BSI Group - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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BSI Group
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

BSI Group, also known in its home market as the British

Standards Institution (or BSI), is a multinational business
services provider whose principal activity is the production of
standards and the supply of standards-related services.

BSI Group

Contents
1 History
2 Standards
2.1 Activities
3 Management Systems Assessment and Certification
4 Testing Services and Healthcare
5 Milestones
6 Acquisitions
7 See also
8 Notes and references
9 External links

History
BSI Group was founded as the Engineering Standards
Committee in London in 1901.[3] 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 its Royal Charter
in 1929. 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.

Making excellence a habit

Type

Non-profit distributing
incorporated body operating under
Royal Charter

Founded

1901

Headquarters

London, United Kingdom

Number of
locations

76 offices in 28 countries [1]

Area served

Worldwide

Products

standards and standards related

services

Revenue

287.1m (2014)[2]

Number of
employees

Over 3,000 (2014)

Subsidiaries

List of BSI countries

(http://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB
/global-contact-details/)

Website

www.bsigroup.com
(http://www.bsigroup.com
/en-GB/)

The Group now operates internationally in 172 countries.[4]

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.[5]

Standards
A standard is a published document that contains a technical specification or other precise criteria designed to be
used consistently as a rule, guideline, or definition. All standards take the form of either: specifications, methods,
vocabularies, codes of practice or guides.
All formal standards are developed with a period of public enquiry and full consultation. They incorporate the
views and expertise of a very wide range of interests from consumers, academia, special interest groups,
government, business and industry. As a result, standards represent a consensus on current best practice.

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Standards are designed for voluntary use and do not impose any
regulations. However, laws and regulations may refer to certain standards
and make compliance with them compulsory. For example, the physical
characteristics and format of credit cards is set out in standard number
BS EN ISO/IEC 7810:1996. Adhering to this standard means that the
cards can be used worldwide.
As the UKs National Standards Body, BSI is responsible for producing
and publishing British Standards and for representing UK interests in
international and European standards organizations such as ISO, IEC,
CEN, CENELEC and ETSI. Formal British Standards are titled BS (for
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 of publication.
BSI produces standards on a wide range of products, services and
processes; from nuts and bolts to sustainability, risk, business continuity
management and nanotechnology.

Activities

BSI Group headquarters building in

Gunnersbury, West London, featuring
the BSI Group logo

BSI produces British Standards, and, as the UKs 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.[6]
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 much shorter.
BSI also publishes standards-related books, CD-ROMs, subscription products and web-based solutions as well as
providing training on standards-related issues.

Management Systems Assessment and Certification

BSI Group is the worlds largest certification body. It audits and provides certification to companies worldwide
who implement management systems standards. BSI also provides a range of training courses regarding
implementation and auditing to the requirements of national and international management systems standards.
It is independently accredited[7] and assesses a wide range of standards and other specifications including:
ISO 9001 (Quality),
ISO 13485 (Quality management systems for medical devices)
ISO 14001 (Environment),
ISO 50001 (Energy management systems),
OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health and Safety),
ISO/IEC 27001 (previously BS 7799 for Information Security),

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ISO/IEC 20000 (previously BS 15000 for IT Service Management);

PAS 99 (Integrated Management),
BS 25999 (Business Continuity),
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Verification,
(RSPO) Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
SA8000 (Social Accountability) and
Food Safety standards and specifications, including ISO 22000.
AS9100, AS9110, AS9120 Aerospace
EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS)
BSI has 80,000 clients in over 172 countries and operates across all continents (including Antartica).[8]
BSI Group also offers a range of training services on how businesses can implement and audit management
systems effectively.

Testing Services and Healthcare

Within Testing Services, BSI's best known product in the UK is the Kitemark, a registered
certification mark first used in 1903.[3] The Kitemark which is recognized by 82% of
UK adults[9] 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 wide 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,[10] including construction products, marine equipment,
pressurized equipment and personal protective equipment.

BSI Group Kitemark

certification symbol

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.
Within Healthcare, BSI provides regulatory and quality management reviews, and product certification for
medical device manufacturers in Europe, the United States, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Canada and China.[11] It is
the market leader in the USA, the worlds biggest healthcare market.[12]

Milestones
BSI is the worlds first national standards body.[13]
BSI created one of the worlds first and most enduring quality marks in 1903, when the letters B and S
(for British Standard) were combined to produce the Kitemark logo.
BSI was instrumental in the formation of ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, in 1947
and of its European equivalent, CEN, in 1964.
BSI pioneered the development of management systems standards: the first of which was BS 5750, the
original quality management systems standard which formed the template for the ISO 9000 series of
quality standards, first published in 1994.
BSI published the worlds first environmental management standard, BS 7750, in 1992. This led to the
publication of the first international environmental management standard, ISO 14001, in 1996. BSI also

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published the worlds first sustainability standard, BS 8900, in 2006.

BSI's management systems operation in the UK has been carbon neutral since 2006.[14] BSI reduced staffs
business travel by 200,000 miles per annum, and invested in carbon offsetting in the UK and Bulgaria.
BSI has been nominated a Business Superbrand in the UK every year since 2004. BSI is currently ranked
no. 42 out of 500 organizations.[15][16]

Acquisitions
Starting in 1998, BSI Group has adopted an aggressive policy of international growth through acquisition as
follows:[17]
1998: CEEM, USA and International Standards Certification Pte Ltd, Singapore
2002: KPMGs certification business in North America
2003: BSI Pacific Ltd, Hong Kong
2004: KPMGs certification business in the Netherlands
2006: Nis Zert, Germany; Entropy International Ltd, Canada & UK; Benchmark Certification Pty Ltd,
Australia; ASI-QS, UK
2009: Supply Chain Security Division of First Advantage Corp. USA; Certification International S.r.l, Italy;
EUROCAT, Germany
2010: GLCS, the leading certifier of gas related consumer equipment in the UK, and one of the top three in
Europe,[18] the certification business of BS Services Italia S.r.l. (BSS); Systems Management Indonesia
(SMI).
2013: May 9, 2013 - NCS International and its daughter company NCSI Americas, Inc.[19]
2015: January 24 EORM, a US consultancy specialising in environmental, health, safety (EHS) and
sustainability services[20]
2015: 30 January - the management systems certification business of PwC in South Africa[21]

See also
European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC)
European Committee for Standardization (CEN)
European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)
International Electrotechnical Commission
International standards
BS 25999
ISO
ISO 9000
ISO 14000
ISO 22000
ISO/IEC 20000
ISO/IEC 27000
Management system
SA 8000
Standardization
Standards organization
The International Customer Service Institute (TICSI)
Trading Standards Institute

Notes and references

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1. Press Release. "BSI maintains 15 years of revenue growth with record 2014". www.bsigroup.com. Retrieved 11 June
2015.
2. "BSI Group financial information". bsigroup.com. BSI Group. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
3. Robert C McWilliam. BSI: The first hundred years. 2001. Thanet Press. London
4. "BSI Group Annual Report and Financial Statements 2014, page 2" (PDF). www.bsigroup.com. Retrieved 5 June
2015.
5. "BSI Group Annual Report and Financial Statements 2014, page 20" (PDF). www.bsigroup.com. Retrieved 5 June
2015.
6. European Committee for Standardization Benefits and Principles (http://www.cen.eu/cenorm/aboutus/benefits
/index.asp) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20090807072935/http://www.cen.eu/cenorm/aboutus/benefits
/index.asp) August 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
7. info@ukas.com (2008-11-15). "United Kingdom Accreditation Service Certification Body Schedules". Ukas.com.
Retrieved 2012-04-03.
8. "Global contact details". www.bsigroup.com. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
9. "Annual Review 2006, page 15" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-04-03.
10. "BSI Group Annual Report and Financial Statements 2009, page 97" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-04-03.
11. "BSI Group Annual Report and Financial Statements 2009, page 11" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-04-03.
12. "BSI Group Annual Report and Financial Statements 2009, page 24" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-04-03.
13. BSI was founded in 1901
14. "Annual Review 2006, page 24" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-04-03.
15. http://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/about-bsi/media-centre/press-releases/2004/4/BSI-Brand-Joins-The-Super-League/
BSI Press Release 2004
16. Superbrand Official Top 500 2012 (http://d3iixjhp5u37hr.cloudfront.net/files/2012/02/BSB12-Official-Top-500yvd1Ux.pdf)
17. "History of BSI Group". Bsigroup.com. 1929-04-22. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
18. "BSI Press Release 22 March 2010". Bsigroup.com. 2010-03-22. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
19. "BSI strengthens position in Australia with acquisition of NCS International". BSI. 10 May 2013. Retrieved 20 May
2013.
20. "Press Release:BSI enters US consultancy market with EORM acquisition". BSI Group. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
21. "BSI Group Annual Report and Financial Statements 2014, page 59, Post balance sheet events" (PDF).
www.bsigroup.com. Retrieved 5 June 2015.

External links
Official website (http://www.bsigroup.com/)
BSI Group France (http://www.bsigroup.com/fr-FR/)
BSI Group Netherlands (http://www.bsigroup.com/nl-NL/)
BSI code list at Piping-Designer.com (http://www.piping-designer.com/British_Standards_Institution)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=BSI_Group&oldid=714270033"
Categories: Organizations established in 1901 Companies of the United Kingdom British Standards
ISO member bodies International Electrotechnical Commission Certification marks
Industry trade groups based in the United Kingdom 1901 establishments in the United Kingdom
This page was last modified on 8 April 2016, at 18:17.
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