Safety standards are standards designed to ensure the
safety
Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
of products, activities and processes, etc. Additional descriptive terms may help to clarify what hazards are being addressed, such as
workplace safety standards (to keep workers safe),
food safety
Food safety (or food hygiene) is used as a scientific method/discipline describing handling, food processing, preparation, and food storage, storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. The occurrence of two or more cases of a simi ...
standards (to verify that food is safe to eat), or consumer product safety standards (to ensure that manufacturers only sell products that are safe for consumers).They may be advisory or compulsory and are normally laid down by an
advisory or
regulatory body
A regulatory agency (regulatory body, regulator) or independent agency (independent regulatory agency) is a government authority that is responsible for exercising autonomous jurisdiction over some area of human activity in a licensing and regu ...
that may be either voluntary or
statutory
A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...
. In October 2021, a fire raging through multiple floors of a dilapidated apartment block in
Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...
highlighted the lax
fire safety
Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent wikt:ignition, the ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that are used to limit the spread a ...
standards in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
.
China has recently experienced trouble with some of the post listed associations.
Workplace Safety Standards
Workplace safety standards are set by a number of different organizations depending on where people are located. The standards are designed to keep workers safe from hazards present in the workplace. Some standards may be legally enforceable with citations and fines (ex. OSHA),
while others may provide information about best practices in industry (ex. ACGIH).
Fire Safety Standards
Fire safety standards are developed to minimize fatalities in building fires and to save as much life and infrastructure as possible. Fire safety standards may be known as
fire codes, with equipment often planned for and installed during construction so that the buildings can have features that protect the occupants, such as
fire extinguishers,
fire alarms,
fire suppression systems
Fire suppression systems are used to extinguish, control, or in some cases, entirely prevent fires from spreading or occurring. Fire suppression systems have an incredibly large variety of applications, and as such, there are many different types ...
,
egress/emergency exit routes, and other features.
Food Safety Standards
Food safety
Food safety (or food hygiene) is used as a scientific method/discipline describing handling, food processing, preparation, and food storage, storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. The occurrence of two or more cases of a simi ...
standards are placed so that the food that people consume meet certain levels of quality and does not hurt them in any way.
Consumer Product Safety Standards
Consumer product safety standards are enforced so that consumers are protected against hazards in manufactured products.
See also
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Consumer protection
Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...
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Bicycle safety
A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
...
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China compulsory certification
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Injury prevention
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Public administration
Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...
*
Road safety
Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures, such as traffic calming, to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, Driving, motorists, passengers of vehicles, and p ...
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Standards organization
A standards organization, standards body, standards developing organization (SDO), or standards setting organization (SSO) is an organization whose primary function is developing, coordinating, promulgating, revising, amending, reissuing, interpr ...
* Testing organizations
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Baseefa (UK)
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Canadian Standards Association (Canada)
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Technischer Überwachungsverein (Germany, UK, China & USA)
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Underwriters Laboratories
The UL enterprise is a global private safety company headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, composed of three organizations, UL Research Institutes, UL Standards & Engagement and UL Solutions.
Established in 1894, the UL enterprise was founded a ...
(USA)
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Toy safety
Toy safety is the practice of ensuring that toys, especially those made for children, are safe, usually through the application of set safety standards. In many countries, commercial toys must be able to pass safety tests in order to be sold. In ...
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Safety by design
References
Safety codes
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