27 Organisations that provide standards – BIS, ASTM, AATCC, BSI, ISO

V. RameshBabu

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1. INTRODUCTION TO QUALITY STANDARDS

 

Quality standard is a documented process intended to control work resulting in a certain level of excellence (quality). The standard’s degree of control is a basis for its selection for achieving that level of quality.

 

Benefits of Quality standards

 

a)      It defines safety requirements intended to reduce the risk of accident.

b)      It sets a level of performance for products.

c)      They are a framework for quality processes.

d)     It reduces cost and saves money.

e)      Encapsulation of best practice – avoids repetition of past mistakes.

f)       It facilitates communication and prevents misunderstanding.

g)      They provide continuity.

 

Sources of Standards

  • In an industry with so many segments and interests, communicating quality requirements and supplying goods of the appropriate quality level are difficult
  • Professional and trade organizations have developed to educate members and enhance communication among industry segments

Major organizations for Quality

 

Standards

 

American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC)

 

1.      American Society for Testing and Materials(ASTM)

2.      British Standard Institute

3.      Bureau of Indian Standards

4.      International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

  1. AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF TEXTILE CHEMISTS AND COLORISTS (AATCC)

Introduction

 

AATCC is the world’s leading not-for-profit association serving textile professionals since 1921.AATCC is headquartered in Research Triangle Park, N.C., USA, providing test method development, quality control materials, and professional networking for thousands of members in 60 countries throughout the world.

 

The American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) was founded by Dr. Louis Olney of the Lowell Textile School.AATCC is the world’s leading not-for-profit professional association for the textile design, materials, processing, and testing industries.

 

Members of AATCC are employees of textile, apparel, and home goods manufacturers; dye and chemical manufacturers; testing laboratories; consumer and retail organizations; state and federal government agencies; and colleges and universities.AATCC has thousands of individual and corporate members in more than 60 countries worldwide.AATCC develops internationally recognized standard test methods used by the industry, governments, researchers, and others. It develops procedures to assess the characteristics of materials and their performance in the areas of

  • Wet processing,
  • Dyeing
  • Care
  • Biological properties &
  • Other related factors

These procedures are sometimes described as wet tests because liquids, such as water and other solvents are used in preparing specimens or in the procedure.

 

AATCC standards and test methods are developed by research committees after extensive investigation and inter laboratory comparisons.

 

Development or extensive revision of a procedure reflects several years of work. Test methods are approved by three level hierarchies before they are published in the Technical Manual.

 

A test method is reviewed annually for its first three years of existence. After that it is reviewed every five years and reaffirmed, revised or withdrawn.

  1. American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)

ASTM International, formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), is a globally recognized leader in the development and delivery of international voluntary consensus standards. Today, some 12,000 ASTM standards are used around the world to improve product quality, enhance safety, facilitate market access and trade, and build consumer confidence. ASTM is one of the oldest professional organizations in United States. ASTM was established in 1898.ASTM consists of more than 130 technical committees, is international in scope and supports the work of National Institute of Standards and Technology.

 

ASTM Committees

  • ASTM Committee D-13 focuses on textiles; other committees focus on other materials or products, such as leather and building materials.
  • ASTM procedures are used to identify physical characteristics and assess performance related to physical-mechanical procedures.
  • These procedures are often referred to as dry procedures because the materials are most often tested in the dry state.
  • ASTM also works with industry, government, and others interested in developing uniform standards.

ASTM Standards

  • ASTM standards are full consensus standards. This means that a standard result when a full of all concerned parties is met.
  • Proposed standards and revisions are voted on by ASTM voting members.
  • Once the standard has been approved, it is included in the Annual Book of Standards. All interested individuals participate in the development and/or use of the standard.
  • ASTM requires that all standards be reviewed by committee every five years, so that each standard reflects current practices within industry.
  • Standards are used voluntarily and are not legally binding unless they became incorporated in laws or regulations or are cited in contracts
  • ASTM has no certificate program, but standards sometimes are used in certifying products.
  • Products may carry labels indicating that a product was certified following an ASTM procedure.
  • This means that a standard ASTM procedure was followed and that the product met or exceeded a minimum level of performance established by another group completely separate from ASTM
  1. BRITISH STANDARD INSTITUTE (BSI)

   The world’s first management systems quality standard, BS 5750, was published by BSI in 1979. It produces standards and information products that promote and share best practice. Over 30,000 BSI standards and publications are created.

 

NUMBERING BRITISH STANDARDS. The British Standards are titled as, BS XXX: Year Title Where, XXX is the number of the standard Example: BS EN ISO 9001:2000 Quality management systems Requirements BS EN ISO 9004:2000 Quality management systems. Guidelines for performance improvements.

 

Some BSI Standards related to Apparels

  1. BUREAU OF INDIAN STANDARDS (BIS)

  The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the national Standards Body of India working under the aegis of Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government of India. It is established by the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986 which came into effect on 23 December 1986.The Minister in charge of the Ministry or Department having administrative control of the BIS is the ex-officio President of the BIS.

 

The organisation was formerly the Indian Standards Institution (ISI), set up under the Resolution of the then Department of Industries and Supplies No. 1 Std.(4)/45, dated 3 September 1946. The ISI was registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

 

As a corporate body, it has 25 members drawn from Central or State Governments, industry, scientific and research institutions, and consumer organisations. Its headquarters are in New Delhi, with regional offices in Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, Chandigarh and Delhi and 20 branch offices. It also works as WTO-TBT enquiry point for India

 

The BIS standardization process for the development of Indian Standards (IS) follows the ISO/IEC standards and WTO/TBT guidelines. BIS’s role is to coordinate inputs from various public sector stakeholders to its technical committees which are then commented by the private sector representatives (experts and industry association representatives). Since 1968 BIS has been organizing training programme on standardization for nominees of developing countries every year in the month of October.

 

BIS does not make technical regulations. However there are technical regulations which make compliance to BIS standards mandatory. Technical regulations are issued by various departments under different ministries of Government of India or by different regulators empowered under different states. BIS is engaged in formulation of Indian Standards for the following sectors:

  • Production & General Engineering
  • Chemicals
  • Civil Engineering
  • Electronics and Information Technology
  • Electro technical
  • Food and Agriculture
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Management and Systems
  • Medical Equipment and Hospital Planning
  • Metallurgical Engineering
  • Petroleum Coal and Related Products
  • Transport Engineering
  • Textile
  • Water Resources

Each of these sectors has a Division Council to oversee and supervise its work. BIS publishes detailed Work Programme for each of the 14 Division Councils as briefed below once in a year on 1 April. Special attention is given to multidisciplinary areas such as energy conservation, environmental protection, rural development and safety. So far over 18,000 standards have been formulated in different technology areas.

  1. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR STANDARDIZATION (ISO)

International Organization for Standardization is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies from some 100 countries, one from each country.

 

ISO is a non-governmental organization established in 1947. The mission of ISO is to promote the development of standardization and related activities in the world with view to facilitating the international exchange of goods and services, and to developing cooperation in the sphere of intellectual, scientific, technological and economic activity.

 

Need for ISO

  • The existence of non-harmonized standards for similar technologies in different countries or regions can contribute to so called “technical barriers to trade”.
  • Export oriented industries have always felt the need to agree on world standards to help international trade. This was the origin of the establishment of ISO.
  • International Standardization is now well established for very many technologies in such diverse field as information processing and communications, textiles, packaging, distribution of goods, energy production and utilization, ship building,banking and financial services.

ISO 9000 Series Standards

  • The ISO 9000 series is a set of five individual, but related, international standards on quality management and quality assurance.
  • They are generic not specific to any particular products. They can be used in the manufacturing and service industries.
  • These standard swere developed with the goal of effectively documenting the qualit system elements to be implemented inorder to maintainan effective quality system in a company.
  • Thesestandardsseektoensurethatacompanyhasinplacenecessarorganization,commitment and systems to consisten tlymeet defined quality and performanc estandards.
  • Itis important to recognize that these standards do not set or define quality levels; thes etting of the quality levels or performance standard sisvery muchup to the company, depending on the needs of the marketplace and the requirement so fits customers.

 

Elements of ISO 9000 Standards

  1. Management responsibility
  2. Quality System
  3. Contract Review
  4. Design Control
  5. Documents and data control
  6. Purchasing
  7. Customer-supplied product
  8. Product identification and traceability
  9. Process Control
  10. Inspection and Testing
  11. Control of Inspection, measuring, and test equipment
  12. Inspection and test status
  13. Control of nonconforming product
  14. Corrective and preventive action
  15. Handling, storage, packaging, preservation and delivery
  16. Control of quality audits
  17. Internal quality audits
  18. Training
  19. Servicing
  20. Statistical Techniques

Advantages of Implementing or registering to these standards

  • These standards can be used as a vital management tool to improve quality and productivity and save costs.
  • As company beings to implement ISO 9000 standard, it forces all the employees to review the current practices in a variety of areas of the company operations and improve them as an effort is made to comply with the requirement of the standard.
  • It forces consistency in procedures and practices and thereby brings discipline in operations, resulting in reduced variability, which is the key to process improvement.
  • It generates greater awareness of quality at various levels and across functions within a company.
  • It helps identify opportunities for reducing errors and improving quality and productivity.
  • As a company goes through registration process quality and productivity improves.
  • ISO 9000 registration can be used as a marketing tool, and a competitive advantage.
  • Being registered to ISO 9000 Standard will result in reduction in multiple audits / assessments as customers are increasingly accepting supplier quality system registration / certification from an accredited third party.
  • Being registered to ISO 9000 standards offers worldwide credibility as a company having good quality system in place.
  1. OTHER ORGANIZATIONS FOR STANDARDS
  • JIN (Japanese Industrial Standard)
  • Canada Standard Association
  • DIN (German Standards Institute – Deutsches Institute fuerNormung)
  • Oeko-Tex Standard
  • Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP)
  1. JIN (Japanese Industrial Standard)
  •  It specifies the standards used for industrial activities in Japan.
  • The standardization process is coordinated by Japanese Industrial Standards Committee (JISC)
  • It mainly focuses on Textile Engineering.

It Focuses on,

  • General
  • Test and Inspection
  • Thread
  • Woven Fabric, Braided Goods Braided Goods
  • Textile Product
  • Yarn Reeling Machine
  • Textile Machine, Braiding Machine
  • Dyeing Finishing Machine
  1. Canada Standard Association

These standards fall into the following classifications:

  • Dimensional: to secure uniformity, interchangeability and simplification of the types and sizes of one product.
  • Qualitative: to assess fitness for purpose.
  • Methods of test: to provide a uniform, efficient and economic basis of comparison between products.
  • Methods of use (Codes of Practice): to define the correct application of methods, materials and appliances.
  1. DIN (German Standards Institute – Deutsches Institute fuerNormung) It has been based in Berlin since 1917.

Its primary task is to work closely with its stakeholders to develop consensus-based standards that meet market requirements.

  1. Oeko-Tex Standard

Oeko-Tex Standard 100 was introduced by the Hohenstein Institute and the Institute for Ecology, Technology and Innovation ÖTI (Vienna/Austria) in 1992. The aim was to maketextile products from conventional production having undergone laboratory testing for harmful substances obvious to consumers by using a label (‘Confidence in Textiles’). Textiles with this label are proven to remain below the set limit values for certain harmful substances. At the same time the introduction of the standard established a globally standardized quality assurance system for manufacturers and retailers to take into account the decreasing vertical range of manufacture in the individual facilities of the textile and clothing industry and to compensate for regionally different evaluation standards for the risk potential of harmful substances. Use of the Oeko-Tex certificate therefore documents compliance with human ecology quality towards subsequent production levels and end consumers.

  1. Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP)

Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP) is a non-profit dedicated to promoting safe, lawful, humane and ethical manufacturing around the world through certification and education. The WRAP certification program mainly focuses on the apparel, footwear and sewn products sectors.

 

The WRAP Principles are based on generally accepted international workplace standards, local laws and workplace regulations which encompass human resources management, health and safety, environmental practices, and legal compliance including import/export and customs compliance and security standards:

 

  1. Compliance with Laws and Workplace Regulations
  2. Prohibition of Forced Labor
  3. Prohibition of Child Labor
  4. Prohibition of Harassment or Abuse
  5. Compensation and Benefits
  6. Hours of Work
  7. Prohibition of Discrimination
  8. Health and Safety
  9. Freedom of Association & Collective Bargaining
  10. Environment
  11. Customs Compliance
  12. Security

 

  1. CONCLUSION

 

In modern business, effective communication along the supply chain and with legislative bodies, clients and customers is imperative. Standardization can deliver measurable benefits when applied within the infrastructure of a company itself. Business costs and risks can be minimized, internal processes streamlined and communication improved. Standardization promotes interoperability, providing a competitive edge necessary for the effective worldwide trading of products and services.

 

 

 

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REFERENCES and URLs

 

  1. www.aatcc.org
  2. https://www.astm.org
  3. www.bis.org.in
  4. https://www.bsigroup.com/en-IN/
  5. https://www.iso.org/
  6. Pradip V.Mehta, “An Introduction of Quality Control for the Apparel Industry”. ASQC quality Press, Marcel Dekker Inc., Newyork, 1992.
  7. Managing Quality In Apparel Industry, S.K.Bhrdwaj & Pradip V Mehta. Quality is Free,Philip Crosby.
  8. V.RameshBabu “Industrial Engineering in Apparel Production” Wood Head publishingIndia Ltd., ISBN 13:978-93-80308-17-3, 2012.