Standards - in General

Standards are very important - both personal and professional and in company operation and product development , manufacture and customer service .

It's very important not to be blinkered with standards - not to design down to a standard . Products should be designed such that they can be constantly , and easily , improved . Don't shoot yourself in the foot - don't let personal issues enter the equation - use whatever resources are available and use them appropriately . Don't forget - you need to get ahead of the game , in whatever way possible , and within reason .

You must have a clear idea of where you are and where you want to go and how you want to go there - but keep your options open .

From a company point of view standards ensure :-

1. that overall costs are minimised .
2. that time to market is minimised .

From a customer point of view standards ensure :-

1. that the quality of the product can be trusted .
2. that the product is cost effective .

It is also very important to look at the long term - to optimise rather than minimise . This means that , whilst initial costs might be greater , overall costs will be greatly reduced .