Critical Technical Information

The Case for Standards

Management: Cutting
Costs, Reducing Risk and
Improving Work Processes

I. Introduction collection package that contains all the standards their

Consider the typical technical standard. It can go company uses, employees may buy standards as they
through years of development, with anyone with a need them, creating additional costs for the company. In
vested interest weighing in on its content. Finally, once addition, enterprise-wide insight into document versions
it's published, it's recognized as being entirely voluntary. is limited, potentially resulting in different groups using
Companies don't have to use it-but if they do, they may different versions of the same standard, which can lead
realize a number of benefits, such as lower costs, faster to costly rework or quality or liability issues. Also,
time to market and compliance with regulations. For without adequate management or guidance regarding
example, a manufacturer could design a custom hex standards, employees may unknowingly–or even
bolt-or it could choose a bolt that meets the knowingly–illegally copy and distribute documents,
specifications described in ASTM A307, Standard violating copyright laws. When this happens, the
Specification for Carbon Steel Bolts and Studs, 60 000 organization is at risk of legal action being brought by
PSI Tensile Strength. By specifying a standardized part, the copyright owners.
the manufacturer not only saves considerable design
time, but also saves money by being able to source the An effective standards management system can help
part from any one of the vendors that supply it. And organizations take full advantage of the standards they
that's just one part. To calculate the true value of using need while minimizing costs and risks. This white paper
standards in this scenario, multiply those benefits is designed to help companies take their first steps
across the hundreds or even thousands of components toward implementing a standards management system.
that make up one product. It provides an overview of the importance of standards,
discusses the risks associated with not providing
Despite these benefits, the value of standards is often employees with access to current, applicable standards,
overlooked, and the documents are not treated as the examines the challenges associated with establishing a
valuable resources that they are. Many organizations, in standards management system and offers
fact, exercise little to no control over the standards they recommendations on how to develop an effective
depend on to do business. In these situations, standards management system and practices based on
standards management isn't centralized. Rather than the organization's requirements.
rely on a cost-controlled subscription or custom
Critical Technical Information > The Case for Standards Management: Cutting Costs, Reducing Risks and Improving Work Processes

The Importance of Standards number of costs associated with inadequate or

Standards are everywhere. They offer guidance on how nonexistent standards management systems-and these
products should be designed, processes should flow, costs can easily outstrip the documents' price tags.
documents should be managed, services should be
One of the biggest problems associated with not
offered and even how standards should be developed.
managing standards effectively is version control.
There are millions of standards in use and thousands of
Standards change frequently–ASTM International, for
organizations around the world that develop and
example, releases an average of 287 new documents,
manage them, including national standards bodies,
revisions, reapprovals and withdrawals a month. And
regional and international standards development
that's just one SDO. Staying on top of these changes
organizations, user groups, trade associations, the
can be challenging, but vital. Without a standards
military and government organizations. For the purposes
management system in place, it's difficult to keep
of this white paper, all organizations that develop
employees notified of when standards have been
standards will be referred to as standards development
updated. They may not know to check for the newer
organizations or SDOs.
version, or they may have printed out a copy of the
Many organizations rely heavily on standards, and for older standard for reference, and don't realize it's now
good reason. Some of the benefits associated with outdated. The fallout associated with employees not
standards include: using the correct version of a standard can be severe:
• Interoperability. Standards help companies develop • Products being rejected by customers because of
products that work with other system components, their lack of compliance with the correct standard
thus making them more attractive to customers. • Higher costs, lost productivity and missed deadlines
• Quality. Standards provide companies with guidelines associated with rework
that can help ensure the quality of their products. • Liability and quality issues
• Supply. Standards enable the development of products
that use existing components, leading to more
suppliers for parts and therefore often lower costs.
• Design. Because standards enable the use of existing
components, companies can reduce the time it takes
to design a product because fewer components have
to be specifically designed for the end product.
• Environment, health and safety. Standards can help
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organizations reduce their impact on the environment

and protect the health and safety of their workers as Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

well as downstream users and the public.

• Regulatory compliance. Standards enable companies
to comply with government and industry regulations. On average, ASTM International releases 287 new documents,
revisions, reapprovals and withdrawals a month.
The bottom line is that standards can help organizations
lower costs, speed time to market, operate more
effectively and increase revenue opportunities–if they
Another problem that people have when working with
use them correctly.
standards is finding the information they need. With the
The Potential Hidden Costs of Standards myriad of standards that can impact an organization,
Standards may offer a number of benefits, but they finding the right version of the right standard can be
come at a price. The cost that most people focus on is difficult. While more and more organizations are moving
the price of the documents themselves. Each document away from a paper-based library system and posting
may only cost a few hundred dollars, but that can standards in a file directory or on an intranet, searching
quickly add up for organizations that use thousands of through these files for the right information can still be
standards. Even so, that isn't the cost organizations time-consuming and tedious
should worry about. Hidden under the surface are a

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Critical Technical Information > The Case for Standards Management: Cutting Costs, Reducing Risks and Improving Work Processes

As a result, rather than search through the file directory standards, such as those associated with the phone's
or library each time they need a standard, employees plastic case and the circuit board inside the device, as
may end up printing out or saving to their desktops well as a number of communications standards that
regularly used documents. In doing so, they may be at ensure safety when users are making calls.
risk of using outdated standards. In addition,
While managing a large number of documents is difficult
organizations may experience lost productivity resulting
in of itself, organizations face other challenges when it
from too much time spent searching for standards.
comes to standards management. First, there's the
Copyright abuse continues to be a dominant issue when difficulty associated with making sure that the people
it comes to standards. Since the advent of electronic who need to use standards have access to them. It may
documents, it's easier than ever for people to copy and sound simple–just buy the standards, post them on the
illegally distribute standards. Organizations that don't company's intranet and let people find the files for
establish and enforce strict policies designed to themselves. But with hundreds or thousands of
eliminate copyright abuse may find themselves at risk of standards to choose from, it can become an
violating national and international laws. When that overwhelming and time-consuming task to search for
happens, they may face lawsuits brought by the the right information.
copyright owners, and could spend significant time and
Another challenge organizations face is keeping
money fighting legal sanctions.
standards use consistent, so that everybody is using the
Finally, by not effectively controlling standards use, same versions of the same standards. In part, this is
organizations may have employees purchasing standards helped by automating the updating of standards, so that
as they need them. While this may sound like a good idea– as new versions of documents are released, they are
after all, they want their employees to have the information purchased and used to replace outdated documents.
they need to do their jobs–this strategy can backfire. For
Companies also need to make sure that they are
example, locally stored documents can be lost if the user
purchasing standards from reputable sources. By doing
experiences computer problems. Then there is the risk of
so, they will be able to ensure the quality of information
duplicate purchasing, where an employee may be buying a
they are using throughout their businesses. At the same
document already included in a subscription for which the
time, they need to focus on reducing or even eliminating
company is paying. Also, when employees make their own
the chances of copyright abuse. This requires clear
document purchases, they might end up using different
communications and consistent policies and guidelines.
versions of the same standard.
While it's easy to copy a document and send it out or
illegally post it on a file-sharing network, it's a criminal act
Issues Associated With Inadequate Standards Management that employees must be strongly warned against committing.
The signs that standards management practices may be
inadequate include:
Standards Management Recommendations
• Use of outdated standards or different versions of the same As discussed above, carefully managing standards is
standard important. But how a company should manage its
• Difficulties finding the right information standards-and the tools that are used to do so-may
• Employees saving standards document to their computers
differ depending on the needs of the organization.
even though they're available through a centralized electronic
library
• Copyright abuse At its most basic, a standards management system
• Out-of-control or unregulated standards procurement costs should allow organizations to store and procure
standards documents while keeping standards up to
date and enforcing copyright laws. At the same time, it
Standards Management Challenges should make it easy for users to find the information
The sheer number of standards that organizations need they need to do their jobs. What this system looks like
to manage can be overwhelming. For example, if the will vary depending on a number of factors. For
number of standards used to build a Boeing 747 were example, one person, working alone–such as a
printed out, they would fill the plane. Even a simpler freelance product designer who always works from a
device, such as a phone, is impacted by a number of home office–may only need a handful of standards.

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Critical Technical Information > The Case for Standards Management: Cutting Costs, Reducing Risks and Improving Work Processes

The designer buys hard copies of the standards, stores Also, larger companies have other issues that they need
them in a binder and flags the pages he frequently to consider when implementing a standards
references so it's easy to find the information he needs. management system. One has to do with the need for
But what happens if that designer often travels to collaboration. As employees work together on the same
clients' sites to work? Now that mobility is a priority, the project, they need to do more than just share the same
designer may be better off buying electronic copies of standards–they also need to share information. Making
the documents and storing them on his laptop. But in it possible for workers to capture the knowledge in their
either scenario, the designer needs to be sure he is heads is becoming increasingly important. When it
using the most current version of a standard. That's why comes to standards, this means giving users of
it's important for him to work with a vendor that standards the ability to make notes on the documents
automatically notifies him when updated versions of the they reference on a regular basis and allowing them to
documents he already owns are released. share that information with colleagues.

The freelance designer may be a one-person operation, Another issue is associated with standards
but his needs are similar to those of a larger procurement. Many companies that need standards
organization. Just as the freelancer needs to quickly find from a variety of SDOs may buy a subscription or
pertinent information, companies with multiple custom collection from a third-party information provider
standards users on staff want to make it easy for that includes the standards they require. But sometimes
employees to search for and locate the information they employees need to access other standards not included
need to do their jobs. They also want to ensure the in the subscription. Companies sometimes give their
standards are kept up to date. employees a budget to cover these expenditures, but
without careful oversight, their money may not be spent
Companies could emulate the freelance designer and
wisely. For example, if several employees are buying
have users buy and keep copies of the standards on
individual copies of the same standard, it might be more
their computers or at their desks, but that may not
cost-effective to add the standard to the company's
make sense, since managing standards this way can be
subscription. On the other hand, if some of the
difficult and expensive. Because of this, not too long
standards in a subscription or custom collection aren't
ago, companies with a large number of standards users
being used, the company would be better off dropping
would store standards in a centralized location that
those standards from the package of standards to
users would have to visit to access information. Today,
which it subscribes. That's why insight into standards
companies continue to embrace centralization, but rely
purchases and use is critical.
on portals, intranets or file sharing servers to do the job.
One way to address the issues larger companies face is
By making standards available through a centralized
by using an Internet-based standards management tool
electronic site, such as a portal, companies make it
provided by an experienced information provider. These
easy for employees to access standards. Since they're
types of systems offer a number of benefits:
kept in a central location, they're also easier for the
• Anytime, anywhere access to standards
company to manage and keep up to date. However,
• Search capabilities that make it easy to find information
internally developed electronic libraries do have
• Automatic updating of standards
disadvantages. They place the onus on the company to
• Copyright enforcement managed by someone who
manage the documents and keep them up to date.
knows the details of each SDO's copyright requirements
Also, in order to abide with copyright requirements,
• The ability for authorized users to quickly add new
which can differ depending on the SDO that published
documents to the collection
the standard, companies need to create controls that
• Centralized management that helps companies stay
limit the number of people accessing electronic copies
on top of purchases, costs and usage patterns
simultaneously and prevent the printing of multiple
copies or downloading to multiple computers.

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Critical Technical Information > The Case for Standards Management: Cutting Costs, Reducing Risks and Improving Work Processes

When evaluating a third-party standards management unique, and therefore should carefully assess its
tool, it is a good idea to look for one that has built-in situation before making a decision on the best course of
collaboration capabilities, such as the ability to add action when it comes to standards management.
notes to individual documents. Another ideal feature is
Taking the First Step
an interface that users can personalize so that they can
By implementing careful standards management
quickly find the information they need. For companies
policies and using the right tools to manage their
that create their own standards, they should also make
standards, companies can ensure they are deriving
sure the system they choose can support the incorporation
greater value from the standards they use throughout
of their standards with those they purchase from SDOs
the enterprise while minimizing the risks and costs
so that users can access the organization's entire
associated with mishandling such critical documents.
standards collection from one location.
Companies interested in achieving these goals should
Clearly, there are a number of factors to consider when start by examining their current standards use practices
choosing the ideal standards management tool. Before and then begin investigating the tools and processes
making a decision, organizations should first assess they can implement to better manage their standards.
their current situation. To do so, they should ask
As a leading provider of information and insight, IHS is
themselves questions such as:
ideally positioned to offer guidance and support to
• What standards do they use?
companies that use standards. Through the IHS
• Do they have their own internally developed standards?
Standards Store and IHS custom subscriptions,
• How many standards users do they have and where
customers have access to more than one million
are they located?
technical standards. IHS also offers its standards
• Where do they buy their standards?
management system, IHS Standards Expert™, which
• Where do they store their standards?
provides direct access to the world's largest database
• How do people access the standards?
of technical standards. With Standards Expert,
• How do they keep standards up to date?
companies can establish a single point through which
• How do they ensure that employees are using the
employees throughout the organization can access
same versions of standards?
standards and search for the information they need. It
• What is the impact if someone doesn't have access
also includes personalization capabilities that let users
to the right version of a standard?
customize the tool to better support how they prefer to
• What management practices do they have in place
work, add comments about documents they've
associated with copyright enforcement?
accessed, learn when new versions of standards they
The answers to these questions will help companies use have been released and quickly find documents
make more educated decisions about their standards they've already viewed.
management needs. While it may seem obvious that a
large company that uses thousands of standards will To learn more about standards management, visit
benefit from a third-party standards management www.ihs.com/standardsmanagement
system that provides automatic updates when new
versions of standards are released, organization size
isn't the only indicator of need. For example, a smaller
company that manufactures life-saving medical devices
may be well advised to consider a similar system given
the critical nature of its products and the potential risks
it faces in not using the current version of a standard.
Similarly, another large organization may only use a few
standards; in that case, it may be able to make do by
buying individual copies of standards and giving them
to the employees that need them. Every company is