How standards are born
A standard is a distillation of theoretical and practical knowledge that draws from a variety of sources, including thousands of experts, often all over the world.
This section tells how standards come into being and how different stakeholders can contribute to making them better. In particular:
- technical standards that codify the state of the art of a product, a service, a process, a profession
- reference practices, pre-standardisation documents developed quickly in a table restricted to authors only
- CEN Workshop Agreements, para-normative documents that intercept emerging issues at European level.
All standardisation values
Although the standards are not mandatory, they work well because of their values,
which are guaranteed by UNI.
Consistency
The standard is a complete solution, giving no room for doubts or contradictions, and fully meets the needs of users.
Transparency
The process of developing a standard is for all to see: there are no behind-the-scenes actions.
Openness
Everyone can participate in the elaboration of a standard: experts with their expertise, users with their needs or with a simple opinion.
Consensuality
For a standard to be approved, the participants in the standardisation process must reach a widely shared agreement.
Voluntariness
The widespread adherence to a non-compulsory standard is the guarantee of its effectiveness.
Independence
UNI finances itself through the fees of members who buy standards, subscriptions, training courses and other products and services.
Efficiency
Standards make entire sectors work because they are the best possible solution, based on sharing the best knowledge, skills and experience.
Why standards are important
Guaranteeing well made things is good for everyone, but especially good for the socio-economic system.
Technology
Standards reduce the economic and financial risk of research and development.
Competitiveness
Standards reduce business costs and time to market for products and services.
Protection of citizens
Standards set quality and safety requirements for products, processes, services, etc. As consumers and as workers.
Sustainability
Standards promote sustainability and are always designed with respect for the environment in mind.
Support for legislators
Standards provide clear and agreed references to regulate new areas or to simplify existing regulation.
Infrastructure for
Quality Italy
Support for improving the quality of products, services, processes and professions.
Innovation
"Discovery consists of seeing what everyone has seen and thinking what no one else has thought." - Albert Szent-Györgyi
Large industries, small and medium-sized companies and many other institutional and non-institutional players participate in the regulatory process.
The projects are normally made available online, giving the public the opportunity to express interest in participating in the work.
A collaborative process
Technical standardization was born thanks to thousands of experts from every sector who make their expertise and experience available within the Technical Bodies managed directly by UNI or at our Federated Bodies.
Making a standard means writing a document that explains “how to guarantee well made things”, while guaranteeing safety, respect for the environment and reliable performance.
Our technical activities
The National Standardisation Programme brings together all the draft national standards being developed by UNI and the Federated Bodies, including the possible adoptions of ISO standards, organised by technical body of competence.
(updated to January 2025, in accordance with Article 3.3 of Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012)
In addition to standards, UNI elaborates and publishes Reference Practices: documents that introduce technical prescriptions or sectorial application models of technical standards, elaborated on the basis of a rapid sharing process restricted to the authors. They thus constitute a type of national para-normative document that encourages the transfer of innovation and prepares new development contexts for future standardisation activities.
Patent Information list
In order to facilitate both the standards-making process and the implementation of deliverables (documents), CEN and CENELEC make available to the public a common Patent Information list composed of the information that was communicated to the organisations by the means of Declaration Forms. The Patent Information list may contain information on specific patents, or may contain information about compliance with the Patent Policy for a particular deliverable.
The common Patent Information list is not certified to be either accurate or complete, but it only reflects the information that has been communicated to the organisations.
As such, the Patent Information list is to be viewed as simply raising a flag to alert standard users that they may wish to contact the entities who have communicated Declaration Forms to CEN and CENELEC in order to determine if patent licences must be obtained for use or implementation of a particular deliverable.
There is a standard for
