British Standards
What is the BSi
Why was it formed?
What is a standard?
What is BSI?
• British Standards Institute, BSI was the first
national Standards-making body in the world.
Independent of government, BSI is a non-profit
distributing organisation. It is globally recognised
as an independent and impartial body serving
both the private and public sectors, working with
manufacturing and service industries,
businesses and governments to facilitate the
production of British, European and international
Standards.
Why was it formed?
• In 1901 the Institutions of Civil Engineers, Mechanical
Engineers, Naval Architects and the Iron and Steel
Institute created a committee, to standardize iron and
steel sections for bridges, railways and shipping.
• The committee succeeded in cutting the production of
different tram rails from 75 down to five. This saved the
industry about £1 million a year!
• By 1929, the committee became the British Engineering
Standards Association and was granted a Royal Charter,
which defined the Association's objectives. A year later
the Association became the British Standards Institution
(BSI).
Why was it formed?
• Today, more than 100 years after the
British Engineering Standards
Association first met, BSI has 2,274
employees world-wide and operates in
over 110 countries. There are over
27,000 current British Standards.
What is a standard?
• A Standard is a published specification that establishes a
common language, and contains a technical specification or other
precise criteria and is designed to be used consistently, as a rule, a
guideline, or a definition.
• Standards are applied to many materials, products, methods and
services. They help to make life simpler, and increase the reliability
and the effectiveness of many goods and services we use.
• Standards are designed for voluntary use and do not impose any
regulations. However, laws and regulations may refer to certain
Standards making compliance with them compulsory.
• For example, the format of credit cards, Standard number BS EN
ISO/IEC 7810:1996 defines their dimensions. Adhering to this
Standard means that the cards can be used worldwide.
Why do we have standards?
• There are currently over 20,000 British Standards.
Standards affect our daily lives in many ways, making
life easier, safer and healthier. Imagine if bulbs from
different companies didn't fit the lamps that you bought,
or that CDs didn't fit all CD players. Without Standards
for people to follow, then all our products would behave
slightly differently, making them hard to operate, to fix or
to programme. Standards are created for many different
products and services, including pet food, furniture,
bikes, televisions, toys and even fabric colours.
How can we show we have
Standards?
• If a product passes all of the specified
independent tests that make up a
particular Standard, manufacturers can
indicate this by displaying a certification
mark on its surface. Products that have
not undergone the standardization process
are not allowed to do so.
Logos used with standards
What are the Kitemark
and CE marking?
• When you see a product with a Kitemark this means BSI has
independently tested it and has confirmed that the product conforms
to the relevant British Standard, and has issued a BSI license to the
company to use the Kitemark. The manufacturer pays for this
service and their product is tested, and the manufacturing process is
assessed, at regular intervals.
The Kitemark is the symbol that gives consumers the assurance that
the product they have bought really does conform to the appropriate
British Standard and should therefore be safe and reliable.
Manufacturers are not legally required to display a Kitemark on their
products, but many everyday products and appliances such as
fridges, electrical plugs and crash helmets have them.
What is CE marking?
• Many products such as new toys must meet legal requirements
before they can be sold within the European Community, and must
carry CE marking. CE marking attached to a product is a
manufacturer's claim that it meets all the requirements of the
European legislation.
• Some products carry both a Kitemark and CE marking. This
indicates that BSI has independently tested them against the
appropriate standard.
Toys
Toys
• With the emergence of the single
European Market an increasing number of
British Standards have become
harmonised with European Standards.
This includes the British Standard for Toys
which is known as BS EN 71 Safety of
toys.
• This means that the Standard is both a
British (BS) and European (EN) Standard.
Toys
• Since 1990 the European Community Directive
(community law) for Toy Safety has set out the
'essential requirements' that toys must be
manufactured in order to be legally sold within
the European Community.
• In the UK this directive is met through Toys
(Safety) Regulations 1995. Toy manufacturers
usually achieve this by ensuring their products
satisfy all the requirements of BS EN 71. This
requirement does not apply to second hand
toys.
Toys
• All toys must meet these minimum
requirements and carry CE marking. CE
marking is designed to remove European
trade barriers by showing that the product
complies with the European Directive. It is
not a European safety or quality mark.
• To help you understand what a Standard
might cover here is BS EN 71 in the
spotlight.
BS EN 71 Safety of Toys
• BS EN 71 is made up of eleven parts. Briefly these are:
• Part 1: Mechanical and physical properties
This means all the parts of a toy that can be touched.
This part of the Standard tries to make sure that toys
cannot stab, trap, mangle or choke.
• Part 2: Flammability
This part, for example, covers wendy houses, soft toys,
fancy dress clothes and disguise masks. The Standard
tries to ensure that if a product does catch fire you can
drop it or get out of it before serious injury occurs.
Certain flammable materials, that pose the greatest risk,
are prohibited from all toys.
BS EN 71 Safety of Toys
• Part 3: Migration of certain elements
This basically means poisons. Limits are
set for chemicals such as lead, cadmium
and mercury which may be dangerous if
swallowed or chewed by a child. For
instance, you wouldn't want large
quantities of lead in paint for toy cars that
could be chewed by a baby.
EN 71 Safety of Toys
• Part 4: Experimental sets for chemistry and
related activities
Its aim is to limit the dangers of using such sets
by, for example, limiting the amount of certain
chemicals used in sets.
• Part 5: Chemical toys (sets) other than
experimental sets
Includes 'toys' containing chemicals such as
water based paints or photographic developing
sets. This part of the Standard sets the
requirements for the substances and materials
used in them.
EN 71 Safety of Toys
• Part 6: Graphical symbol for age warning
labelling
Covers age warning symbol labelling and
specifies the requirements of the symbols used
on toys not suitable for children under the age of
three.
• Part 7: Finger paints
Specifies requirements for colourants and
preservatives, and is concerned with limiting the
risks of ingesting paint and of prolonged skin
contact with paint.
EN 71 Safety of Toys
• Part 8: Swings, slides and similar activity
toys for indoor and outdoor family domestic
use
This part is concerned with limiting the dangers
of protruding parts, limiting heights and ensuring
stability, and requires that no part of a child or a
child's clothing can be trapped. It also specifies
that the toy or its packaging is clearly labelled
"for domestic use" and whether it's for indoor or
outdoor use.
EN 71 Safety of Toys
• Part 9: Organic chemical compounds
(limits)
Sets the limits for over 600 substances
that might be present in toys that could
cause harm to a child from chewing or
sucking, from swallowing, from contact
with skin or with eyes, or from inhalation.
EN 71 Safety of Toys
• Part 10: Organic chemical compounds
(preparation of samples)
This part specifies how samples from toys
and extracted toy materials can be
prepared for testing to see if the
compounds present, such as solvents and
preservatives covered by in Part 9, could
cause harm to children.
EN 71 Safety of Toys
• Part 11: Organic chemical compounds
(testing)
The third part of the series on chemical
compounds sets out testing procedures so
that the toys and toy materials prepared
using Part 10 can be checked against the
limits set in Part 9.
How is a standard produced
• As with all good designing and manufacturing solutions,
group work is involved. A Standard is produced when a
team of experienced experts discuss, and then decide
on, what would make a particular product safe, reliable
and of a high quality. Different experts will be used
depending on the particular product or service that
needs to be standardized. These experts then create a
list of rules, ideas and tests that need to be applied to
that product. This is known as a draft Standard. The draft
Standard is then released to all those who may design,
make, sell or use that particular product.
How is a standard produced
• After addressing any important comments on the draft
Standards, further discussions are held. Once these are
complete, the final Standard is published. These final
processes are similar to the evaluation exercises or
product analysis that you undertake in project work,
where everyone is involved and puts in ideas and
suggestions for improvements. The final Standard is
identified with letters and numbers, almost like a code,
which is much easier than including all of the lengthy
descriptions. If a Standard is used in Britain it will contain
BS, if used in Europe it will contain EN and if it is used
across the world, it will contain ISO.
How is a standard produced
• Standards are updated regularly to make
sure they meet the needs of
manufacturers, sellers and users, as these
needs may change.
Who pays for them?
• BSI charges companies to test their
products, offers them advice and sells
them documents and expertise. BSI acts
to provide a service rather than a specific
product that can be bought and sold. This
money is then used to help produce new
Standards and to update existing ones.
References
• http://www.bsieducation.org/
Self assessment
•
•
•
•
•
What is the BSi?
Why was it formed?
What is a standard?
Why do we have standards?
What is a kitemark, can you draw one?
Self assessment
• Why do we have a CE mark?
• What is BS EN 71 and what are the main
elements of it?
• How is a standard produced?
• Who pays for standards?
• How is this money then put to use?