Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Standards in our everyday lives
By Leonard Joel V. Flores
HAVE you ever wondered why every time you use an automated teller machine (ATM) card to deposit your money, or a credit card to pay your purchase, or a phone card to call someone, they all seem to fit any that accepts these cards?
These credit cards, phone cards, and "smart" cards that have become commonplace, fitting any machine, follow specifications of relevant International Standard. Keeping to the standard - which defines such features - means that the card can be used worldwide.
Standards thus contribute to making life simpler and to increasing the reliability and effectiveness of the goods and services we utilize.
Standards and the Global Economy
The world is fast changing and it is important to highlight the emergence of a globalized market, both for products and services. Globalization has put pressure not only to developing countries but also even to economies in transition.
Together with globalization are development in regional cooperation and an increasing number of regional free trade agreements. These dramatic changes in world trade combined with increased global concerns for health, life and safety protection of the environment have affected the needs of consumers and have altered as well the regulatory and standards landscape.
As tariff barriers fall coupled with rising awareness on quality and safety, the importance of standards and conformity assessment (e.g. product testing, certification) becomes critical consideration in the trading of goods and services. Standards and quality has become the key to maintaining existing markets as well as entering new markets and attracting customers. In view of this, it is therefore crucial for a country like the Philippines to understand and effectively manage its standardization, testing, certification and other conformity assessment activities.
The Department of Trade and Industry through Bureau of Product Standards (BPS) promulgates the use of standards to achieve reliability and safety of products and services. It makes sure that conformity to standards is strictly observed by the industry to safeguard consumer welfare.
Standards and conformity assessment are BPS's managing components amidst the consequences of globalization to achieve its goals of consumer protection and best business practices towards sustainable development.
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