2.4 Why consumer participation in standards improves products and services
Simple Question: Why get involved in standards?
Simple Answer: So that the goods and services you buy, or use, will meet your expectations.
How? By helping to write the specifications (standards) that define these goods and services!
A “good” standard means one that creates a good product – a product that you will want to use because it is safe, fit for purpose, and easy to operate among other things.
For this to happen, someone who understands consumers’ views – and who can represent them – has to be there when a standard is being discussed.
A consumer who participates in a technical or policy committee for standards is called a “consumer representative.” Typically, this person does not act in a personal capacity; rather, he or she normally acts on behalf of an association of consumer interests, according to a pre-defined brief, and with advance preparation (Also see Section 3).