Regardless of which industry we work in and whether we are aware of it or not, standards affect all of us, every day of our lives. Some of you may groan at this topic, but do read on, since this subject can be a most rewarding and intriguing area. I have, for example, been formulating standards over the past 30 years, with meetings and making friends throughout the world.
Each time a product or service is employed, nowadays it is most likely that there is a standard to cover it. This was not always the case in the past. There are standards for all kinds of things. This is certainly true in the sphere of gas cylinder operations(1). Whether it’s when one is manufacturing a gas cylinder, filling it, transporting it, or simply using the contents from it, there are standards which cover their efficient operation. Put simply, standards make things better: safer, higher quality and easier to use.
But as gas cylinder users, we don’t simply benefit from existing standards, we can also help to revise standards and shape tomorrow’s new standards – because ‘standardisation is a living process’! A word of caution, however: standardisation is a voluntary cooperation among experts from industry, consumers, public authorities, researchers and other interested parties for the development of technical specifications, based on consensus and can only be confirmed once a product has been fully researched and proven.
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