The British Standards Institution
Company typeNon-profit distributing incorporated body operating under Royal Charter
Founded1901
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
Number of locations90 offices in 31 countries[1][2]
Area servedWorldwide
Productsstandards and standards related services
Revenue£539.3m (2020)[3]
Number of employees5,237 (2020)[4]
Websitewww.bsigroup.com

The British Standards Institution (BSI) is the national standards body of the United Kingdom. BSI produces technical standards on a wide range of products and services and also supplies standards certification services for business and personnel.

History

BSI was founded as the Engineering Standards Committee in London in 1901.[5][2] It subsequently extended its standardization work and became the British Engineering Standards Association in 1918, adopting the name British Standards Institution in 1931 after receiving a Royal Charter in 1929.[2] In 1998 a revision of the Charter enabled the organization to diversify and acquire other businesses, and the trading name was changed to BSI Group.

The Group now operates in 195 countries.[6] The core business remains standards and standards related services, although the majority of the Group's revenue comes from management systems assessment and certification work.[7]

In 2021, BSI appointed its first female chief executive officer, Susan Taylor Martin.[8]

Activities

BSI produces British Standards, and, as the UK's National Standards Body, is also responsible for the UK publication, in English, of international and European standards. BSI is obliged to adopt and publish all European Standards as identical British Standards (prefixed BS EN) and to withdraw pre-existing British Standards that are in conflict.[9] However, it has the option to adopt and publish international standards (prefixed BS ISO or BS IEC).

In response to commercial demands, BSI also produces commissioned standards products such as Publicly Available Specifications (PASs), Private Standards and Business Information Publications. These products are commissioned by individual organizations and trade associations to meet their needs for standardized specifications, guidelines, codes of practice etc. Because they are not subject to the same consultation and consensus requirements as formal standards, the lead time is shorter.

BSI also publishes standards-related books, CD-ROMs, subscription and web-based products as well as providing training on standards-related issues.

Management systems assessment and certification

With 80,000 clients, BSI is one of the world's largest certification bodies. It audits and provides certification to companies worldwide who implement management systems standards. BSI also runs training courses that cover the implementation and auditing requirements of national and international management systems standards.

It is independently accredited[10] and assesses a wide range of standards and other specifications, including:

Testing services and healthcare

BSI's best known product in the UK is the Kitemark, a registered certification mark first used in 1903.[2][5] The Kitemark – which is recognized by 82% of UK adults[11] – signifies products or services which have been assessed and tested as meeting the requirements of the related specification or standard within a Kitemark scheme.

BSI also conducts testing of products for a range of certifications, including for CE marking. CE marking must be applied to a wide range of products intended for sale in the European Economic Area. Frequently, manufacturers or importers need a third-party certification of their product from an accredited or 'Notified' body. BSI holds Notified Body status for 15 EU Directives,[12] including construction products, marine equipment, pressurized equipment and personal protective equipment.

BSI also conducts testing for manufacturers developing new products and has facilities to test across a wide range of sectors, including construction, fire safety, electrical and electronic and engineering products.

BSI provides regulatory and quality management reviews and product certification for medical device manufacturers in the Worldwide.[13] It is the market leader in the US, the world's biggest healthcare market.[14]

Acquisitions

Starting in 1998, BSI Group has adopted a policy of international growth through acquisition as follows:[15]

BSI Identify

In 2021, BSI Group, with support from the Construction Products Association, led the development of a product identification and traceability system known as BSI Identify. The initiative responded to recommendations made by Dame Judith Hackitt following her review of building safety, which called for wider adoption of permanent product marking and consistent labelling systems to improve traceability across the built environment sector.[30][31]

BSI Identify uses new Digital Object Identifier (DOI) technology "to deliver a unique, constant, and interoperable identifier", known as a BSI UPIN, "which can be assigned to products to help UK manufacturers to directly manage information about their products in the supply chain".[32] The aim of the BSI Identify programme is that "wherever you are with [a] product, you can take a snapshot of the QR code with your mobile device, and it will immediately take you to the product technical data sheet. You can see exactly what product it is, you can answer any questions about it, you can see installation advice, etc."[33]

Coat of arms

The BSI coat of arms was granted by the College of Arms in 1951.[34]

Coat of arms of British Standards Institution
Granted
3 January 1951.
Crest
On a wreath of the colours two hands couped at the wrist holding an open book Proper bound Gules edged Or.
Escutcheon
Argent on a bend Gules between a retort Proper the bowl half-filled with liquid Azure and a hank of cotton palewise of the last a girder couped of the first.[35]
Supporters
On either side a lion guardant gules, that to the dexter holding with the interior forepaw a plumbline Or, and that to the sinister holding in the interior forepaw a plumbline Or, and that to the sinister holding in the interior forepaw a pair of scales gold.
Motto
Essem Quam Videri

See also

Notes and references

  1. "Fast facts and figures". bsigroup.com. BSI Group.
  2. "British Standards Institution". ICE.org Institution of Civil Engineers. 2018.
  3. "Annual Report 2020". bsigroup.com. BSI Group.
  4. "BSI Annual Report 2019" (PDF). BSI Group.
  5. Robert C McWilliam. BSI: The first hundred years. 2001. Thanet Press. London
  6. "BSI Group Annual Report 2021" (PDF). BSIgroup.com. BSI Group.
  7. "Annual Report 2018". bsigroup.com. BSI Group.
  8. "BSI announces appointment of new chief executive". bsigroup.com. BSI Group.
  9. European Committee for Standardization Benefits and Principles Archived 7 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  10. "Who's accredited?" (PDF). www.ukas.com. United Kingdom Accreditation Service.
  11. "Annual Review 2006, page 15" (PDF).
  12. "BSI Group Annual Report and Financial Statements 2009, page 97" (PDF).
  13. "BSI Group Annual Report and Financial Statements 2009, page 11" (PDF).
  14. "BSI Group Annual Report and Financial Statements 2009, page 24" (PDF).
  15. "History of BSI Group". Bsigroup.com. 22 April 1929.
  16. "BSI Press Release 22 March 2010". Bsigroup.com. 22 March 2010.
  17. "BSI strengthens position in Australia with acquisition of NCS International". BSI. 10 May 2013.
  18. "BSI enters the US consultancy market with EORM acquisition". bsigroup.com. BSI Group. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020.
  19. "BSI Group Annual Report and Financial Statements 2014, page 59, Post balance sheet events" (PDF). bsigroup.com.
  20. "BSI expands its environmental consulting and engineering offering with acquisition of Hill Country Environmental Inc". bsigroup.com. BSI.
  21. Weckler, Adrian (5 April 2016). "British IT security firm snaps up Espion". The Irish Independent. Independent IE.
  22. "BSI expands US footprint with Atrium acquisition". cirmagazine.com. Continuity Insurance and Risk. 15 August 2016.
  23. "BSI acquires creative environment solutions east coast ehs". bsigroup.com. BSI Group.
  24. Sims, Brian. "BSI moves to acquire UK cyber security and assurance expert Info-Assure Ltd". risk-uk.com. Risk UK. Archived from the original on 11 November 2016.
  25. "BSI completes third EHS consulting firm acquisition of 2016 with addition of Quantum Management Group Inc". bsigroup.com. BSI Group.
  26. "BSI strengthens position in Asia Pacific with acquisition of Neville Clarke". bsigroup.com.
  27. "Aircert acquisition strengthens BSI certification offer". aircraftinteriorsinternational.com. Aircraft Interiors. 15 November 2018.
  28. "BSI acquires AppSec Consulting". cirmagazine.com. CIR Magazine. 4 April 2019.
  29. "BSI strengthens its healthcare business with the acquisition of Q-Audit". bsigroup.com. BSI Group. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021.
  30. Construction Products Association, BSI Identify, accessed 16 July 2022
  31. Soane, Alastair (1 February 2023). "Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety – a damning report". The Structural Engineer. 96 (2): 20–21. doi:10.56330/neeq4961. ISSN 1466-5123.
  32. BSI Group, BSI Identify: New ID technology to bring transparency and product traceability through the built environment supply chain, published 15 November 2021, accessed 13 December 2021
  33. Turk, A. in interview with Cameron, H., Why product traceability matters, Barbour ABI, published November 2021, accessed 13 December 2021
  34. Briggs, Geoffrey (1971). Civic & corporate heraldry: a dictionary of impersonal arms of England, Wales, & N. Ireland. London: Heraldry Today. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-900455-21-6.
  35. "British Standards Institute". Heraldry of the World. 16 June 2024.