Bureau to Recognize Technical Volunteers on World Standards Day

The Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ) will join with the rest of the world in celebrating the work of thousands of volunteers, who have contributed to the development of standards, on World Standards Day, October 14.

A standard is a document that provides requirements, specifications, guidelines or characteristics that can be used consistently to ensure that materials, products, processes and services are fit for their purpose.

Director of the Standards Division at the BSJ, Julia Bonner Douette, informed that some 100 technical committee members, who give freely of their time, expertise, and knowledge in developing national and regional standards and comment on international standards, will be recognised at a Technical Committee Appreciation Luncheon at the Knutsford Court Hotel in New Kingston.

Mrs. Bonner Douette, who was addressing a JIS Think Tank on October 10, said that the day’s theme: ‘International standards ensure positive change’, speaks directly to the work of volunteers as, by sharing their knowledge and creating standards, they provide business, government and society with a solid platform for positive change.

“For WSD, we want to bring to the attention of the wider public, an understanding that standards are a part of our everyday life…we standardize the cars we drive, our clothes, our buildings, so standards are the base of our existence and should be viewed as a pillar for improvement and platform for change,” she stated.

Other activities to commemorate WSD include a church service at the St. Andrew Parish Church on Sunday, October 13. The BSJ will also be participating in a series of media interviews geared at promoting awareness of the day.

October 14 marks the day that delegates from 25 countries met in London in 1946, to create a new international organization focused on facilitating standardization. Months later, on February 23, 1947, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) started operations.