Most facets of our daily lives now rest on written standards. They govern our appliances, our vehicles, our clothes sizes, the buildings in which we live and work, the way the organisations we depend on function, how we are to treat the environment and even each other. To a large extent, standards make our modern civilisation possible. This book studies the origins and rise of Australia's peak standards body, one of the great - though almost invisible - contributors to our national development and present international standing.
This is the first ever historical study of a national standards body in the world. It is a book for anyone interested in the relationship between technology and society and how the global market is organised. Standardisation forms part of a wider national technical infrastructure that includes measurement, calibration, testing, conformity assessment, certification and registration, accreditation and standardisation. Industry, public authorities and community organisations use all these mechanisms to ensure orderly commerce and a safe and sustainable environment. Without this infrastructure, virtually nothing in our modern world would work: building, manufacturing, trade, retail, health care, education, communications and transport would be paralyzed. It would be an excellent Father's Day gift book as it covers such a wide range of topics and therefore would have a wide spectrum of readers.
