The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) is a South African statutory body that was established in terms of the Standards Act, 1945 (Act No. 24 of 1945) and continues to operate in terms of the latest edition of the Standards Act, 2008 (Act No. 29 of 2008) as the national institution for the promotion and maintenance of

standardization Standardization or standardisation is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties that include firms, users, interest groups, standards organizations and governments. Standardizatio ...

and

quality Quality may refer to: Concepts *Quality (business), the ''non-inferiority'' or ''superiority'' of something *Quality (philosophy), an attribute or a property *Quality (physics), in response theory * Energy quality, used in various science discipl ...

in connection with commodities and the rendering of services.

Function

As the national standardization authority, the SABS is responsible for maintaining

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

's database of more than 6,500 national standards, as well as developing new standards and revising, amending or withdrawing existing standards as required. Internationally, SABS experts represent South Africa's interests in the development of international standards, through their engagement with bodies such as the

International Organization for Standardization The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ) is an international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Membership requirements are given in A ...

(ISO) and the

International Electrotechnical Commission The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC; in French: ''Commission électrotechnique internationale'') is an international standards organization that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and ...

(IEC). SABS also holds the Secretariat for SADCSTAN, the standardization body for the

Southern African Development Community The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Its goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security coopera ...

of 14 nations. SABS Commercial (Pty) Ltd, a self-financing division within the SABS, offers certification, testing, consignment inspection and other services, mostly to industry. Apart from offering systems certification and product testing against the requirements of South African National Standards (SANS), SABS Commercial also operates its proprietary product certification scheme – the SABS Mark of Approval, assuring buyers that products are safe, fit for purpose and offer redress. Historically, the SABS also undertook certain regulatory functions on behalf of South Africa. In keeping with best international practice, this regulatory function was separated from the organization's standardization and certification activities, via the promulgation of the new Standards Act and the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications Act in September 2008. Under these new laws, the former SABS Regulatory division separated to form the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS), a new organization also residing under the Department of Trade and Industry. The SABS provides commercial services in seven industry clusters: *Chemicals *Electro-technical *Food & Health *Mechanical & Materials *Mining & Minerals *Services *Transportation Headquartered in

Groenkloof Groenkloof (Afrikaans for 'Green ravine') is a residential suburb of Pretoria, South Africa. This wealthy suburb in Pretoria is famous for its white Jacaranda trees. It is close to the city centre, and to the well-known Brooklyn Square and Me ...

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foothi ...

, the SABS also maintains offices in Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and East London, and operates specialised facilities at Richards Bay, Secunda,

Middelburg Middelburg may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Europe * Middelburg, Zeeland, the capital city of the province of Zeeland, southwestern Netherlands ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Middelburg, a former Catholic diocese with its see in the Zeeland ...

and Saldanha.

References

External links

South African Bureau of Standards
(Official Home Page)
SABS Standards Web Store
{{authority control Standards organisations in South Africa ISO member bodies