Let’s recap the arguments I presented in my last two posts: standards are the trust infrastructure of the SDGs, the common language that turns ambition into execution. And collaboration is the conversation that gives this language a meaning in the real world. This post is about translating consensus between the actors in the conversation into day-to-day capability at the speed required by our times, and about the practical discipline it will take from all of us (standards bodies, industry, governments, regulators, and solution partners) to ensure that the work of standardization delivers its full economic, environmental and societal dividends.
The challenge
Consensus has limited value if it does not travel the last mile to daily decisions. The realities industry is facing today are complex. Product cycles shorten as the competition for market leadership increases and technology advances. Regulatory frameworks evolve rapidly and reference standards more systematically. Supply chains extend across jurisdictions that now tend to develop their own local requirements. Even the best-written standards can become difficult to use if the path from committee room to shop floors and boardrooms is cluttered with obstacles, uncertainties about their applicability and possible deviations, or limited visibility into normative references.
There is a strong expectation that technology will clear this path. Currently in the standardization community, there is a high focus on AI and SMART technologies. If investigating these avenues to add value to standards content are sensible, this should not hide the practical realities in the field. Standards users in many regions still cannot properly access a basic, current, version of the standards they need, and user guidance and support is inexistant. This may be due to the absence of an appropriate infrastructure or efficient local distributors, resulting in old, and sometimes illegitimate, versions being used. Even in the best served places, as I learned from my discussions with standards users, experts and engineers in the context of Accuris “Foundations for Standards Leadership” training course, knowing which standards apply to products and processes, in which jurisdictions, and in what sequence, what has changed from one edition to the next and the impact on design controls, remain a huge challenge, while these are critical to success.
And when those questions are answered, copyright policies, licensing and access models currently in place represent a substantial obstacle to how standards need to be used in the daily work. Yet, even low-tech such as simply embedding authoritative, version controlled, clauses from core standards into an existing Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and change control forms can reduce document related nonconformities substantially and save precious time. Added to this, an AI assisted “What changed” alert linked to normative references could help engineers identify downstream impacts during design reviews and avoid costly late rework. In all cases, it is certain that innovation in standards development is required to support innovation by the industry.
Integration as the driver for standards bodies
Users’ needs are diverse and depend on many factors such as their very nature (e.g. large or small business), their activities, their localization, etc. In view of this diversity, the variety of technologies available and the speed at which technology evolves today, looking for a one-fits-all solution is a risky path. Focusing on one concept or one technology might make dealing with that concept or technology as an end, not as a means that might help or might not help and can result in a solution looking for a problem. At a time where resources are scarce, business models are under pressure and revenue diversification is a challenge, the moto for standards bodies should be integration.
First, integration of content. Even in their most simple form, standards and their content should be allowed to be embedded in the workflows and tools where engineers, quality managers, procurement teams make decisions every day. Embedding clauses, definitions, and test methods directly into design controls, change management, or supplier qualification turns consensus into simpler routine practice and reduces the path from requirement to result.
Second, integration of multiple technology solutions. No single technology can address every sector, role or geography. Priority should be an interoperable fabric where search, authoring, manufacturing, product lifecycle management, quality management, procurement systems but also interpretation, access and share authoritative references and updates without friction.
Third, integration of partners. The development of innovative solutions can be achieved faster through strategic collaborations with third-party partners having the resources and the expertise to develop new approaches and integrate new technologies. Codevelopment with SDOs, NSBs, and trusted vendors accelerates digital transformation, extends the digital offering, improves discovery, and preserves authenticity, while partnership agreements clarify roles, so that the value expands without eroding missions or governance. This is particularly important as most standards bodies have to innovate in many areas, deal with other pressing political issues and have limited resources to invest.
Fourth. Integration of standards users. Those who are using standards on a daily basis must be better involved into the innovation process. If becoming customer centric organizations has been part of standards bodies’ strategies, a dilemma remains around the allocation of efforts between their members and standards users, a large part of these organizations being members-driven and non-for-profit. But it is indispensable that early pilots, practitioner feedback loops, and training are put in place to make standards more implementable and fit with realworld constraints. Recognizing power users, not just power members, as champions within organizations spreads good practice quickly and anchors collaboration transaction.
Accuris, the high value partner
While they are facing pressure on their roles, processes, intellectual property rights and business models, standards bodies should keep all options open and see them as an opportunity to strengthen their position, not as a threat. Accuris purpose is to be a trusted distributor and aggregator but also, and before all, a technology partner, with the competences and resources to support SDOs and NSBs in their digital transformation. As a connector between them and standards users, Accuris is a also precious allied to understand users’ profiles and experiences with standards, their needs and expectations.
I mentioned in the previous post how collaboration is critical in an uncertain world, a world that need standards to face our common challenges and support the SDGs. SDOs, NSBs and Accuris are in the same boat. Together they have a unique opportunity to explore ways to generate more value to standards users and new revenues opportunities, including thoughtful licensing and distribution partnerships to expand reach. This should help connecting the ecosystem so that the work of standardization over the entire lifecycle travels smoothly, serving standards users’ needs while strengthening the long-term financial viability, relevance and impact of voluntary standardization.
Last words on World Standards day
World Standards Day is an occasion to celebrate the people and the institutions which are really making everyone’s life better, every day. But it is also a moment for that community to recommit to the next stretch of work, recognize the importance of investing in public-private cooperation, inviting new voices from emerging geographies and technologies, and translating consensus into content that can be easily and rapidly found, read, processed, and applied by humans and machines. By doing this, standards will keep their promise as accelerators of the SDGs, not because they win arguments on social media, but because they quietly make complex systems safer, cleaner, and more reliable where it counts.
For those who have followed this series, the invitation is straightforward. If standards are the language and collaboration the conversation, capability is the practice. Ask how discovery and provenance can be made simpler. Demand that requirements flow into the tools teams already use. Expect authenticity and timeliness as a given. And choose partners whose mission is to help the ecosystem succeed. This is the contribution Accuris aims to make every day, standing alongside standards bodies, national members, and practitioners – so that a shared vision for a better world becomes a shared reality.