Overview

Standards and codes of practice are one of the principal means by which experience of problems and their respective solutions is transmitted and fundamental to recognized and generally accepted good industrial practice. The production of a code is normally undertaken by a group of experienced practitioners under the aegis of an appropriate organization. The code represents the consensus of this group on what constitutes good practice. There is usually some degree of consultation with the parties who will use the code.

There are a vast number of codes produced by a variety of bodies and the status of a code depends on the body which promulgates it. Inevitably a code becomes out-of-date as technology changes, so that a process of continuous revision is necessary. A 5-year update is most commonly-suggested.

The philosophy commonly adopted in writing a new code is to define limited objectives and to get the code finished, recognizing that further revision will be necessary in due course, rather than to seek to produce a definitive work. Standards and codes of practice normally use a specialized and defined terminology.

Mandatory requirements, that is, those that it is essential to satisfy, are expressed by the use of the word shall . The word must is used when an absolute imperative arises, for example when safety considerations apply.

Non-mandatory requirements, that is, those that are recommended or desirable are usually expressed by the use of the auxiliary should . Should implies a recommendation based upon the judgement of experienced people but...