for given work."

The [[BSI Group|Engineering Standards Committee]] was established in London in 1901 as the world's first national standards body.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bsigroup.com/upload/Corporate%20Marketing/Financial%20Performance/BSI_Group_Annual_Report_and_Financial_Statements_2010.pdf|title=BSI Group Annual Report and Financial Statements 2010|page=2|access-date=3 April 2012|archive-date=26 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926174910/http://www.bsigroup.com/upload/Corporate%20Marketing/Financial%20Performance/BSI_Group_Annual_Report_and_Financial_Statements_2010.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Robert C McWilliam 2001">{{cite book|first=Robert C.|last=McWilliam.|title=BSI: The first hundred years|year=2001|publisher=Thanet|place=London|isbn=978-0727730206|url=http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/content/book/102072|access-date=2014-01-23|archive-date=2014-02-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201220104/http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/content/book/102072|url-status=live}}</ref> It subsequently extended its standardization work and became the British Engineering Standards Association in 1918, adopting the name British Standards Institution in 1931 after receiving its Royal Charter in 1929. The national standards were adopted universally throughout the country, and enabled the markets to act more rationally and efficiently, with an increased level of cooperation.

After the [[First World War]], similar national bodies were established in other countries. The {{Lang|de|[[Deutsches Institut für Normung]]|italic=no}} was set up in Germany in 1917, followed by its counterparts, the American [[American National Standards Institute|National Standard Institute]] and the French  [[AFNOR|Commission Permanente de Standardisation]], both in 1918.<ref name="Ping" />

=== Regional standards organization ===
At a regional level (e.g. Europa, the Americas, Africa, etc) or at subregional level (e.g. Mercosur, Andean Community, South East Asia, South East Africa, etc), several Regional Standardization Organizations exist (see also [[Standards organization|Standards Organization]]).

The three regional standards organizations in Europe – European Standardization Organizations (ESOs), recognised by the EU Regulation on Standardization (Regulation (EU) 1025/2012)<ref>{{CELEX|32012R1025|text=Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on European standardisation}}</ref> – are [[European Committee for Standardization|CEN]], [[European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization|CENELEC]] and [[European Telecommunications Standards Institute|ETSI]]. CEN develops standards for numerous kinds of products, materials, services and processes. Some sectors covered by CEN include transport equipment and services, chemicals, construction, consumer products, defence and security, energy, food and feed, health and safety, healthcare, digital sector, machinery or services.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Verdera|first=Francisco|date=2020|title=CEN - European Committee for Standardization|url=https://genorma.com/en/cen_p10021.html|url-status=live|website=GENORMA.COM|access-date=2022-01-01|archive-date=2021-11-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126233204/https://genorma.com/en/cen_p10021.html}}</ref> The European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) is the European Standardization organization developing standards in the electrotechnical area and corresponding to the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in Europe.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Verdera|first=Francisco|date=2020|title=CENELEC|url=https://genorma.com/en/cenelec_p10022.html|url-status=live|website=CENELEC in Genorma|access-date=2022-01-01|archive-date=2022-01-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101151601/https://genorma.com/en/cenelec_p10022.html}}</ref>

===International standards===
{{Main|International standard}}
The first modern [[International Organization]] ([[Intergovernmental Organization]]) the International Telegraph Union (now [[International Telecommunication Union]]) was created in 1865<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.itu.int/en/history/Pages/ITUsHistory.aspx|title=Overview of ITU's History|website=www.itu.int|access-date=2019-06-19|archive-date=2019-05-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531172343/https://www.itu.int/en/history/Pages/ITUsHistory.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> to set international standards in order to connect national telegraph networks, as a merger of two predecessor organizations (Bern and Paris treaties) that had similar objectives, but in more limited territories.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.itu.int/en/history/Pages/pre1865agreements.aspx|title=Pre-1865 International Telegraph Agreements|website=www.itu.int|access-date=2019-06-19|archive-date=2019-12-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225081711/https://www.itu.int/en/history/Pages/pre1865agreements.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.itu.int/en/history/Pages/FocusOnStandardization.aspx|title=Focus on Standardization|website=www.itu.int|access-date=2019-06-19|archive-date=2020-01-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101110204/https://www.itu.int/en/history/Pages/FocusOnStandardization.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> With the advent of radiocommunication soon after the creation, the work of the ITU quickly expanded from the standardization of Telegraph communications, to developing standards for telecommunications in general.

===International Standards Associations===
By the mid to late 19th century, efforts were being made to standardize electrical measurement. [[William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin|Lord Kelvin]] was an important figure in this process, introducing accurate methods and apparatus for measuring electricity. In 1857, he introduced a series of effective instruments, including the quadrant electrometer, which cover the entire field of electrostatic measurement. He invented the [[current balance]], also known as the ''Kelvin balance'' or ''Ampere balance'' (''SiC''), for the [[accuracy and precision|precise]] specification of the [[ampere]], the [[standardisation|standard]] [[Units of measurement|unit]] of [[electric current]].<ref>{{cite book|first=David|last=Lindley|title=Degrees Kelvin: A Tale of Genius, Invention, and Tragedy|page=293|isbn=978-0309096188|publisher=National Academic Press|year=2005}}</ref>

[[R. E. B. Crompton]] became concerned by the large range of different standards and systems used by electrical engineering companies and scientists in the early 20th century. Many companies had entered the market in the 1890s and all chose their own settings for [[volt]]age, [[frequency]], [[Electric current|current]] and even the symbols used on circuit diagrams. Adjacent buildings would have totally incompatible electrical systems simply because they had been fitted out by different companies. Crompton could see the lack of efficiency in this system and began to consider proposals for an international standard for electric engineering.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iec.ch/about/history/articles/colonel_crompton.htm |title=Colonel Crompton |publisher=[[International Electrotechnical Commission]] |work=www.iec.ch |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100903145102/http://www.iec.ch/about/history/articles/colonel_crompton.htm |archive-date=September 3, 2010 }}</ref>

In 1904, Crompton represented Britain at the [[International Electrical Congress]], held in connection with [[Louisiana Purchase Exposition]] in [[St. Louis, Missouri|Saint Louis]] as part of a delegation by the [[Institute of Electrical Engineers]]. He presented a paper on standardisation, which was so well received that he was asked to look into the formation of a commission to oversee the process.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Johnson|first1=J.|last2=Randell|first2=W.|year=1948|title=Colonel Crompton and the Evolution of the Electrical Industry|publisher=Longman Green}}</ref> By 1906 his work was complete and he drew up a permanent constitution for the [[International Electrotechnical Commission]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Electrochemical Power Sources|first1=Chris K.|last1=Dyer|first2=Patrick T.|last2=Moseley|first3=Zempachi|last3=Ogumi|first4= David A. J.|last4=Rand|first5=Bruno|last5=Scrosati|publisher=Newnes|year=2010|page=540|isbn=9780444527455}}</ref> The body held its first meeting that year in London, with representatives from 14 countries. In honour of his contribution to electrical standardisation, Lord Kelvin was elected as the body's first President.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.iec.ch/about/history/documents/pdf/IEC_Founding_Meeting_Report_1906.pdf | title=Report of Preliminary Meeting | year=1906 | place=London | pages=46–47 (25–26 in PDF) | work=The minutes from our first meeting | publisher=[[International Electrotechnical Commission]] | access-date=23 January 2014 | archive-date=2 May 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502223234/https://www.iec.ch/about/history/documents/pdf/IEC_Founding_Meeting_Report_1906.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Memory plaque of founding ISA in Prague cropped.jpg|thumb|Memorial plaque of founding ISA in [[Prague]]]]
The [[ISO|International Federation of the National Standardizing Associations]] (ISA) was founded in 1926 with a broader remit to enhance international cooperation for all technical standards and specifications. The body was suspended in 1942 during [[World War&nbsp;II]].

After the war, ISA was approached by the recently formed United Nations Standards Coordinating Committee (UNSCC) with a proposal to form a new global standards body. In October 1946, ISA and UNSCC delegates from 25 countries met in [[London]] and agreed to join forces to create the new [[International Organization for Standardization]] (ISO); the new organization officially began operations in February&nbsp;1947.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.iso.org/iso/2012_friendship_among_equals.pdf|title=Friendship among equals - Recollections from ISO's first fifty years|publisher=[[International Organization for Standardization]]|year=1997|isbn=92-67-10260-5|pages=15–18|access-date=26 December 2013|archive-date=26 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026060448/http://www.iso.org/iso/2012_friendship_among_equals.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

In general, each country or economy has a single recognized National Standards Body (NSB). Examples include [[ABNT]], [[Asociación Española de Normalización y Certificación|AENOR (now called UNE, ''Spanish Association for Standardization'')]], [[Association française de Normalisation|AFNOR]], [[American National Standards Institute|ANSI]], [[BSI Group|BSI]], [[Dirección General de Normas|DGN]], [[DIN]], [[Instituto Argentino de Normalización y Certificación|IRAM]], [[Japanese Industrial Standards Committee|JISC]], [[Korean Agency for Technology and Standards|KATS]], [[South African Bureau of Standards|SABS]], [[Standardization Administration of China|SAC]], [[Standards Council of Canada|SCC]], [[Swedish Standards Institute|SIS]]. An NSB is likely the sole member from that economy in ISO.

NSBs may be either public or private sector organizations, or combinations of the two. For example, the three NSBs of Canada, Mexico and the United States are respectively the Standards Council of Canada ([[Standards Council of Canada|SCC]]), the General Bureau of Standards ({{lang|es|Dirección General de Normas}}, DGN), and the [[American National Standards Institute]] (ANSI). SCC is a Canadian [[Crown Corporation]], DGN is a governmental agency within the Mexican Ministry of Economy, and ANSI and AENOR are a [[501(c)(3)]] non-profit organization with members from both the private and public sectors. The determinants of whether an NSB for a particular economy is a public or private sector body may include the historical and traditional roles that the private sector fills in public affairs in that economy or the development stage of that economy.