Lesson 8: Global Engineering Practices

Advantages of Standards

Standardization has several advantages that facilitate trade and interaction among cultures. For example, a survey examining the economic benefits of standardization between Germany, Austria and Switzerland in the years 1997-2000 concluded that international standards encouraged trade. It determined that obeying international and European standards was more important for German exports than national standards. The benefits included an increase of 1% of the gross national product. This represented more than $15 billion (U.S.) every year.

Donald E. Purcell from the Center for Global Standards Analysis determined that private sector standards and government technical regulations directly affected $7 trillion dollars (U.S.) of trade in 2003. He went on to say that standardization programs were considered indispensable for the strategic evaluation of technology and the analysis of competitive issues.

The ASME codes and standards cite several benefits of standardization. It stated that if procedures are standardized, costs will be lower. This simplifies training and allows consumers to compare the quality and features of different products on their basic and essential features. To facilitate these efficiencies, standards are now commonly incorporated into business contracts. Further the standards specify rules and procedures for preparing, executing and reporting performance tests. These reports indicate how well the equipment performs its functions. It protects users from poorly performing products and enables suppliers of higher quality products to compete fairly.