The standardizing system

The standardizing system is at the disposal of companies, organizations, authorities, who wish to draw up reference documents that will be used as a basis for exchanges or as a supporting document for regulations. Standards, or in a more general way, standardizing documents are the products of the standardizing system.

The French standardizing system

The Government's representative, by delegation of the Ministry of industry, fixes the general standardization directives and supervises AFNOR's activities on behalf of the Ministry of Industry as regards the missions laid down in the amended decree 84-74.

Established in 1926, AFNOR, the French Standardization Association, leads the French standardizing system, coordinates the actions of 26 standardization offices (25 sectorial standardization offices and one standardization office within AFNOR itself), represents France in the European and international standardization authorities and prepares standards in the horizontal or multi-sector fields.

Each sectorial standardization office is responsible for preparing standards in a particular technical area. UNM is the standardization office for the mechanical engineering industry and rubber industry.

The sectorial standardization office forms and convenes standardization committees, which include representatives of the various business or administrative categories concerned with the work items. These experts represent their industries, their ministries, their organizations. An essential part of the standardizing system, they provide the necessary technical knowledge for the standardizing documents and represent the people who need and use standards.

The standardization committee prepares draft standards, prepares the French positions and the votes in the international committees and appoints the French delegation to the international standardizing authorities (ISO or CEN, as regards UNM).