Chapter 1

Part A: Standards and how they are made

Introduction to standardization

Last updated November 20263 sectionsabout 12 min read

Key takeaways

ISO/IEC Guide 2 defines a standard as a document established by consensus and approved by a recognised body, for common and repeated use, aimed at the optimum degree of order in a given context.
A standard is voluntary in itself; a technical regulation is made by government and compliance with it is mandatory; a specification is written by one party for a particular transaction.
A firm is certified and the body that certifies it is accredited: KEBS certifies products and management systems, and KENAS accredits the certifiers and laboratories.
The aims of standardization include fitness for purpose, interchangeability, variety reduction, compatibility, safety, consumer protection and trade facilitation; give each aim with what it delivers.
Kenya's framework rests on the Standards Act (Cap 496) of 1974, which established KEBS, and the EAC SQMT Act, 2006, under which East African Standards are declared.

Standardization is the invisible infrastructure of trade. A candidate can see its effect by asking why a bulb bought in Kisumu fits a fitting installed in Mombasa, why a bank in Nairobi can settle with a bank in Kampala, and why a container loaded in Naivasha fits a ship in Mombasa and a truck in Kigali. None of that is coincidence, and none of it is regulation in the ordinary sense.

Key terms

Standard

A document, established by consensus and approved by a recognised body, that provides for common and repeated use rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree of order in a given context. The definition is from ISO/IEC Guide 2, and four elements in it are examinable: consensus, a recognised body, repeated use, and optimum order.

Standardization

The activity of establishing, with regard to actual or potential problems, provisions for common and repeated use, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree of order in a given context.

Technical regulation

A document which lays down product characteristics or their related processes and production methods, including applicable administrative provisions, with which compliance is mandatory. The distinguishing feature is that it is compulsory and made by government, whereas a standard is voluntary unless a regulation calls it up.

Specification

A document stating requirements for a particular product, process or service, usually written by one party for a particular transaction rather than by consensus for general use.

Code of practice

A document recommending practices or procedures for the design, manufacture, installation, maintenance or use of equipment, structures or products.

Conformity assessment

Any activity concerned with determining directly or indirectly that relevant requirements are fulfilled: testing, inspection, certification, and the accreditation of the bodies doing them.

Harmonization

Making standards on the same subject, approved by different bodies, equivalent so that products, processes and services conforming to one are accepted under the other.

Metrology

The science of measurement and its application, embracing legal, industrial and scientific metrology.

Accreditation

Third-party attestation conveying formal demonstration of the competence of a conformity assessment body to carry out specific tasks. In Kenya this is done by the Kenya Accreditation Service (KENAS).

Certification

Third-party attestation related to products, processes, systems or persons, confirming that specified requirements are met. Certification is of the organisation or product; accreditation is of the certifier.

Standardisation Mark and Diamond Mark of Quality

KEBS permit marks. The Standardisation Mark is applied to a product manufactured in Kenya that conforms to the relevant Kenya Standard; the Diamond Mark of Quality is a higher, voluntary award for products consistently exceeding the standard, granted on the strength of a certified quality management system.

Certification and accreditation are not interchangeable

A firm is certified; a certification body is accredited. KEBS certifies products and management systems; KENAS accredits the bodies that certify and the laboratories that test. Reversing the two is one of the most reliable ways to lose a mark in this paper.

History of standards

Milestones in the development of standardization

Period	Development	Significance
Ancient	The cubit in Egypt, standardised weights in the Indus valley, Roman brick and road dimensions	Standardization begins as measurement, because trade and taxation require agreed units
Medieval	Guild rules on materials and workmanship; assay marks on precious metals	Quality marking as a consumer protection device predates the state doing it
1798	Eli Whitney demonstrates interchangeable parts for muskets	Standardization of dimensions makes mass production and repair possible
1901	The Engineering Standards Committee, later BSI, is founded in Britain	The first national standards body; standardization becomes an organised civil activity
1906	The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is founded	The first international standards body, for electrical and electronic matters
1926 and 1947	ISA, then ISO after the Second World War	ISO is founded in 1947 and begins operating in 1947, creating a general international standards body
1948 and 1995	GATT, then the WTO with the TBT and SPS Agreements	Standards become instruments of trade law, disciplining how governments may use them
1974	The Standards Act (Cap 496) establishes the Kenya Bureau of Standards	Kenya acquires a national standards body and a legal framework for Kenya Standards
1987	ISO 9000 series first published	Standardization extends from products to management systems
2006	The EAC SQMT Act	East African Standards are declared, and a partner state must withdraw a conflicting national standard
2009	The Kenya Accreditation Service is established	Kenya separates accreditation from standards-setting and certification, completing the quality infrastructure

Aims of standardization

ISO/IEC Guide 2 lists the aims of standardization, and they are the usual mark scheme for a question in this chapter.

Fitness for purpose

Ensuring that a product, process or service is fit for the purpose for which it is intended, under the conditions in which it will be used.

Interchangeability

Ensuring that one item can replace another and perform the same function, which is what makes spare parts, repair and competitive supply possible.

Variety reduction

Selecting the optimum number of sizes, grades or types, reducing the cost of production, stockholding and distribution without depriving users of what they need.

Compatibility and interoperability

Ensuring that products, processes or services used together satisfy relevant requirements without causing unacceptable interactions: a plug and a socket, a payment instruction and a settlement system.

Safety

Freedom from unacceptable risk of harm to persons, property or the environment, which is why safety standards are the class most often made compulsory.

Health and protection of the environment

Protecting human health and limiting environmental damage such as emissions, effluent and waste.

Consumer protection

Enabling a purchaser who cannot test a product to rely on a mark or a declaration instead.

Trade facilitation

Reducing technical barriers so that a product accepted in one market is accepted in another, developed in the chapter on standards and trade.

Communication and mutual understanding

Agreed terminology, symbols and test methods so that two parties mean the same thing by the same word, which is the precondition for a contract.

Economy

Reducing total cost to producers and users through all of the above.

Technology transfer

Codifying good practice so that it can be adopted by those who did not develop it, which matters particularly for a developing economy.

What variety reduction is worth: a Kenyan hardware distributor
A distributor stocks reinforcement bar in every size any customer has
ever asked for.
Before rationalisation:
  Distinct diameters stocked                    14
  Average stock value per diameter              KES 1,750,000
  Total stock value  = 14 x 1,750,000         = KES 24,500,000
  Cost of holding stock (finance, storage,
    insurance, obsolescence) at 18% a year
                     = 24,500,000 x 0.18      = KES 4,410,000
Analysis shows that 4 diameters (8, 10, 12 and 16 mm) account for 91%
of volume, and that the Kenya Standard for steel bars for concrete
reinforcement recognises a preferred series.
After rationalisation to 6 diameters, with the remaining 8 supplied
to order on a 10-day lead time:
  Distinct diameters stocked                    6
  Average stock value per diameter              KES 2,100,000
    (higher, because the retained sizes turn faster and are held
     in greater depth)
  Total stock value  = 6 x 2,100,000          = KES 12,600,000
  Holding cost       = 12,600,000 x 0.18      = KES 2,268,000
Annual saving in holding cost = 4,410,000 - 2,268,000
                              = KES 2,142,000
Working capital released      = 24,500,000 - 12,600,000
                              = KES 11,900,000
Note what variety reduction is NOT: it is not refusing to serve the
9% who need the other sizes. It is choosing which sizes to hold and
which to order, on the basis of a preferred series the standard has
already worked out.

Objectives questions want the definition, not just the word

'Interchangeability' on its own is worth little. 'Interchangeability: ensuring one item can replace another and perform the same function, so that a broken part can be replaced from any supplier rather than only from the original manufacturer' is worth the full mark. Give the aim, then one sentence of what it delivers.

Self-check

Define a standard as ISO/IEC Guide 2 defines it, and distinguish it from a technical regulation and from a specification. (8 marks)

Explain six objectives of standardization, illustrating each from the Kenyan economy. (12 marks)

Show worked answer

Definition and distinctions (8 marks: 4 for the definition and its elements, 4 for the distinctions).

A standard is a document, established by consensus and approved by a recognised body, that provides for common and repeated use rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at achieving the optimum degree of order in a given context. Four elements matter: it is established by consensus, so it is not one party's view imposed; it is approved by a recognised body, which is what distinguishes it from a private document; it is for common and repeated use, not for one transaction; and its purpose is optimum order, not maximum requirement.

A technical regulation lays down product characteristics or related processes and production methods, including administrative provisions, with which compliance is mandatory. The difference from a standard is compulsion and authorship: a technical regulation is made by government and must be complied with, whereas a standard is voluntary in itself. The two connect when a regulation calls up a standard, which is how a Kenya Standard becomes compulsory when it is declared a compulsory standard under the Standards Act (Cap 496).

A specification states requirements for a particular product, process or service and is written by one party, typically a purchaser or designer, for a particular transaction. It is binding contractually on the parties who adopt it, is not made by consensus, and is not of general application. In practice a good specification cites standards rather than restating them.

Six objectives with Kenyan illustration (12 marks, 2 each).

1. Fitness for purpose: the Kenya Standard for portable water storage tanks specifies material and wall thickness so that a tank sold for domestic water storage will actually hold water for its expected life in Kenyan ultraviolet conditions, rather than becoming brittle in two seasons.

2. Interchangeability: standardised electrical accessories mean a socket outlet bought from any Kenyan supplier accepts the same plug and fits the same back box, so a householder is not locked to one manufacturer for repairs.

3. Variety reduction: preferred series for reinforcement bar diameters and for cement grades let builders' merchants across the country stock a manageable range while still serving nearly all demand, releasing working capital and reducing obsolescence.

4. Safety: the compulsory standards for motorcycle helmets and for LPG cylinders exist because the consumer cannot assess the risk before purchase and the consequence of failure is injury or death; these are exactly the classes KEBS declares compulsory.

5. Consumer protection: a shopper choosing between two brands of cooking oil cannot test either, so the Standardisation Mark on the pack substitutes an assessed conformity for a test the consumer cannot perform.

6. Trade facilitation: harmonised East African Standards declared under the EAC SQMT Act, 2006 mean a Kenyan manufacturer meeting an East African Standard is not retested against a different national requirement in Uganda or Tanzania, which removes duplicated testing cost and border delay.

7. Communication and mutual understanding: standard test methods mean that a moisture content of 13.5 per cent declared by a Kenyan maize seller and a moisture content measured by a foreign buyer are the same measurement, so the contract has determinate meaning.