Setting standards
MANY countries have bodies that define and set standards. These are used as a yard stick for performance and service provision. In Zimbabwe, the Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) is the national standards body.
Formed in 1957 and incorporated in 1960, the association is a non-governmental and a nonprofit organisation.
SAZ’s mission is: “To facilitate the development and use of national standards in order to enhance Zimbabwe’s competitiveness and safeguard the welfare of communities”.
The principal functions of the association are:
to prepare and publish Zimbabwe National Standards;
to promote an understanding of standards requirements by offering standards-based training;
to provide technical services for the testing of manufactured goods and raw materials and calibration of equipment;
to encourage the use of Zimbabwe Standards by operating Certification / Registration schemes;
to provide information services on national, foreign national, regional and international standards;
to provide, on behalf of Government, a WTO TBT enquiry point on standards and conformity assessment information.
How are standards made and who makes them?
The quick answer is — you and people . Standards are developed by volunteers who either have a specific expertise or concerns related to a given topic — basically, anyone with knowledge in a field, and interest, can contribute to the process.
These volunteers come from a range of different perspectives, and can be the producers of products and services, users, consumers, government regulators, and consultants.
Standards for consumer products often focus on safety. It is in participation in developing these standards where consumer groups play an especially important role.
One of the guiding principles of standards development is openness, which means that barriers to participation in the development should be low — hence ensuring that the standards are applicable and valuable in the real world.
In most cases, membership fees are small or non-existent; and with email and the internet, it is possible to participate by web conferencing, phone conference, or by providing written comments and opinion.
How often do standards change?
Standards are evolving continually.
There are thousands of new standards under development at any given time, and each published standard is subject to periodic review, which is typically every five years.
However, standards development committees don’t need to wait for a full review cycle and can revise standards whenever there is a need.
Changes to standards occur by first establishing a need, and then assigning that need to a “task group” or “working group,” which makes the edits.
The revised document comes back to a technical committee for review and approval.