Standardisation
With all these developments in products, production methods and arrangements for control of quality, it became apparent that proliferation of sizes and shapes of components and materials would cause problems with production and maintenance of machines and infrastructure. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) was one of the first standardising bodies, established in 1880. It attempted to address a toll of 50,000 fatalities a year caused by pressures systems explosions. ASME is still a leading organisation for pressure systems with ASME codes for pressure vessels.
In 1901 Sir John Wolfe-Barry asked the Institution of Civil Engineers to form a committee to consider standardisng iron and steel sections. This became the Engineering Standards Committee (ESC). Their work quickly reduced the variety of sizes of structural steel sections from 175 to 113. For tramways the reduction was much more spectacular - from 75 varieties to 5.
The British Standard Mark (later to become the Kitemark) was introduced as an indication (or hallmark) that goods were 'up to standard.' Internationally, in 1906 the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) was formed following a meeting in 1904 of leading scientists and industrialists. IEC is responsible for development of world standards in electrical and electronics areas.
The development of standards continued through the first world war and use of standards spread to Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. Interest was also developing in the US and Germany. In 1916, the American Institute of Electrical Engineers joined with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers, American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers and the American Society for Testing Materials to establish a national body to coordinate standards development.
In 1917 the German body Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V. (DIN was formed) with a very similar mission. In 1918, the ESC in the UK became the British Engineering Standards Association and was granted a Royal Charter in 1929. In 1931, under a supplemental charter it changed its name to The British Standards Institution. In 1946 the first Commonwealth Standards Conference was held in London which led to the establishment of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO).