BSI Group, also known in its home market as the British Standards Institution (or BSI) is a multinational business services provider whose principal activity is the production of standards and the supply of standards-related services. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For the ship of the same name, see Royal Charter (ship). ... Look up revenue in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This article is about work. ... Look up slogan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML...

History

BSI Group was founded as the Engineering Standards Committee in London in 1901^[1]. It subsequently extended its standardization work and became the British Engineering Standards Association in 1918, adopting the name British Standards Institution in 1931 after receiving its Royal Charter in 1929. In 1998 a revision of the Charter enabled the organization to diversify and acquire other businesses, and the trading name was changed to BSI Group.

The Group now operates out of three divisions with over 50 offices more than 25 countries^[2]. The core business remains standards and standards related services, although the majority of the Group’s revenue now comes from management systems assessment work^[3]. A management system is the framework of processes and procedures used to ensure that an organisation can fulfill all tasks required to achieve its objectives. ...

BSI British Standards

BSI British Standards is the core division of BSI Group. As the UK’s National Standards Body, BSI British Standards is responsible for producing and publishing British Standards and for representing UK interests at international standards fora like ISO, IEC, CEN, CENELEC and ETSI which produce international and European standards. ISO has many meanings: Iso is the stem of the Latin transliteration of the Greek word ίσος (ísos, meaning equal). The iso- prefix in English derives from this and means equality or similarity. ... The initials IEC can stand for: Independent Electoral Commission Industrial Emergency Council Inertial electrostatic confinement (in fusion energy) Institut des Experts-comptables et des Conseils fiscaux Institut dEstudis Catalans, Catalan Studies Institute Interactive Evolutionary Computation International Education Centre International Electrical Congress International Electrotechnical Commission See also IEC connector for... CEN, the European Committee for Standardisation or Comité Européen de Normalisation, is a private non-profit organisation whose mission is to foster the European economy in global trading, the welfare of European citizens and the environment by providing an efficient infrastructure to interested parties for the development, maintenance and... CENELEC (French: Comité Européen de Normalisation Electrotechnique) is the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization. ... The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is a standardization organization of the telecommunications industry (equipment makers and network operators) in Europe, with worldwide projection. ...

What is a standard

Standards are written guidelines which help to do things, or make things, more efficiently or more safely. They are written through a formal prescribed process which involves wide consultation and reaching consensus across all parties so that the final document meets the needs of business and society. All standards take the form of either: specifications, methods, vocabularies, codes of practice or guides.

Standards can be about pretty much anything. BSI produces standards on everything from nuts and bolts to sustainability, risk, business continuity management and nanotechnology.

Consensus standards are titled BS (for British Standard) XXXX[-P]:YYYY where XXXX is the number of the standard, P is the number of the part of the standard (where the standard is split into multiple parts) and YYYY is the year of publication.

What does BSI British Standards do?

It produces British Standards, and, as the UK’s National Standards Body, is also responsible for the UK publication, in English, of a range of international and European standards. These are called Adopted standards. Of these, BSI is obliged to adopt all European Standards and withdraw conflicting British Standards, but has the option of adopting international standards.

In response to commercial demands, BSI British Standards also produces commissioned standards products such as Publicly Available Specifications, (PASs), Private Standards and Business Information Publications.

These products are commissioned by individual organizations and trade associations to meet their needs for standardized specifications, guidelines, codes of practice etc. Because they are not subject to the same consultation and consensus requirements as formal standards the lead time is much shorter.

The division also publishes standards-related books, CD-ROMs, subscription products and web-based solutions as well as training on standards-related issues.

How can I get British Standards?

Many British Standards, as well as some European and International standards that have been adopted as British Standards (e.g. BS EN ISO 9001:2000) are available in public and university libraries in the United Kingdom and on paper or online from a British Standards Online subscription.

British Standards are also available to buy directly from BSI or they can also be ordered via the publishing units of many other National Standards Bodies (ANSI, DIN etc) and from several specialized suppliers of technical specifications.

BSI Management Systems

The BSI Management Systems division of BSI Group is the world’s largest certification body^[4]. It audits and provides certification to companies worldwide who implement management systems standards.

It is independently accredited and delivers assessments for a wide range of standards and other specifications including:

• ISO 9001 (Quality),
• ISO 14001 (Environment),
• BS OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health and Safety),
• ISO/IEC 27001 (previously BS 7799 for Information Security),
• ISO/IEC 20000 (previously BS 15000 for IT Service Management);
• PAS 99 (Integrated Management),
• BS 25999 (Business Continuity),
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions Verification,
• SA8000 (Social Accountability) and
• Food Safety standards and specifications, including ISO 22000.

The division certifies approximately 60,000 locations in over 110^[5] countries and operates across the UK, CEMEA, Asia Pacific (including Japan and China) and the Americas. Sign on a wholesaler at the Tsukiji fish market indicates ISO 9001 certification. ... The ISO 14000 environmental management standards exist to help organizations minimize how their operations negatively affect the environment (cause adverse changes to air, water, or land), comply with applicable laws, regulations, and other environmentally oriented requirements, and continually improve on the above. ... ISO/IEC 27001 is an information security standard published in 2005 by the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission. ... ISO/IEC 20000 is the first international standard for IT Service Management. ... BS 25999 is BSIs standard in field of Business Continuity Management (BCM). ... Food safety is linked to the presence of food-borne hazards in food at the point of consumption. ...

Subsequent to an acquisition in 2006, BSI Management Systems also offers a web-based integrated management system software service called Entropy Software^[6] which specializes in helping large organizations manage risk and compliance issues.

BSI Management Systems also offers a range of training services on how businesses can implement management systems effectively.

BSI Product Services

BSI Kite Mark Logo - Made up of the letters 'B' & 'S'

BSI Product Services is the testing and certification division of BSI Group. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (817x1010, 50 KB) Summary British Standards Institution, now know as British Standards, kite mark logo. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (817x1010, 50 KB) Summary British Standards Institution, now know as British Standards, kite mark logo. ...

Its best known product in the UK is the Kitemark, a registered certification mark first used in 1903^[7]. The Kitemark – which is recognized by 82% of UK adults^[8] – signifies products or services which have been assessed and tested as meeting the requirements of the related specification or standard within a Kitemark scheme.

BSI Product Services also conducts testing of products for a wide range of certifications, including for CE marking. CE marking must be applied to a wide range of products intended for sale in the European Economic Area. Frequently manufacturers or importers need a third-party certification of their product from an accredited or ‘Notified’ body. BSI Product Services holds Notified Body status for 17 EU Directives^[9], including medical devices, construction products, marine equipment, pressurized equipment and personal protective equipment.

BSI Product Testing also conducts testing for manufacturers developing new products and has facilities to test across a wide range of sectors, including construction, fire safety, electrical and electronic, engineering products and medical devices.

Milestones

BSI Group was the world’s first national standards body.

BSI created one of the world’s first and most enduring quality marks in 1903, when the letters ‘B’ and ‘S’ (for British Standards) were combined to produce the Kitemark logo.

BSI was instrumental in the formation of ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, in 1947 and of its European equivalent, CEN, in 1964.

BSI pioneered the development of management systems standards: the first of which was BS 5750, the original quality management systems standard which formed the template for the ISO 9000 series of quality standards, first published in 1994.

BSI published the world’s first environmental management standard, BS 7750, in 1992. This led to the publication of the first international environmental management standard, ISO 14001, in 1996. BSI also published the world’s first sustainability standard, BS 8900, in 2006.

BSI Management Systems’ UK operation has been carbon neutral since 2006^[11]. It reduced staff’s business travel by 200,000 miles per annum, and invested in carbon offsetting in the UK and Bulgaria.

BSI has been nominated a Superbrand in the UK three years in a row.

Acquisitions^[12]

Starting in 1998, BSI Group has adopted an aggressive policy of international growth through acquisition as follows:

1998 – CEEM, USA and International Standards Certification Pte Ltd, Singapore
2002 – KPMG’s certification business in North America
2003 – BSI Pacific Ltd, Hong Kong
2004 – KPMG’s certification business in the Netherlands
2006 – Nis Zert, Germany; Entropy International Ltd, Canada & UK; Benchmark Certification Pty Ltd, Australia; ASI-QS, UK

See also:

• Standards organization
• Standardization
• Management system
• International standards
• ISO 9000
• ISO 14000
• ISO/IEC 27000
• ISO/IEC 20000
• BS 25999
• ISO 22000
• SA8000
• ISO
• IEC
• European Committee for Standardisation[sic] (CEN)
• European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC)
• European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)

A standards organization, also sometimes referred to as a standards body, a standards development organization or SDO (depending on what is being referenced), is any entity whose primary activities are developing, coordinating, promulgating, revising, amending, reissuing, interpreting, or otherwise maintaining standards that address the interests of a wide base of... “Standard” redirects here. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Standards are produced by many organisations, some for internal usage only, others for use by a groups of people, groups of companies, or a subsection of an industry. ... Sign on a wholesaler at the Tsukiji fish market indicates ISO 9001 certification. ... The ISO 14000 environmental management standards exist to help organizations minimize how their operations negatively affect the environment (cause adverse changes to air, water, or land), comply with applicable laws, regulations, and other environmentally oriented requirements, and continually improve on the above. ... ISO/IEC 27000 is the number reserved for a new international standard, which currently has the provisional title: The standard is known informally as ISO 27000. The standard is being developed by a sub-committee of the the Joint Technical Committee (JTC1) of the International Organization for Standardization and the... ISO/IEC 20000 is the first international standard for IT Service Management. ... BS 25999 is BSIs standard in field of Business Continuity Management (BCM). ... Food safety is linked to the presence of food-borne hazards in food at the point of consumption. ... SA8000 is a global social accountability standard for decent working conditions, developed and overseen by Social Accountability International (SAI). ... ISO has many meanings: Iso is the stem of the Latin transliteration of the Greek word ίσος (ísos, meaning equal). The iso- prefix in English derives from this and means equality or similarity. ... The initials IEC can stand for: Independent Electoral Commission Industrial Emergency Council Inertial electrostatic confinement (in fusion energy) Institut des Experts-comptables et des Conseils fiscaux Institut dEstudis Catalans, Catalan Studies Institute Interactive Evolutionary Computation International Education Centre International Electrical Congress International Electrotechnical Commission See also IEC connector for... CEN, the European Committee for Standardisation or Comité Européen de Normalisation, is a private non-profit organisation whose mission is to foster the European economy in global trading, the welfare of European citizens and the environment by providing an efficient infrastructure to interested parties for the development, maintenance and... CENELEC (French: Comité Européen de Normalisation Electrotechnique) is the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization. ... The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is a standardization organization of the telecommunications industry (equipment makers and network operators) in Europe, with worldwide projection. ...

Notes and references

[1] Robert C McWilliam. BSI: The first hundred years. 2001. Thanet Press. London
[2] BSI Group Corporate Brochure 2007, page 21
[3] BSI Group Full Report and Accounts 2006
[4] http://www.qsuonline.com/BodyPages/BigTen.html#9KBigTen
[5] Annual Review & Summary Financial Statements 2006, page 5
[6] BSI Press Release 1 June 2006
[7] Robert C McWilliam. BSI: The first hundred years. 2001. Thanet Press. London
[8] Annual Review & Summary Financial Statements 2006, page 15
[9] Annual Review & Summary Financial Statements 2006, page 15
[10] http://www.bsi-global.com/en/About-BSI/About-BSI-Group/BSI-Financial-Information/
[11] Annual Review & Summary Financial Statements 2006, page 24
[12] http://www.bsi-global.com/en/About-BSI/About-BSI-Group/BSI-History/

External links

www.bsigroup.com – Official site

www.bsonline.bsi-global.com – to subscribe to receive British Standards