World Standards Day

Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself.

Henry Ward Beecher

Throughout the world, there is a set of standards that have been established that companies, organizations, and industries have all agreed to hold up. These standards have been established by mutual agreement between these organizations as part of their participation in the ISO, the International Organization for Standardization. It was these kinds of standards that helped drive the industrial revolution, and today it drives the advancement of all technologies from automotive to telecommunications. World Standards Day celebrates the work of these men and women, and the contribution their work makes to the world at large.

History of World Standards Day

Standards are important, we all know that and were all raised with this concept, but it’s entirely possible that we aren’t truly cognizant of just how vitally important standards can be. In the days before international standards and industrialization things, there was no way to get a replacement part for a machine or piece of equipment that you owned without going to the original manufacturer. Even then it was entirely possible that they’d only be able to do a ‘best fit’ sort of fix. Without automation or a set of standards to work by, every piece of these machines was purpose-built, meaning they were unique to that device.

The industrial revolution saw the beginning of an important change, and while many people say that fire was man’s most important invention, it’s entirely possible that it was actually standardization. Today when you need a replacement screw, you know you can go down to the hardware store and get one.

When you get a new router you know that it will be able to communicate with the networks and other electronic equipment because they all operate on a set of standardized frequencies. Even your cars run on a certain kind of fuel because the ISO set the standard for vehicles of that type. World Standards Day celebrates the hard work of the ISO and the way that it has utterly shaped the world we have today.

How To Celebrate World Standards Day

The best way to Celebrate World Standards Day is just to take some time to contemplate all of the things in your life that are standardized, and how much easier it makes things. Standards dictate the sizes, shapes, composition, frequency, and all the other fiddly bits that make our world fit together. Imagine what our lives would be without standardization!