Latest articles

• International standards key for developing NZ’s digital economy

  01 April 2019

  Observers increasingly say we are on the edge of a Fourth Industrial Revolution, which will bring together digital, biological, and physical technologies in new and powerful combinations. This is prompting people to speak out about the need to make sure that we balance the opportunities and risks wisely.

• New joint standard provides guidance on high-intensity outdoor light sources

  07 March 2019

  The level of knowledge and sophistication regarding outside lighting has grown significantly over recent years. New Zealand has historically used the Australian standard AS 4282 to help guide our local industry, but the recent release of a joint update to this standard has filled the gap.

  It has particular value for urban planning in that the new standard gives guidance on how to measure and monitor the obtrusive effects of outdoor lighting and covers sensitive ‘dark sky’ areas.

• Streamlined process speeds up standards development and reduces costs

  25 February 2019

  Over the past year Standards New Zealand has been sharing our business transformation journey with customers and stakeholders. We know we need to change to remain relevant and sustainable to our users. As part of this, we’ve refreshed our business strategy and initiated a series of innovation pilots.

• Do you have digitally innovative ways to add value to standards?

  25 February 2019

  The Standards New Zealand strategy commits us to add value by working more closely with our partners. A recent example of this was the launch of a ‘value-add’ workstream, which will enable third-party providers to produce digitally-enabled services using our standards content.

• Electrical Standard amendment bridges gap for aviation industry

  12 February 2019

  Section 6 of NZS 6114 has been amended, providing the New Zealand civilian and military aviation industries with a Standard covering the design and repair of aviation-related electrical systems in the airport environment, including the aircraft, airstairs, GPU, hangar and workbench.

  The update clarifies and gives guidance on a common method for the safe supply of electricity to installations, facilities and equipment operating at non-standard voltages and frequencies in the aviation environment.

• New Zealander receives international award for electrotechnology standards work

  29 January 2019

  Standards New Zealand and the New Zealand National Committee (NZNC) of the IEC would like to congratulate Bob Woodhead for receiving the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) 1906 Award for his outstanding work on IEC Technical Committee 61 Safety of household and similar electrical appliances.

• Proposals to withdraw health standards

  23 January 2019

  It’s important that standards in the health sector are valid and up to date. However, many standards in this sector were written over 10 years ago and some are 15 years old or older. We want to check with stakeholders in the health sector about what to do with 24 such standards. They cover subjects such as health and disability services, mental health sector auditing, ambulance and paramedic services, and fertility services.

• Guidance on quality plans updated

  18 December 2018

  In order to effectively transform business ideas into actions, you need a plan. A quality plan. Guidance on how to create one has been updated, providing a powerful tool to complement any quality management system, including ISO 9001.

• Injecting quality into software development with industry-specific guidance on ISO 9001

  17 December 2018

  Developing software is not always a straightforward procedure. An International standard to apply the principles of the world’s most widely used quality management system enables engineers to smooth out the process. ISO/IEC/IEEE 90003 has just been updated.

• Improving farm safety: international standards for agricultural machinery just updated

  19 November 2018

  Ensuring the safety of tractors and other agricultural equipment means ensuring the control systems that are in place work as they are meant to. The internationally trusted set of standards for such systems has just been updated, making it even fitter for the farm.