GSA urges Ghanaians to speak standards

Accra, Oct. 12, GNA - As part of activities marking Word Standards Day, which falls on October 14, the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) is urging the public to speak standards.

A statement issued by Mr Kofi Amponsah-Bediako, the Head of Public Relations Department of the GSA, said this year the theme is 'Standards - The world's common language'.

It outlined five reasons why there is the need to be aware of the significance of standards such as making communication across countries and technology possible.

'Imagine a world where your credit card would not fit into every cash machine or where you could not just stroll into a shop and find the right light bulb for your lamp. A world without telephone codes, country and currency codes and access to the Internet.'

It said standards help people to understand important information despite language barriers.

The statement said standardised graphical symbols display important information quickly and clearly, no matter what language we speak or read - be they wash and care instructions on clothes, emergency evacuation signs, or electrical equipment instructions.

'But if everyone use different symbols for the same message, we would not understand each other,' it said.

The third reason is that standards are necessary for interoperability and compatibility of technology.

It observed that technology needs standards to communicate.

'Have you ever wondered how your computer is able to send your documents to a printer from a different manufacturer?

'Standards set out common rules and parameters so that products can work with each other.

'Standard file formats like MPEG and JPEG enable you to share videos and photos with family and friends using technology from different vendors,' it stated.

It mentioned the fourth significance of standards as helping people to get exactly what they want.

'Just picture how difficult it would be to order products and parts from international suppliers if we didn't have standardised units of measurement- small, medium and large mean different things to different people,' it said.

The statement gave the fifth reason that standards are necessary for cooperation between people.

It said not only are standards good for trade, they also make it easy for people around the world to work together.

'When standards are in place things just work, but without them routine activities we take for granted, like making a call, surfing the Web or using our credit cards when we travel, would be much more complicated or even impossible.

'That is why, to celebrate World Standards Day, the three organisations that make up the World Standards Cooperation, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Standards Organisation (ISO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), invited people to imagine what a world without standards would look like,' it said.

It noted that World Standards Day is also an opportunity to thank the thousands of experts that volunteer their time and effort to create international standards with the help of national standards bodies and partner organisations under the IEC, ISO and ITU umbrellas.

It said: 'So now, with knowledge of all this, do you speak standards too? Join us in talking about your favourite standards on October 14 with 'speak standards.'

GNA