BS

by / Friday, 25 March 2016 / Published in Machine standards

British Standards are the standards produced by BSI Group which is incorporated under a Royal Charter (and which is formally designated as the National Standards Body (NSB) for the UK). The BSI Group produces British Standards under the authority of the Charter, which lays down as one of the BSI’s objectives to:

(2) Set up standards of quality for goods and services, and prepare and promote the general adoption of British Standards and schedules in connection therewith and from time to time to revise, alter and amend such standards and schedules as experience and circumstances require

— BSI Royal Charter, Faller and Graham

Formally, as per the 2002 Memorandum of Understanding between the BSI and the United Kingdom Government, British Standards are defined as:

“British Standards” means formal consensus standards as set out in BS 0-1 paragraph 3.2 and based upon the principles of standardisation recognised inter alia in European standardisation policy.

— MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDINGBETWEEN THE UNITED KINGDOM GOVERNMENT AND THE BRITISH STANDARDS INSTITUTION IN RESPECT OF ITS ACTIVITIES AS

THE UNITED KINGDOM’S NATIONAL STANDARDS BODY, United Kingdom Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills

Products and services which BSI certifies as having met the requirements of specific standards within designated schemes are awarded the Kitemark.

How British Standards are made

The BSI Group as a whole does not produce British Standards, as standards work within the BSI is decentralized. The governing Board of BSI establishes a Standards Board. The Standards Board does little apart from setting up Sector Boards (a Sector in BSI parlance being a field of standardization such as ICT, Quality, Agriculture, Manufacturing, or Fire). Each Sector Board in turn constitutes several Technical Committees. It is the Technical Committees that, formally, approve a British Standard, which is then presented to the Secretary of the supervisory Sector Board for endorsement of the fact that the Technical Committee has indeed completed a task for which it was constituted.

The standards

The standards produced are titled British Standard XXXX[-P]:YYYY where XXXX is the number of the standard, P is the number of the part of the standard (where the standard is split into multiple parts) and YYYY is the year in which the standard came into effect.BSI Group currently has over 27,000 active standards. Products are commonly specified as meeting a particular British Standard, and in general this can be done without any certification or independent testing. The standard simply provides a shorthand way of claiming that certain specifications are met, while encouraging manufacturers to adhere to a common method for such a specification.

The Kitemark can be used to indicate certification by BSI, but only where a Kitemark scheme has been set up around a particular standard. It is mainly applicable to safety and quality management standards. There is a common misunderstanding that Kitemarks are necessary to prove compliance with any BS standard, but in general it is neither desirable nor possible that every standard be ‘policed’ in this way.

Following the move on harmonisation of the standard in Europe, some British Standards are gradually superseded or replaced by the relevant European Standards (EN).

Status of standards

Standards are continuously reviewed and developed and are periodically allocated one or more of the following status keywords.

  • Confirmed – the standard has been reviewed and confirmed as being current.
  • Current – the document is the current, most recently published one available.
  • Draft for public comment/DPC – a national stage in the development of a standard, where wider consultation is sought within the UK.
  • Obsolescent – indicating by amendment that the standard is not recommended for use for new equipment, but needs to be retained to provide for the servicing of equipment that is expected to have a long working life, or due to legislative issues.
  • Partially replaced – the standard has been partially replaced by one or more other standards.
  • Proposed for confirmation – the standard is being reviewed and it has been proposed that it is confirmed as the current standard.
  • Proposed for obsolescence – the standard is being reviewed and it has been proposed that it is made obsolescent.
  • Proposed for withdrawal – the standard is being reviewed and it has been proposed that it is withdrawn.
  • Revised – the standard has been revised.
  • Superseded – the standard has been replaced by one or more other standards.
  • Under review – the standard is under review.
  • Withdrawn – the document is no longer current and has been withdrawn.
  • Work in hand – there is work being undertaken on the standard and there may be a related draft for public comment available.

History

BSI Group headquarters in Chiswick district in London

BSI Group began in 1901 as the Engineering Standards Committee, led by James Mansergh, to standardise the number and type of steel sections, in order to make British manufacturers more efficient and competitive.

Over time the standards developed to cover many aspects of tangible engineering, and then engineering methodologies including quality systems, safety and security.

Examples of British Standards

  • BS 0 A standard for standards specifies Development, Structure and Drafting of British Standards themselves.
  • BS 1 Lists of Rolled Sections for Structural Purposes
  • BS 2 Specification and Sections of Tramway Rails and Fishplates
  • BS 3 Report on Influence of Gauge Length and Section of Test Bar on the Percentage of Elongation
  • BS 4 Specification for Structural Steel Sections
  • BS 5 Report on Locomotives for Indian Railways
  • BS 6 Properties of Rolled Sections for Structural Purposes
  • BS 7 Dimensions of Copper Conductors Insulated Annealed, for Electric Power and Light
  • BS 8 Specification for Tubular Tramway Poles
  • BS 9 Specification and Sections of Bull Head Railway Rails
  • BS 10 Tables of Pipe Flanges
  • BS 11 Specifications and Sections of Flat Bottom Railway Rails
  • BS 12 Specification for Portland Cement
  • BS 13 Specification for Structural Steel for Shipbuilding
  • BS 14 Specification for Structural Steel for Marine Boilers
  • BS 15 Specification for Structural Steel for Bridges, etc., and General Building Construction
  • BS 16 Specification for telegraph material (insulators, pole fittings, etc.)
  • BS 17 Interim Report on Electrical Machinery
  • BS 18 Forms of Tensile Test Pieces
  • BS 19 Report on Temperature Experiments on Field Coils of Electrical Machines
  • BS 20 Report on *BS Screw Threads
  • BS 21 Report on Pipe Threads for Iron or Steel Pipes and Tubes
  • BS 22 Report on Effect of Temperature on Insulating Materials
  • BS 23 Standards for Trolley Groove and Wire,
  • BS 24 Specifications for Material used in the Construction of Standards for Railway Rolling Stock
  • BS 25 Report on Errors in Workmanship Based on Measurements Carried Out for the Committee by the National Physical Laboratory
  • BS 26 Second Report on Locomotives for Indian Railways (Superseding No 5)
  • BS 27 Report on Standard Systems of Limit Gauges for Running Fits
  • BS 28 Report on Nuts, Bolt Heads and Spanners
  • BS 29 Specification for Ingot Steel Forgings for Marine Purposes,
  • BS 30 Specification for Steel Castings for Marine Purposes,
  • BS 31 Specification for Steel Conduits for Electrical Wiring
  • BS 32 Specification for Steel Bars for use in Automatic Machines
  • BS 33 Carbon Filament Electric Lamps
  • BS 34 Tables of BS Whitworth, BS Fine and BS Pipe Threads
  • BS 35 Specification for Copper Alloy Bars for use in Automatic Machines
  • BS 36 Report on British Standards for Electrical Machinery
  • BS 37 Specification for Electricity Meters
  • BS 38 Report on British Standards Systems for Limit Gauges for Screw Threads
  • BS 39 Combined Report on BS Screw Threads
  • BS 40 Specification for Spigot and Socket Cast Iron Low Pressure Heating Pipes
  • BS 41 Specification for Spigot and Socket Cast Iron Flue or Smoke Pipes
  • BS 42 Report on Reciprocating Steam Engines for Electrical Purposes
  • BS 43 Specification for Charcoal Iron Lip-welded Boiler Tubes
  • BS 44 Specification for Cast Iron Pipes for Hydraulic Power
  • BS 45 Report on Dimensions for Sparking Plugs (for Internal Combustion Engines)
  • BS 46 Specification for Keys and Keyways
  • BS 47 Steel Fishplates for Bullhead and Flat Bottom Railway Rails, Specification and Sections of
  • BS 48 Specification for Wrought Iron of Smithing Quality for Shipbuilding (Grade D)
  • BS 49 Specification for Ammeters and Voltmeters
  • BS 50 Third Report on Locomotives for Indian Railways (Superseding Nos. 5 and 26)
  • BS 51 Specification for Wrought Iron for use in Railway Rolling Stock (‘Best Yorkshire’ and Grades A, B and C)
  • BS 52 Specification for bayonet lamp-caps lampholders and B.C. adaptors (lampholder plugs)
  • BS 53 Specification for Cold Drawn Weldless Steel Boiler Tubes for Locomotive Boilers
  • BS 54 Report on Screw Threads, Nuts and Bolt Heads for use in Automobile Construction
  • BS 55 Report on Hard Drawn Copper and Bronze Wire
  • BS 56 Definitions of Yield Point and Elastic Limit
  • BS 57 Report on heads for Small Screws
  • BS 58 Specification for Spigot and socket Cast Iron Soil Pipes
  • BS 59 Specification for Spigot and Socket Cast Iron Waste and Ventilating Pipes (for other than Soil Purposes)
  • BS 60 Report of Experiments on Tungsten Filament Glow Lamps
  • BS 61 Specification for Copper Tubes and their Screw Threads (primarily for domestic and similar work)
  • BS 62 Screwing for Marine Boiler Stays,
  • BS 63 Specification for Sizes of Broken Stone and Chippings,
  • BS 64 Specification for Fishbolts and Nuts for Railway Rails
  • BS 65 Specification for Salt-Glazed Ware Pipes,
  • BS 66 Specification for Copper-Alloy Three-Piece Unions (for Low and Medium Pressure Screwed Copper Tubes)
  • BS 67 Specification for Two and Three-Plate Ceiling Roses
  • BS 68 Method of Specifying the Resistance of Steel Conductor Rails,
  • BS 69 Report on Tungsten Filament Glow Lamps (Vacuum Type) for Automobiles
  • BS 70 Report on Pneumatic Tyre Rims for Automobiles, Motor Cycles and Cycles
  • BS 71 Report on Dimensions of Wheel Rims and Tyre Bands for Solid Rubber Tyres for Automobiles
  • BS 72 British Standardisation Rules for Electrical Machinery,
  • BS 73 Specification for Two-Pin Wall Plugs and Sockets (Five-, Fifteen- and Thirty-Ampere)
  • BS 74 Charging Plug and Socket, for Vehicles Propelled by Electric Secondary Batteries, Specification for
  • BS 75 Steels for Automobiles, Specification for Wrought
  • BS 76 Report of and Specifications for Tar and Pitch for Road Purposes
  • BS 77 Specification. Voltages for a.c. transmission and distribution systems
  • BS 78 Specification for Cast Iron Pipes and Special Castings for Water, Gas and Sewage
  • BS 79 Report on Dimensions of Special Trackwork for Tramways
  • BS 80 Magnetos for Automobile Purposes
  • BS 81 Specification for Instrument Transformers
  • BS 82 Specification for Starters for Electric Motors
  • BS 83 Standard of Reference for Dope and Protective Covering for Aircraft
  • BS 84 Report on Screw Threads (British Standard Fine), and their Tolerances (Superseding parts of Reports Nos. 20 and 33)
  • BS 86 Report on Dimensions of Magnetos for Aircraft Purposes
  • BS 87 Report on Dimensions for Airscrew Hubs
  • BS 88 Specification for cartridge fuses for voltages up to and including 1000 V a.c. and 1500 V d.c. Originally titled: “Specification for Electric Cut-Outs (Low Pressure, Type O)”
  • BS 89 Specification for Indicating Ammeters, Voltmeters, Wattmeters, Frequency and Power-Factor Meters
  • BS 90 Specification for Recording (Graphic) Ammeters, Voltmeters and Wattmeters
  • BS 95 Tables of Corrections to Effective Diameter required to compensate Pitch and Angle Errors in Screw Threads of Whitworth Form
  • BS 98 Specification for Goliath Lamp Caps and Lamp Holders
  • BS 103 Specification for Falling Weight Testing Machines for Rails
  • BS 104 Sections of Light Flat Bottom Railway Rails and Fishplates
  • BS 105 Sections of Light and Heavy Bridge Type Railway Rails
  • BS 107 Standard for Rolled Sections for Magnet Steel
  • BS 196 for protected-type non-reversible plugs, socket-outlets cable-couplers and appliance-couplers with earthing contacts for single phase a.c. circuits up to 250 volts
  • BS 308 a now deleted standard for engineering drawing conventions, having been absorbed into BS 8888.
  • BS 317 for Hand-Shield and Side Entry Pattern Three-Pin Wall Plugs and Sockets (Two Pin and Earth Type)
  • BS 336 for fire hose couplings and ancillary equipment
  • BS 372 for Side-entry wall plugs and sockets for domestic purposes (Part 1 superseded BS 73 and Part 2 superseded BS 317)
  • BS 381 for colours used in identification, coding and other special purposes
  • BS 476 for fire resistance of building materials / elements
  • BS 499 Welding terms and symbols.
  • BS 546 for Two-pole and earthing-pin plugs, socket-outlets and socket-outlet adaptors for AC (50–60 Hz) circuits up to 250V
  • BS 857 for safety glass for land transport
  • BS 987C Camouflage Colours
  • BS 1088 for marine plywood
  • BS 1192 for Construction Drawing Practice. Part 5 (BS1192-5:1998) concerns Guide for structuring and exchange of CAD data.
  • BS 1361 for cartridge fuses for a.c. circuits in domestic and similar premises
  • BS 1362 for cartridge fuses for BS 1363 power plugs
  • BS 1363 for mains power plugs and sockets
  • BS 1377 Methods of test for soils for civil engineering.
  • BS 1572 Colours for Flat Finishes for Wall Decoration
  • BS 1881 Testing Concrete
  • BS 1852 Specification for marking codes for resistors and capacitors
  • BS 2660 Colours for building and decorative paints
  • BS 2979 Transliteration of Cyrillic and Greek Letters
  • BS 3506 for unplasticized PVC pipe for industrial uses
  • BS 3621 Thief resistant lock assembly. Key egress
  • BS 3943 Specification for plastics waste traps
  • BS 4142 Methods for rating and assessing industrial and commercial sound
  • BS 4293 for residual current-operated circuit-breakers
  • BS 4343 for industrial electrical power connectors
  • BS 4573 Specification for 2-pin reversible plugs and shaver socket-outlets
  • BS 4800 for paint colours used in building construction
  • BS 4900 for vitreous enamel colours used in building construction
  • BS 4901 for plastic colours used in building construction
  • BS 4902 for sheet / tile floor covering colours used in building construction
  • BS 4960 for weighing instruments for domestic cookery
  • BS 4962 for plastics pipes and fittings for use as subsoil field drains
  • BS 5252 for colour-coordination in building construction
  • BS 5400 for steel, concrete and composite bridges.
  • BS 5499 for graphical symbols and signs in building construction; including shape, colour and layout
  • BS 5544 for anti-bandit glazing (glazing resistant to manual attack)
  • BS 5750 for quality management, the ancestor of ISO 9000
  • BS 5759 Specification for webbing load restraint assemblies for use in surface transport
  • BS 5837 for protection of trees during construction work
  • BS 5839 for fire detection and alarm systems for buildings
  • BS 5930 for site investigations
  • BS 5950 for structural steel
  • BS 5993 for Cricket balls
  • BS 6008 for preparation of a liquor of tea for use in sensory tests
  • BS 6312 for telephone plugs and sockets
  • BS 6651 code of practice for protection of structures against lightning; replaced by BS EN 62305 (IEC 62305) series.
  • BS 6701 installation, operation and maintenance of telecommunications equipment and telecommunications cabling
  • BS 6879 for British geocodes, a superset of ISO 3166-2:GB
  • BS 7430 code of practice for earthing
  • BS 7671 Requirements for Electrical Installations, The IEE Wiring Regulations, produced by the IET
  • BS 7799 for information security, the ancestor of the ISO/IEC 27000 family of standards, including 27002 (formerly 17799)
  • BS 7901 for recovery vehicles and vehicle recovery equipment
  • BS 7909 Code of practice for temporary electrical systems for entertainment and related purposes
  • BS 7919 Electric cables. Flexible cables rated up to 450/750V, for use with appliances and equipment intended for industrial and similar environments
  • BS 7910 guide to methods for assessing the acceptability of flaws in metallic structures
  • BS 7925 Software testing
  • BS 7971 Protective clothing and equipment for use in violent situations and in training
  • BS 8110 for structural concrete
  • BS 8233 Guidance on sound insulation and noise reduction in buildings
  • BS 8484 for the provision of lone worker device services
  • BS 8485 for the characterization and remediation from ground gas in affected developments
  • BS 8494 for detecting and measuring carbon dioxide in ambient air or extraction systems
  • BS 8888 for engineering drawing and technical product specification
  • BS 15000 for IT Service Management, (ITIL), now ISO/IEC 20000
  • BS 3G 101 for general requirements for mechanical and electromechanical aircraft indicators
  • BS EN 12195 Load restraining on road vehicles.
  • BS EN 60204 Safety of machinery

PAS Documents

BSI also publishes a series of PAS documents.

PAS documents are a flexible and rapid standards development model that is open to all organizations. A PAS is a sponsored piece of work allowing organizations flexibility in the rapid creation of a standard while also allowing for a greater degree of control over the document’s development. A typical development time frame for a PAS is around 6–9 months. Once published by BSI a PAS has all the functionality of a British Standard for the purposes of creating schemes such as management systems and product benchmarks as well as codes of practice. A PAS is a living document and after two years the document will be reviewed and a decision made with the client as to whether or not this should be taken forward to become a formal British standard. The term PAS was originally an acronym derived from “product approval specification”, a name which was subsequently changed to “publicly available specification”. However, according to BSI, not all PAS documents are structured as specifications and the term is now sufficiently well established not to require any further amplification.

Examples

  • PAS 78: Guide to good practice in commissioning accessible websites
  • PAS 72 Responsible Fishing – Specification of good practice for fishing vessels
  • PAS 77 IT Service continuity management code of practice
  • PAS 82 Shopfitting and interior contracting. Management system specification
  • PAS 100 Composting specification
  • PAS 101 Specification for recovered container glass
  • PAS 102 Specification for processed glass for selected secondary end markets
  • PAS 103 Collected waste plastics packaging
  • PAS 104 Wood recycling in the panelboard manufacturing industry
  • PAS 105 Recovered paper sourcing and quality. Code of practice
  • PAS 777 Specification for the qualification and labelling of used automotive engines and any related transmission units
  • PAS 911 Fire strategies – guidance and framework for their formulation

Availability

Copies of British Standards are sold at the BSI Online Shop or can be accessed via subscription to British Standards Online (BSOL). They can also be ordered via the publishing units of many other national standards bodies (ANSI, DIN, etc.) and from several specialized suppliers of technical specifications.

British Standards, including European and International adoptions are available in many university and public libraries that subscribe to the BSOL platform. Librarians and lecturers at UK-based subscribing universities have full access rights to the collection while students can copy/paste and print but not download a standard. Up to 10% of the content of a standard can be copy/pasted for personal or internal use and up to 5% of the collection made available as a paper or electronic reference collection at the subscribing university. Because of their reference material status standards are not available for interlibrary loan. Public Library users in the UK may have access to BSOL on a view-only basis if their library service subscribes to the BSOL platform. Users may also be able to access the collection remotely if they have a valid library card and the library offers secure access to its resources.

The BSI Knowledge Centre in Chiswick can be contacted directly about viewing standards in their Members’ Reading Room.

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