Clear explanations for the complex world of standards

Is the cover picture of the story a bit confusing for you? We recommend simply reading on and finding out the solution to the mystery. Let us start at the beginning. For this story, we spoke to vocational trainer René Gabriel from the Technical College in Bern. He trains future design engineers who wish to complete a federal diploma of vocational education and training (VET). Many of the young people entering the profession only realize when they start their training how loaded with standards their chosen profession really is. But it would be wrong to conclude from this that the transfer of knowledge must be boring. We illustrate the relationship between theory and practice using the example of a «beaver fur trap».

Design, structural calculations, choice of materials, construction phase – until a house is built, many professions work hand in hand. Standards play an absolutely central or a rather subordinate role, depending on the discipline. Professor Oya Atalay Franck is Professor of Architecture and, among other capacities, Dean of the School of Architecture, Design and Civil Engineering at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) in Winterthur. She shares with us how the topic of standards is currently woven into architectural and civil engineering education and where she sees potential for improvement.

Every apprentice in the Swiss mechanical, electrical and metalworking industry (MEM industry) knows it: the standards compendium. The majority of them use it intensively during their training and later in their everyday working life. First published in 1941, it is now a classic in the industry and indispensable. This month sees the publication of the hot-off-the-press 2022 standards compendium. We visited the volunteer group of authors in the final phase of the creation process.

Which standard is the best known in the world and can even be found in documents with otherwise foreign characters? If they had to place a bet, most people would probably guess ISO 9001. And they would be sure to win that bet. Incidentally, the standard is available in Switzerland with identical content as SN EN ISO 9001:2015. Whether companies are assessing new suppliers or customers are looking for a quality product – this standard provides security. Quality management officers, QM managers, executive management and lead auditors who want to improve their quality management from a strategic point of view will find the optimal platform for this in the SNV Academy’s further training courses.

What do a cement bag, stereotypical children’s rooms and unisex washrooms have in common? They all served Natascha Hess as inspiration and motivation for her bachelor thesis at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland in Basel. Car crash test dummies, personal protective equipment, navigation systems, the size of mobile phones or hand tools – no object is gender-neutral today. “Normen und Gender im Design” (Standards and gender in design) shows how the gender data gap affects norms and standards as well as the design of products. This thesis is not about finger-pointing, but about an outstretched hand.