Cancellation due to no participation?

The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) has sounded the alarm that some information technology (IT) standards are at risk of being withdrawn if the industry does not actively participate in the relevant SABS technical committees.

South African National Standards (SANS) are developed and maintained through technical committees, which comprise members of the industry, academics, government, regulators, and any interested party or individual.

The SABS Technical Committee (TC) 001 (Information Technology) is the main committee responsible for the governance of all information technology sub-committees. TC 001 requires industry representatives with the requisite technical expertise to participate in the various sub-committees that will enable the approval and development of new standards projects, as well as reaffirm the relevance of existing national standards. Standards in the industry range from printer cartridges and computers to IT accessories, infrastructure, and IT security.

“The SABS actively encourages relevant stakeholders within this sector to submit their interest to participate in the SABS standards development committees. A committee that is inactive will result in the industry not having state-of-the-art and relevant technical solutions to support innovation and industrialisation of the sector,” says Dr Sadhvir Bissoon, divisional head of the SABS Standards. “A further risk is the possibility of withdrawing the current list of national standards within this sector due to the inability of reaffirming these standards, which is conducted through the SABS technical committees and sub-committees.”

Bissoon adds that SANS evolve over the years to reflect societal, environmental, and technological changes, so it is imperative that industries get more involved and participate in national standards that will impact the way the industry operates, thereby meeting market needs. Currently, there are several updated IT and related standards available from international standards organisations that could be of great importance for South Africa to adopt as SANS. This, however, requires an established SABS technical committee with diverse member representation to consider and recommend standards to be developed.

Both participation in and membership of the SABS technical committees are free of charge and on a voluntary basis.