Standardization
Standardization (American English) or standardisation (British English) is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties that include firms, users, interest groups, standards organizations and governments.[1] Standardization can help maximize compatibility, interoperability, safety, repeatability, or quality. It can also facilitate a normalization of formerly custom processes.
For other uses, see Standardization (disambiguation).In social sciences, including economics,[2] the idea of standardization is close to the solution for a coordination problem, a situation in which all parties can realize mutual gains, but only by making mutually consistent decisions. Divergent national standards impose costs on consumers and can be a form of non-tariff trade barrier.[3]
History[edit]
Early examples[edit]
Standard weights and measures were developed by the Indus Valley civilization.[4] The centralized weight and measure system served the commercial interest of Indus merchants as smaller weight measures were used to measure luxury goods while larger weights were employed for buying bulkier items, such as food grains etc.[5] Weights existed in multiples of a standard weight and in categories.[5] Technical standardisation enabled gauging devices to be effectively used in angular measurement and measurement for construction.[6] Uniform units of length were used in the planning of towns such as Lothal, Surkotada, Kalibangan, Dolavira, Harappa, and Mohenjo-daro.[4] The weights and measures of the Indus civilization also reached Persia and Central Asia, where they were further modified.[7] Shigeo Iwata describes the excavated weights unearthed from the Indus civilization:
The process of standardization can itself be standardized. There are at least four levels of standardization: compatibility, interchangeability, commonality and reference. These standardization processes create compatibility, similarity, measurement, and symbol standards.
There are typically four different techniques for standardization
Types of standardization process: