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.

Attaining national standards such as BSI British Standards is a very important part of this process. BSI 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 (BS), European (CEN, EN) and (ISO) international Standards. BSI lead the world in advocating, defining and implementing best practice across every field of human endeavor, from business continuity to food safety.

Other international standards bodies such as ANSI (American National Standards Institute), ATMS, AWS, DIN and AFNOR also play a key role in producing these standards. In France AFNOR is the national standards body that is responsible for the NF EN standards. The German national standards body is DIN.

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world’s largest developer and publisher of International Standards. ISO are responsible for the popular standards such as ISO 9000, ISO 14000, ISO 27000 and ISO 22000.

Standards Interactive is the gateway that enables you to access the BS EN Standards from British standards. Many other International standards such ANSI, ASTM, AWS and AFNOR can also be downloaded from Standards Interactive.

The British Standards Kitemark is a world recognized symbol for quality and safety. It is a certification mark owned and operated by BSI. When you see a product with a Kitemark this means British Standards Institute has independently tested it and has confirmed that the product conforms to the relevant BSI Standard, and has issued a BSI license to the company to use that Kitemark.

BSI in conjuction with a number of other International standards bodies are also responsible for producing the OHSAS standards (Occupational Health and Safety management system specification). OHSAS 18001 being one of the key standards.

As of April many European national standards bodies will be adopting Eurocodes. Eurocodes 0 to Eurocodes 9 are the new set construction standards that will replace all existing conflicting EU building codes. The primary objectives of the Eurocodes are to improve structural safety and to enhance the competitiveness of the European construction industry.

The Eurocodes are mandatory for European public works and are set to become the main standards for the private sector, both in Europe and world-wide. They will also be the basis for assessing structural products for CE Marking. Eurocodes can also be bought and downloaded from Standards Interactive.

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.

Get more information on BSI, ISO, CE, Eurocodes and other International standards at Standards Interactive.

One way of controlling the energy consumption is using energy smart meters. But, what is an energy smart meter? The short answer is that it is a technological device that is used to get information about the household’s electricity usage, its cost and amount of energy spent within a certain period of time. The small digital meters are easily attached to the electricity meter and they are periodically viewed by the board of gas and electricity.

On the other hand, these utilities can be easily accessed through dedicated monitoring hardware or by providing information over the Internet. With the help of this technology, you can view the amount of power you are consuming moment-to-moment and in total. Importantly, having a smart meter provides you to see where you are using the energy most, and at what time of the day. Later on, you can make informed choices about usage and associated costs (e.g. cutting back costs on your energy consumption and saving from electricity bills along with reduced carbon footprint) after being armed with these information.

The British Government has announced its plans for getting the smart meters out across the UK. In the United States; Northen California, Los Angeles, and Austin, Texas have implemented the energy smart technology. Besides Turkey, Canada, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and Australia are the other countries which began to use the energy smart meters.

Nobody can deny the fact that the smart meters that monitor energy consumption on a regular basis will result in a revolutionary change in the energy industry. The major advantage of having an energy smart meter is that you can view it anytime you want and see your energy consumption. After that the decision rests with you; you either switch off some electrical appliances or keep increasing your carbon footprint.

If you would like to learn more about energy smart meters, please visit British Gas Energy Smart and Energy Smart