materialstandard standard
A-Z of Standard
Standards are referred to as technical specifications and accessible documents that are based on the accepted results of science, technology and experience and are approved to promote the productivity of the community with implied cooperation and consent of all stakeholders by an accredited body. These criteria are used as the basis for comparing and assessing the quality and quantity of products and services. Considering the growing industries of the country and increasing quality of industrial production, today the recognition of different standards has become a public need.
Introduction
Standardization is one of the foundations of science and technology that plays a role in the advancement of industry and the economy. It is often assumed that standard is only for the benefit of the consumer. Although this view is somewhat correct and standard addresses the individual and economic needs of consumers, it also takes the strength of the industry and technology into account. That is because by enforcing standard rules and regulations, the costs of warehousing and manufacturing of tools and machines are reduced, the production process is regulated, productivity increases and documents and maps are retrieved, classified and archived according to a strict system. Collaboration between the various units of each organization or factory is also facilitated to advance the process of production. Employees’ ‘understanding is realized in technical issues and by the production of good quality goods, consumers’ satisfaction is also attracted, and thus standard provides a solid foundation for the development of industry and economy.
In today’s industrialized world, as everything is changing, new standards called “quality management” alone do not merely rely on the outcome of the final product and monitor a production line from the beginning to the end. This planned and targeted management delivers dynamism to the various departments of the organization.
What is the standard?
Standard is a kind of order based on the well-established results of human sciences, techniques and experiences in a field of public activities organized in the form of rules, laws regulations to create harmony and unity of the procedure, develop understanding, facilitate communications, save economies, maintain health and expand domestic and foreign trades.
Generally, standard means law, rule, principle and canon.
There are other definitions of standards as follows:
- In the general sense, standard is any kind of constant order that flows through the affairs of phenomena.
- Standard means any measure and scale that can be used to measure the quality and quantity of things.
- Standard is defined as suggestion or determination of a set of conditions or selected factors that have been obtained through the cooperation of the parties or as the result of the authority of responsible persons.
- Standard is a permanent solution to a recurring problem.
- Standard is the result of an attempt to unify what has been accepted by the competent authorities.
- Standard is a written document containing a set of conditions that should be implemented
- Standardization means setting and application of rules for a systematic action on a particular action in favor of all relevant stakeholders.
- Standard is a special effort to unify procedures approved by an unknown official.
- Standard is the systematic and consistent coordination of principles set forth in the notes or arbitrarily accepted by a particular association or organization.
- In the definition of STANCO (ISO Committee on Standardization Principles) standardizing means documents the content of which constitutes a solution to a repetitive technical operation.
- Standard means the right to choose.
Standard over time
Standard is a prehistoric concept. In principle, human beings cannot continue a social life without a standard. Man-made artifacts have always been in harmony with the development of human knowledge and experience in terms of shape, pattern, color, and other characteristics. A look at Persepolis and Pasargad monuments reveals that there should be a standard length at that time that the archaeologists are now trying to calculate it. This can also be seen in the ancient Greek and Egyptian monuments. For example, looking at the pieces of stone in the Pyramids of Egypt makes it clear that their dimensions are surprisingly standardized and carefully matched with each other and there is no gap between them. This accuracy is also admirable even with modern industrial standards. Standard has come a long way since its emersion until the modern time. To understand the evolution of standard it is better to look at the measurement history because the first standardization seems to have taken place in the measurement because measurement can be considered as one of the oldest sciences. Numerous discussions are made about the importance of measuring, including:
“I believe that whenever we can measure what we talk about and display it with figures, and then we can claim that we know something in particular. Otherwise, our knowledge of the subject matter is incomplete and in that case, we have not been able to progress in terms of science” Lord Kelvin
“Count what can be counted, measure what is measurable, and make alter what is not measurable” Galileo
“Whatever that cannot be measured, cannot be managed” Tom D’Marco
“Science starts from where the measurement starts” Mendeleyev
Measurement history
The history of measurement dates back to the ancient times and it can be considered as one of the oldest sciences.
The oldest civilization began at Mesopotamian Region, which was a fertile valley between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. At that time, familiarity with the agricultural phenomenon caused people to move from hunting to cultivation, which led to the emergence of urban and urbanization, and finally to the expansion of commerce and trade. Therefore, units were established for measuring the quantities for human life including units for measuring the length of fabric, weighing food, trade currency, and a unit for measuring daily work and payroll, calculation of rents and tribute and taxes required by governments.
The first step in the development of the measurement system was during the reign of the Emperor of Babylon. Subsequently, ancient Egyptian people living around the fertile Valley of Nile were the first to establish a measurement and calibration system using linear standards. They defined the calibration as follows: Comparing an object with a well-known standard.
In2900 BC, Pharach Khufa, the Pharaoh of Egypt, decided to build a pyramid for his tomb and to make sure about its construction quality, he used a scale called Cubit the length of which was equal to the amount of elbow distance to the tip of the fingers. The Egyptian royal Cubit was made of black granite stone that its divisions were as wide as the finger width and were kept at Pharach’s Palace as the first standard. Another Cubit was gray granite used as a secondary standard in the construction of the building. With the same measures, it was said that the tip of the Egyptian pyramids was only 15’ faulty.
Standard weights ordered by Darius I, are among the oldest antiques on weights. These weights were made based on a unit called karsha that each krescha was equal to 83.3 grams. There are four examples of these weights in museums inside and outside the country. The weight in Iran is 120 karsha.
During the Roman rule in Britain after the British era, the English became familiar with the Roman measurement system, and some still use it. They used a unit called Libra, which was a pound, to measure weight. In the 12th century, Henry I declared the size of its legs as a standard for a foot and considered one yard equal to the distance between the tip of his nose to his thumb.
In 1324 AD, Henry II declared the length of three barley seeds equal to one inch. (The exact definition was: one inch is the length of three seeds of dried barley with a normal shape that is in an upright and head-to-head position). In the seventeenth century, Galileo invented the first barometer, thermometer and telescope. With all these advances, the scientific community and manufacturers had many problems due to lack of reference standards, and because of the absence of this controlling factor, each country used its own measurement system and terms.
In the early 18th century, Scottish inventor James Watt suggested that the world’s scientists gather to create a single global system for measurements. Following this suggestion, a group of French scientists came into action to establish a metric system and created a basic system with two standards of meter for a unit length and kilogram for weight. At this time, the second was used as time standard and thermo centigrade was applied as temperature standard. Nowadays, many countries in the world use the metric system to formulate their exact measurements. However, three countries in the world are still using the English method for measuring. These three countries are United States, Liberia and Myanmar. Of course, in important centers and organizations such as NASA, metric measurement methods are used for accurate measurements; however, major measurements are still carried out in these countries through English standard.
Nevertheless, there are different units and measurement systems that, depending on their performance, may still be used in many cultures and regions of the world e.g. Nokhod, Charak, Man (3 kg), Kharvarm Vajab, Farsang….in Iran.
In 1875, world scientists and experts gathered in Paris to sign a contract called International metric convention. The agreement paved the way for the establishment of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in Sevres- France. The institute is still a global reference source.
In a brief review, it will be clear that the major standards in the ancient period and past centuries were generally standards of weights and measures before the Renaissance, which has a general aspect and the need for them was felt more. However, after the Renaissance, due to the fundamental transformation in social thought and the growth of industrial inventions and industrial production (industrial revolution), industrial standards also came into existence. One of the oldest and basic standards considered in the current standards as first standardization principle is the principle of reducing types and substitutability along with it. In the same way, this principle has led to mass and chain production. In the past, any producer or artisan, with regard to the primitive tools and heritage of the ancestors, made products of different shapes and dimensions; however, nowadays, with the coherence of production, products with the same characteristics are manufactured.
One of the pioneers of the principle of reducing types and substitutability can be referred to an American called Eli Whitney. In 1793, for the first time this person designed a full gun that had interchangeable parts and in fact provided the basis for mass production. In England, in 1841, George Withworth created a special system for a variety of screw and nut gears based on height, depth, and number of gear per inch in which screws and nuts could be easily replaced. Along with the expansion of industrial production and mass production, safety precautions were also observed especially after the invention of the steam engine and its widespread use in transportation systems such as ships and locomotives and damage resulting from it. Accordingly, in the second half in the nineteenth century, the explosion of pressure vessels left 50000 deaths and two million injured people behind.
The growth of technology and the use of new machines have led to an increase in industrial production and competition in domestic and foreign markets. Therefore, in the process of standardization evolution, there are other standards such as examining methods, descriptions of features, terms, code of practice, quality control techniques and quality management systems.
As discussed before, throughout history, standard has undergone many changes. Initially, a standard metrology specification was introduced, then it was discussed as product standard and ultimately became standard of the method and system.
The term “standard”
Some writers believe eight centuries before the French word etendard or etandard, which means military flag was introduced into English. For this reason, in ancient English, standard means the flag of military units, and in terms of the root of the word, it refers to the Latin verb “extend”, which means broadening and uplifting.
According to various studies and writings, the term standard is semantically affected by the term stand, which means standing, staying, stopping, and being placed. It is worth mentioning that the term standard word in English is used with two distinct meanings scientifically and technically:
A- units and scale of measurement, quantitatively, materially (such as meters and kilograms) and in terms of definition (such as ampere and calorie), which is called etalon in today’s France.
B- It means writings containing rules and principles for the regulation of technical, scientific and business affairs, which is called lanorme in French and norma in German derived from the Latin root (normn) i.e. set square.
The word norm means reference, rate, law and rule and the term normal is used to express purposes such as moderate, normal and natural. However, because of its lack of comprehensiveness in accordance with the meanings defined for standard word, it is not used in English language. The French also fabricated the term normalization, which represents standardization concept from the term normal and prefer to use the term normalization, which is more authentic in French.
In Iran, the term “Estandeh” meaning fixed was suggested by Gholam Hossein Mousaheb but it never became popular.
Types of Standards
- Factory Standards
These standards are those that are valid in the field of a factory or company. This kind of standard represents the level of technology in the country. In these standards, the various activities of production, design, testing, after-sales service, personnel, management policy, etc. are taken into consideration. In general, they regulate the form and system of a factory. Standards like General Electric (GE), Volvo, Ford, Renault, etc. are in this category.
- Association or trade union standards
They include contracts and documentation of an expert group working around an industrial-technical axis with the aim of clarifying certain definitions and creating an interdisciplinary language. Growth and development of this type of standard are found in the United States, that given the high quality and specialized expertise of this group, their documents have found global credibility. Among these groups include American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), American Petroleum Institute (API), Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and…
United States defense standard (MIL-STD) and UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) can be considered in this group. However, they are one of the best standards in the world in terms of theme variation and technical quality. For example, in MIL standards, a set of industrial, design, engineering, laboratory, production, quality control and … standards in various fields of metals, non-metals, petroleum and refinery products, paint and coatings, engine and its components, gear boxes, adhesives and sealants, pumps, guns, electrical and electronic equipment, NDT, etc. are found.
The letters TCO are available on the top of computer monitor. These letters are abbreviated form of “The Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees”, which has more than 1.3 million members. TCO members pay particular attention to the use of computers and their peripheral devices, and they have announced standard set as TCO. Most manufacturers have recognized this standard, accepted, and implemented it. Today, in all monitor advertising in the United States and Europe, the TCO standard is among the main features of the monitor. In fact, this standard can also be introduced as a union standard with global expansion.
- National standards
It includes qualitative documentation and definitions, test methods, and … of a country for their products or products they are allowed to sell. This group of standards is provided by standard Institute of that country, which is recognized as the competent authority. In drafting these standards, all interested parties, such as manufacturers, consumers, members of scientific and research centers, businesses, government organizations, and so on participate. National standards are developed according to different economic, technical and other conditions. National standards are divided into two categories: compulsory and encouraging. Mandatory standards are standards that are directly related to safety, health, environment or trade and are legally enforceable. Sometimes this can be done by an international agreement, such as traffic regulations and the fight against environmental pollution. Encouraging standards are standards that the manufacturer tends to implement, given the high level of production, as well as his interest and consent. National standards include national standard of Iran (ISIRI), America (ANSI) Germany (DIN), the United Kingdom (BSI) and …
- Regional standards
The factors such as geographical success, culture, politics, methods of production and consumption, and so on, have led some countries to develop regional standards jointly. In other words, the technical documents of a group of neighboring countries in order to benefit from the quality of the common language and the general language in communications, trade and the exchange of goods is the set of standards. Some of these standards include the European standard (EN), the Arabic standard (ASMO), African states’ standards (ARSO) and standards of the American (Pan American) countries (COPANT).
- International standards
Today, the process of the growth of industry and trade, as well as the scientific and social developments in the world, is bringing countries closer to each other, and international standards are being developed to create coordination, facilitate communication and resolve technical problems. These standards are the result of the agreement of the relevant experts of the member countries of the International Standard Organization. Initially, it may be assumed that the objectives of national and regional standards are shared by international standards. To clarify this issue, it should be noted that the ultimate goal of these standards is “the ability to function at all levels” and the goal of standardizing at the previous levels is similar to the definition of the promotion of activities for a variety of global standards or the extension of international standards in science, technology and economics. The most important international organizations for the compilation and publication of international standards are the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). The history of the development of international standards dates back to 1906. In that year, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) was established to work on the development of international standards in the field of electrical and electronic equipment, which is still active.
A few years later, in 1926, with the establishment of the International Standard Association (ISA), which was accepted by 20 European countries, the first steps were taken to develop international standards in other fields, especially mechanical engineering, but because of the onset of the WWII, all of these activities were stopped in 1942. However, because of the need for such an organization to advance industry and technology and facilitate trade, the representatives of the 25 countries, which were mostly members of the United Nations Standard Coordinating Committee, gathered in London on October 14, 1946. After long negotiations, they eventually agreed to establish the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
The organization officially began its work in Geneva, Switzerland, in February 1947. ISO is a non-governmental international alliance whose members have been selected from among the national standard institutes of each country (one person from each country) whose mission is to develop culture of standard and related activities around the world to provide better product and service exchanges and develop global partnerships for economic, technical, scientific and research activities. The name of this organization was not based on its Latin name, because if it were, it would have to be IOS, and then its abbreviation would change in different languages, while it is the same as ISO in all languages. In fact, the ISO root is derived from the Greek word ISOS meaning equal, which is used as a prefix in many terms such as Isotope, Isometric, and Isobar in the same sense of equality and equivalence.
The scope of the activities of the ISO organization has no limitation, includes all specialized branches and is not limited to IEC-related electrical and electronic equipment. In some cases, such as information technology, testing and calibration, inspection, etc., activities are implemented jointly (ISO / IEC). The ISO published its first international standard in 1951. There are other international organizations developing standards in specific fields. Some of these organizations include:
IATA (International Air Transport Association)
IAEI (International Atomic Energy Agency)
ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization)
BIPM (International Bureau of Weights and Measure)
OIML (International Organization of Legal Metrology)
IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry)
UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization)
WHO (World Health Organization)
The list of some other international organizations is as follows:
CORESTA (Cooperator Center for Scientific Research Relative to Tobacco)
FDI (World Dental Federation)
CIE (International Commission on Illumination)
IDF (International Dairy Federation)
FID (International Federation for Information and Documentation)
IGU (International Gas Union)
IIW (International Institute of Welding)
IOOC (International Olive Oil Council)
ISA (International Silk Association)
UIC (International Union of Railways)
WMO (World Meteorological Organization)
ILO (International Labor Organization)
History of ISO
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which was established in October 1946 and has been operational since February 1947, is the most important international organization in the field of international standardization. The organization currently has 162 member countries. There are three types of membership in ISO, the full, correspondent and subscriber members. Of course, in some documents, correspondent members are also known as the corresponding members. The Iranian Institute for Standardization and Industrial Research has accepted its membership since 1960, However, the parliament has ratified it in 1964. ISO sets standards in all disciplines, except for electrical, electronic and pharmaceutical materials.
In the field of electronics, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has been active since 1906, and has been proclaiming international standards in the World Health Organization (WHO).
ISO organization
The headquarters of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in Geneva has a central secretariat for administrative and executive matters and coordinates its technical activities with 153 employees of different nationalities. Its annual budget is about 140 million Swiss francs, most of which is provided by membership fees from member countries and a portion of standard sales and other publications.
ISO has a chairman and vice president for technical and policy affairs, each of whom will be elected for a period of three years. Treasurer and Secretary-General of the organization are appointed by the ISO Council. The ISO Council is composed of representatives from the 20 member countries of this organization elected by the member countries for a period of 2 years, and is responsible for taking decisions on ISO policies and overseeing the work of the Central Secretariat and its staff, which holds a meeting at least once a year. In addition, five standard institutions, including Germany, the United States, Britain, Japan and France, are fix members of the council in assuming responsibilities of secretariats of technical committees, financial participation and other affairs and are elected every year. Once a year, representatives of all member states gather at its General Assembly to decide on the general issues and the general policy of the organization. In addition to the technical committees that will be described later, a number of Executive Committees are also formed under the supervision of ISO organization to study the public, technical and administrative issues of this organization and submit its proposals to the Council for approval.
The most important executive committees are:
ISO’s Committee on Conformity Assessment (CASCO) is responsible to develop standards and quality-related guidelines, conformity assessment and related issues
ISO Committee on consumer policy (COPOLCO) examines ways to help consumers with standard and consumer information.
Development Committee (DEVCO) assessed the needs of developing countries in the field of standardization and assisting them
ISO technical activities
ISO collects the latest scientific and technological advances in the world and publishes them as globally harmonized and international standards. To do so, there are about 350 technical committees (TCs) each of which has a number of subcommittees (SCs) or working groups (WGs) (currently there are 210 active technical committees, and the rest are either dissolved or merged in other committees). The numbers of subcommittees, working groups and specialist groups are 519, 2443 and 66 respectively. ISO has already produced and published 18083 international standards and has 3769 standard drafting documents available.
More than 100,000 experts and international experts from all over the world are participated in ISO for the preparation and development of international standards.
In this regard, ISO establishes a technical committee for each discipline that the administration of its affairs will be in the hands of one of the member states, in which case they say that, the secretariat of that committee is the responsibility of the said country. Iran is the secretariat of the ISO technical committee through the Institute for Standardization and Industrial Research.
The secretariat of each technical committee reviews standard issues and with the help of its active members, the committee will provide the first draft proposals for the DP proposal for each standard, distributes them among the members of the committee and asks about their ideas. Based on the received ideas, the draft on the proposed standard is prepared and sent to the members for comment. Then it prepares the DIS-Draft International Standard and distributes to the members for comment. After receiving the votes and comments of the members and applying them, the final draft (FDIS) is set and the Central Secretariat distributes the final draft standard among all ISO members (whether or not they were members of the technical committee) to comment. If there is no or ignorable disagreement, the draft will be sent to the members of the ISO Council by the Central Secretariat and it is disseminated as the International Standard after the Council’s approval.
The official language of the ISO organization is English, French, and Russian that the cost of translating standards and other ISO publications into Russian is the responsibility of the Russian federation.
ISO Council
The council has 20 members. Meanwhile, the 5 standard institutions, namely Germany, the United States, England, Japan and France, are considered as permanent members of the ISO Council for the sake of the commitment of a large number of ISO secretariats and financial contributions to the organization.
One hundred years of international standard
The hundredth anniversary of the international standard was also celebrated in 1986, and this year, the ISO Organization published a book entitled The 100th Anniversary of International Standardization, translated into Persian, and presented in 1992. According to the book, the ISO organization has divided 100 years of global standard activity into five major 20-year periods and the speakers addressed the most important event of the mentioned period as follows:
| 1886 | Dresden Conference | Testing the material in the past and present |
| 1906 | First International Organization for Standard -IEC | From charcoal brushes… to solar systems |
| 1926 | International efforts in mechanics | From nuts to fasteners |
| 1946 | ISO new course and a fresh start | Successful story of transportation |
| 1966 | Expansion of information technology | From punch cards to internal communication between free systems |
| 1986 | Music and its message for international standard | – |
World Standard Day
The amendment to the ISO Council, which was held in Geneva from 25 to 27 September 1969, it was proposed by the head of Turkish standard and the time chairman of the European Standardization Organization, Mr. Farouk Sönter to set a date as the World Standard Day and hold a ceremony throughout the world to develop standardization. The first World Standard Day was held on October 14, 1970, which repeated on the same day annually. Since 1986, ISO has brought the world’s most important issue and challenge to the attention of members and others through the message and the publication of the posters.
The slogans of the World Standard Day
1986 – The international standard- the requirement of any project
1987 – Engineering design as part of standard language
1988 – A sparkle in international standards
1989 – Standard for health technology
1990 – Environmental protection
1991- Safety at work
1992 – The International Standard, a Key to the Free Market
1993 – Information Technology
1994- Standard and consumer, suitable partners
1995 – International Standards for Transportation
1996- Upgrading service standards
1997 – International Standards for Trade
1998- Standard in everyday life
1999- Standard in the building industry
2000 – International Standard for Peace in Accordance with Happiness
2001 – Environment and Standards alongside each other
2002- Standard and Conformity Assessment
2003 – Global Standards for the Global Information Society
2004 – Standard as the link in the world
2005 – Standard for a Safer World
2006 – Standards: Great benefits for small businesses
2007 – Standard for citizen and community service
2008 – Sustainable and Automated Buildings
2009 – Combating climate change through standards
2010 – Standards make the world accessible to everybody
Important ISO Committees
- The Technical Committee 97 called computer and data processing was established in 1960, merged with the relevant technical committee at the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in 1987 and the first joint technical committee JTC. The two institutions called Information Technology were formed, which is now the most important technical committee and tens of international standard drafts are distributed for commenting by members.
- The Technical Committee 176, entitled Quality Management and Quality Assurance, was established in 1979. The ISO9000 series is the result of the work of the committee.
- The Technical Committee 207, entitled “Environmental Management”, was established in 1993. The ISO 14000 series is the result of the work of the committee.
Establishment of standard Institute in Iran
The first moves in relation to standards and standardization in Iran began with the adoption of the Weights and Measures Act in 1925, but the establishment of an organization to standardize goods in Iran was officially recognized by the government in 1953. In 22/4/1953 an agreement was signed between the Minister of National Economy, Managing Director of the Planning Organization and Board of directors of the US economic operation in Iran, which was called Project 38 of Act 4. In the agreement, the increase in the export of the country was foreseen through the establishment of a laboratory to determine standard of export of goods. Subsequently, due to amendments to this project, other tasks were set for the project, which included the establishment of standard Bureau of Iran with the tasks of testing goods, setting standards and inspection in accordance with standard and issuing a certificate of conformity to standard for each commodity. Goods Since the beginning of 1954 the construction and establishment of standard Office of Iran was provided and its title was changed into Institute of Standardization 29/6/1959. In 1965, when the Statute of the Institute was ratified, the term “Industrial Research” was added to standard Institute. Interestingly, Iran’s standard sign was seen on Iranian goods for the first time in 1966. This year, two Iranian tile makers and biscuit companies succeeded in getting standard badge. In January 1971, according to the law, cases of additions to the law of standard Institute passed by the legislature were communicated to the Institute by the power of which the standard institute could declare products that are important for safety or public health compulsory to protect the consumer. Right now, 600 out of more than 14,000 approved national standards are compulsory (until April 2010). The Institute of Standard and Industrial Research of Iran has become an ISO member since 1960 and it is an active member of this organization. It has received the membership in the council three times before 1978 and once after the Islamic Revolution in2004. Prior to 1978, the head of the institute was also a vice president of the ISO organization. The secretariats of the following technical committees are based at the Iranian Institute of Standard:
Technical Committee 91 – Detergents (Surface-active agents)
Technical Committee 122 – Packaging
Technical Committee 134 – Soil Fertilizers (Chemical Fertilizer)
Technical Committee 217 – Cosmetic products
Other activities of standard institute in international committees include the head of Working Group 11 (Persian and Arabic languages) and membership in the Working Group on Microbiology Testing Paper and Cardboard. The Institute is currently active in more than 307 technical and subsidiary committees and 3 executive committees. In addition, in order to respond to ISO organization’s documents and participate actively in the development of ISO international standards, standard institutions such as standards Institute of Iran have formed relevant committees to ISO technical committees.
Iranian standard badge
Iranian standard badge has a main box reshaped as “S” letter, which denotes the terms “safety” or “standard”. The patterns inside the box are also related to the subject of the application and the design inside the main sign is the word “Iran”. If it is reversed, the abbreviation of the Institute of Standard and Industrial Research of Iran in English (ISIRI) is observed. This badge is designed by our contemporary graphic artist the Late Morteza Momayez.
From commodity standard to laughing standard
From public point of view, the term standard is only related to the commodities or maximum service. This is despite the fact that standard today has a deeper meaning and even processes that are not necessarily serviceable are standardized. There are even discussions about developing the social service standard. If the current trend continues, in the near future, a standard of social morals may also be developed e.g. walking, laughing and crying standard!
Perhaps, when Dr, Hesabi took the first step towards establishing Standard Institute through the establishment of a metrology, weights and scales center in Iran, this great man was dreaming that standard and standard concept would penetrate in all aspects of this country and become a culture. Nevertheless, we should ask how far we have progressed on issues related to standardization.
The claim that the building of standard institute located on the southern side of the Vanak Square of Tehran and several large and small provincial buildings and its research institute are responsible for the whole affairs related to Iran’s standard as a great company is a mistake because if all matters relating to standard were the duty of only one organization, it must be a massive organization like a ministry. Today, the standard concept has expanded so much in the world that its issues relate to all governmental and non-governmental organizations and corporations so that a part called quality control has been created in many organizations and companies. This shows that the companies and professional organizations in modern world are fully aware of the importance of standard discussion.
On the other hand, ignoring the role of standard institution is also not correct. Although it is called institution, its authority and scope are very extensive and even more than any ministries.