SAUDI ARABIAN STANDARDS ORGANIZATION

(SASO)

TECHNICAL DIRECTIVE —
PART ONE:
STANDARDIZATION AND RELATED
ACTIVITIES — GENERAL VOCABULARY

D٨- ١٩ – ٧- ٢٠٠٥
 FOREWORD

This Part of SASO’s Technical Directives is Adopted from ISO/IEC Guide ٢/٢٠٠٤:
Standardization and Related Activities — General Vocabulary.

١
١. STANDARDIZATION

١,١ Standardization

Activity of establishing, with regard to actual or potential problems, provisions

for common and repeated use, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree
of order in a given context.

Notes

١) In particular, the activity consists of the processes of formulating, issuing

and implementing standards.

٢) Important benefits of standardization are improvement of the suitability

of products, processes and services for their intended purposes,
prevention of barriers to trade and facilitation of technological
cooperation.

١,٢ Subject of standardization

Topic to be standardized

Notes

١) The expression ‘product, process or service” has been adopted

throughout this guide to encompass the subject of standardization in a
broad sense, and should be understood equally to cover, for example,
any material, component, equipment, system, interface, protocol,
procedure, function, method or activity.

٢) Standardization may be limited to particular aspects of any subject. For

example, in the case of shoes, criteria could be standardized separately
for sizes and durability.

١,٣ Field of standardization

Domain of standardization (deprecated)

Group of related subjects of standardization.

Note: Engineering, transport, agriculture, and quantities and units, for

example, could be regarded as field of standardization.

٢
١,٤ State of the art

Developed stage of technical capability at a given time as regards products,

processes and services, based on the relevant consolidated findings of science,
technology and experience.

١,٥ Acknowledged rule of technology

Technical provision acknowledged by a majority of representative experts as

reflecting the state of the art.

Note: A normative document on a technical subject, if prepared with the

cooperation of concerned interests by consultation and consensus procedures,
is presumed to constitute an acknowledged rule of technology at the time of its
approval.

١,٦ Level of standardization

Geographical, political or economic extent of involvement in standardization.

١,٦,١ International standardization

Standardization in which involvement is open to relevant bodies form all

countries.

١,٦,٢ Regional standardization

Standardization in which involvement is open to relevant bodies from countries

form only one geographical, political or economic area of the world

١,٦,٣ National standardization

Standardization that takes place at the level of one specific country

Note: Within a country or a territorial division of a country, standardization

may also take place on a branch or sectoral basis (e.g. ministries), at local
levels, at association and company levels in industry and in individual
factories, workshops and offices.

١,٦,٤ Provincial standardization

Standardization that takes place at the level of a territorial division of a

country.

Note: Within a country or a territorial division of a country, standardization

may also take place on a branch or sectoral basis (e.g. ministries), at local
levels, at association and company levels in industry and in individual
factories, workshops and offices.

٣
٤
١,٧ Consensus

General agreement, characterized by the absence of sustained opposition to

substantial issues by any important part of the concerned interests and by a
process that involves seeking to take into account the views of all parties
concerned and to reconcile any conflicting arguments.

Note: Consensus need not imply unanimity.

٢. AIMS OF STANDARDIZATION

Note: The general aims of standardization follow from the definition in ١,١.
Standardization may have one or more specific aims, to make a product,
process or service fit for its purpose. Such aims can be, but are not restricted
to variety control, usability, compatibility, interchangeability, health, safety,
protection of the environment, product protection, mutual understanding,
economic performance, trade. They can be overlapping.

٢,١ Fitness for purposes

Ability of a product, process or service to serve a defined purpose under

specific conditions.

٢,٢ Compatibility

Suitability of products, processes or services for use together under specific

conditions to fulfill relevant requirements without causing unacceptable
interactions.

٢,٣ Interchangeability

Ability of one product, process or service to be used in place of another to

fulfill the same requirements.

Note: The functional aspect of interchangeability is called “Functional

interchangeability”, and the dimensional aspect “dimensional
interchangeability”.

٢,٤ Variety control

Selection of the optimum number of sizes or types of products, processes or

services to meet prevailing needs.

Note: Variety control is usually concerned with variety reduction.

٥
٢,٥ Safety

Freedom from unacceptable risk of harm

Note: In standardization, the safety of products, processes and services is

generally considered with a view to achieving the optimum balance of a
number of factors, including non-technical factors such as human behaviour,
that will eliminate avoidable risks of harm to persons and goods to an
acceptable degree.

٢,٦ Protection of the environment

Preservation of the environment from unacceptable damage from the effects

and operations of products, processes and services.

٢,٧ Product protection

Environmental protection (deprecated)

Protection of a product against climatic or other adverse conditions during its

use, transport or storage.

٣. NORMATIVE DOCUMENTS

٣,١ Normative document

Document that provides rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or
their results.

Notes
١) The term ‘normative document” is a generic term that covers such
documents as standards, technical specifications, codes of practice and
regulations.
٢) A “document” is to be understood as any medium with information
recorded on or in it.
٣) The terms for different kinds of normative documents are defined
considering the document and its content as a single entity.

٣,٢ Standard
Document, established by consensus and approved by a recognized body, that
provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for
activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree of
order in a given context.

٦
 Note: Standards should be based on the consolidated results of science,
technology and experience, and aimed at the promotion of optimum community
benefits.

٣,٢,١ Publicly available standards

Note: By virtue of their status as standards, their public availability and their
amendment or revision as necessary to keep pace with the state of the art,
international, regional , national and provincial standards (٣,٢,١,١, ٣,٢,١,٢,
٣,٢,١,٣ and ٣,٢,١,٤) ae presumed to constitute acknowledged rules of
technology.

٣,٢,١,١ International standard

Standard that is adopted by an international standardizing/standards

organization and made available to the public.

٣,٢,١,٢ Regional standard

Standard that is adopted by a regional standardizing/standards organization and

made available to the public.

٣,٢,١,٣ National standard

Standard that is adopted by a national standards body and made available to the
public.

٣,٢,١,٤ Provincial standard

Standard that is adopted at the level of a territorial division of a country and

made available to the public.

٣,٢,٢ Other standards

Note: Standards may also be adopted on other bases, e.g. branch standards
and company standards. Such standards may have a geographical impact
covering several countries.

٣,٣ Prestandard

Document that is adopted provisionally by a standardizing body and made

available to the public in order that the necessary experience may by gained
from its application on which to base a standard.

٣,٤ Technical specification

٧
Document that prescribes technical requirements to be fulfilled by a product,
process or service.

٨
 Notes

١) A technical specification should indicate, whenever appropriate, the

procedure(s) by means of which it may be determined whether the
requirements given are fulfilled.

٢) A technical specification may be a standard, a part of a standard or

independent of a standard.

٣,٥ Code of practice

Document that recommends practices or procedures for the design,

manufacture, installation, maintenance or utilization of equipment, structures
or products.

Note: A code of practice may be a standard, a part of a standard or

independent of a standard.

٣,٦ Regulation

Document providing binding legislative rules, that is adopted by an authority.

٣,٦,١ Technical regulation

Regulation that provides technical requirements, either directly or by referring

to or incorporating the content of a standard, technical specification or code of
practice.

Note: A technical regulation may be supplemented by technical guidance that

outlines some means of compliance with the requirements of the regulation, i.e
deemed-to-satisfy provision.

٤. BODIES RESPONSIBLE FOR STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS

٤,١ Body

(Responsible for standards and regulations) legal or administrative entity that

has specific tasks and composition.

Note: Examples of bodies are organizations, authorities, companies and

foundations.

٤,٢ Organization

Body that is based on the membership of other bodies or individuals and has
an established constitution and its own administration.

٩
١٠
٤,٣ Standardizaing body

Body that has recognized activities in standardization.

٤,٣,١ Regional standardizing organization

Standardizing organization whose membership is open to the relevant national

body from each country within one geographical, political or economic area
only.

٤,٣,٢ International standardizing organization

Standardizing organization whose membership is open to the relevant national

body from every country.

٤,٤ Standards body

Standardizing body recognized at national, regional or international level, that

has a principal function, by virtue of its statutes, the preparation, approval or
adoption of standards that are made available to the public.

Note: A standards body may also have other principal functions.

٤,٤,١ National standards body

Standards body recognized at the national level, that is eligible to be the

national member of the corresponding international and regional standards
organizations.

٤,٤,٢ Regional standards organization

Standards organization whose membership is open to the relevant national

body from each country within one geographical, political or economic area
only.

٤,٤,٣ International standards organization

Standards organization whose membership is open to the relevant national

body from every country.

٤,٥ Authority

Body that has legal powers and rights

Note: An authority can be regional, national or local.

٤,٥,١ Regulatory authority

١١
 Authority that is responsible for preparing or adopting regulations.

٤,٥,٢ Enforcement authority

Authority that is responsible for enforcing regulations

Note: The enforcement authority may or may not be the regulatory authority.

٥. TYPES OF STANDARDS

Note: The following terms and definitions are not intended to provide a
systematic classification or comprehensive list of possible types of standards.
They indicate some common types only. These are not mutually exclusive; for
instance, a particular product standard may also be regarded as a testing
standard if it provides test methods for characteristics of the product in
question.

٥,١ Basic standard

Standard that has a wide-ranging coverage or contains general provisions for

one particular field

Note: A basic standard may function as a standard for direct application or as

a basis for other standards.

٥,٢ Terminology standard

Standard that is concerned with terms, usually accompanied by their

definitions, and sometimes by explanatory notes, illustrations, examples etc.

٥,٣ Testing standard

Standard that is concerned with test methods, sometimes supplemented with

other provisions related to testing, such as sampling, use of statistical methods,
sequence of tests.

٥,٤ Product standard

Standard that specifies requirements to be fulfilled by a product or a group of

products, to establish its fitness for purpose.

Notes
١) A product standard may include in additions to the fitness for purpose
requirements, directly or by reference, aspects such as terminology, sampling,
testing, packaging and labelling and, sometimes, processing requirements.

١٢
 ٢) A product standard can be either complete or not, according to whether it
specifies all or only a part of the necessary requirements. In this respect, one
may differentiate between standards such as dimensional, material, and
technical delivery standards.

٥,٥ Process standard

Standard that specifies requirements to be fulfilled by a process, to establish its

fitness for purpose

٥,٦ Service standard

Standard that specifies requirements to be fulfilled by a service, to establish its

fitness for purpose.

Note: Service standards may be prepared in fields such as laundering, hotel-

keeping, transport, car-servicing, telecommunications, insurance, banking,
trading.

٥,٧ Interface standard

Standard that specifies requirements concerned with the compatibility of

products or systems at their points of interconnection.

٥,٨ Standard on data to be provided

Standard that contains a list of characteristics for which values or other data are
to be stated for specifying the product, process or service.

Note: Some standards, typically, provide for data to be stated by suppliers,

others by purchasers.

٦. HARMONIZATION OF STANDARDS

Note: Technical regulations can be harmonized like standards corresponding

terms and definitions are obtained by replacing “standards” by “technical
regulations” in the definitions ٦,١ to ٦,٩ and “standardizing bodies” by
“authorities” in definition ٦,١.

٦,١ Harmonized standards

Equivalent standards

Standards on the same subject approved by different standardizing bodies, that

establish interchangeability of products, processes and services, or mutual

١٣
 understanding of test results or information provided according to these
standards.

Note: Within this definition, harmonized standards might have difference in

presentation and even in substance. e.g in explanatory notes, guidance on how
to fulfill the requirements of the standard, preferences for alternatives and
varieties.

٦,٢ Unified standards

Harmonized standards that are identical in substance but not in presentation.

٦,٣ Identical standards

Harmonized standards that are identical in both substance and presentation.

Note:

١) Identification of the standards may be different.

٢) If in different languages, the standards are accurate translations.

٦,٤ Internationally harmonized standards

Standards that are harmonized with an international standards.

٦,٥ Regionally harmonized standards

Standards that are harmonized with a regional standard.

٦,٦ Multilaterally harmonized standards

Standards that are harmonized between more than two standardizing bodies.

٦,٧ Bilaterally harmonized standards

Standards that are harmonized between two standardizing bodies.

٦,٨ Unilaterally aligned standard

Standard that is aligned with another standard so that products, processes,

services, tests and information provided according to the former standard meet
the requirements of the latter standard but not vice versa.

Note: A unilaterally aligned standard is not harmonized (or equivalent) with

the standard with which it is aligned.

٦,٩ Comparable standards

١٤
 Standards on the same products, processes or services, approved by different
standardizing bodies, in which different requirements are based on the same
characteristics and assessed by the same methods, thus permitting
unambiguous comparison of differences in the requirements.

Note: Comparable standards are not harmonized (or equivalent) standards.

٧. CONTENT OF NORMATIVE DOCUMENTS

٧,١ Provision

Expression in the content of a normative document, that takes the form of a

statement, an instruction, a recommendation or a requirement.

Note: These types of provision are distinguished by the form of wording they
employ; e.g. instructions are expressed in the imperative mood,
recommendations by the use of the auxiliary “should” and requirements by the
use of the auxiliary “shall”.

٧,٢ Statement

Provision that conveys information

٧,٣ Instruction

Provision that conveys an action to be performed.

٧,٤ Recommendation

Provision that conveys advice or guidance

٧,٥ Requirement

Provision that conveys criteria to be fulfilled.

٧,٥,١ Exclusive requirement

Mandatory requirement (deprecated)

Requirement of a normative document that must necessarily be fulfilled in

order to comply with that document.

Note: The term “mandatory requirement” should be used to mean only a

requirement made compulsory be law or regulation.

٧,٥,٢ Optional requirement

١٥
 Requirement of a normative document that must be fulfilled in order to comply
with a particular option permitted by that document.

Note: An optional requirement may be either.

a) One of two or more alternative requirements; or

b) An additional requirement that must be fulfilled only if applicable and

that may otherwise be disregarded.

٧,٦ Deemed-to-satisfy provision

Provision that indicates one or more means of compliance with a requirements

of a normative document.

٧,٧ Descriptive provision

Provision for fitness for purpose that concerns the characteristics of a product,
process or service.

Note: A descriptive provision usually conveys design, constructional details,

etc. with dimensions and material composition.

٧,٨ Performance provision

Provision for fitness for purpose that concerns the behaviour of a product,
process or service in or related to use.

٨. STRUCTURE OF NORMATIVE DOCUMENTS

٨,١ Body

(of a normative document) set of provisions that comprises the substance of a

normative document

Notes:

١) In the case of standard, the body comprises general elements relating to

its subject and definitions, and main elements conveying provisions.

٢) Parts of the body of a normative document may take the form of annexes
(‘normative annexes’) for reasons of convenience, but other
(informative) annexes may be additional elements only.

٨,٢ Additional element

١٦
 Information that is included in a normative document but has no effects on its
substance.
Note: In the case of a standard, additional elements may include, for example,
details of publication, foreword and notes.

٩. PREPARATION OF NORMATIVE DOCUMENTS

٩,١ Standards programme

Working schedule of a standardizing body, that lists its current items of
standardization work.

٩,١,١ Standards project

Specific work item within a standards programme.

٩,٢ Draft standard

Proposed standard that is available generally for comment, voting or approval

٩,٣ Period of validity

Period of time for which a normative document is current, that lasts from the
date on which it becomes effective (“effective date”), resulting from a decision
of the body responsible for it, until it is withdrawn or replaced.

٩,٤ Review

Activity of checking a normative document to determine whether it is to be

reaffirmed, changed or withdrawn.

٩,٥ Correction

Removal of printing, linguistic and other similar errors from the published text
of a normative document.

Note: The results of correction may be presented, as appropriate, by issuing a

separate correction sheet or a new edition of the normative document.

٩,٦ Amendment

Modification, addition or deletion of specific parts of the content of a

normative document.

Note: The results of amendment are usually presented by issuing a separate

amendment sheet to the normative document.

١٧
٩,٧ Revision

Introduction of all necessary changes to the substance and presentation of a

normative document.

Note: The results of revision are presented by issuing a new edition of the
normative document.

٩,٨ Reprint

New impression of a normative document without changes.

١٨
٩,٩ New edition

New impression of a normative document that includes changes to the previous

edition

Note: Even if only the content of existing correction or amendment sheets is

incorporated into the text of a normative document, the new text constitutes a
new edition.

١٠. IMPLEMENTATION OF NORMATIVE DOCUMENTS

Note: A normative document can be said to be “implemented” in two different

ways. It may be applied in production, trade, etc., and it may be taken over,
wholly or in part, in another normative document. Through the medium of this
second document, it may then be applied, or it may again be taken over in yet
another normative document.

١٠,١ Taking over an international standard (in a national normative document)

Publication of a national normative document based on a relevant international

standard, or endorsement of the international standard as having the same
status as a national normative document, with any deviations form the
international standard identified.

Note: The term “adoption” is sometimes used to cover the same concept as
“taking over”, e.g. “adoption of an international standard in a national
standard”.

١٠,٢ Application of a normative document

Use of a normative document in production, trade, etc.

١٠,٢,١ Direct application of an international standard

Application of an international standard irrespective of the taking over of that

international standard in any other normative document.

١٠,٢,٢ Indirect application of an international standard.

Application of an international standard through the medium of another

normative document in which it has been taken over.

١٩
١١. REFERENCE TO STANDARDS IN REGULATIONS

١١,١ Reference to standards (in regulations)

Reference to one or more standards in place of detailed provisions within a

regulation.

Notes:

١) A reference to standards is either dated, undated or general, and at the

same time either exclusive or indicative.

٢) A reference to standards may be linked to a more general legal provision

referring to the state of the art or acknowledged rules of technology.
Such a provision may also stand alone.

١١,٢ Precision of reference

١١,٢,١ Dated reference (to standards)

Reference to standards that identifies one or more specific standards in such a

way that later revisions of the standard or standards are not to be applied unless
the regulation is modified.

Note: The standard is usually identified by its number and either date or
edition. The title may also be given.

١١,٢,٢ Undated reference (to standards)

Reference to standards that identifies one or more specific standards in such a

way that later revisions of the standard or standards are to be applied without
the need to modify the regulation.

Note: The standard is usually identified only by its number. The title may also
be given.

١١,٢,٣ General reference (to standards)

Reference to standards that designates all standards of a specified body and/or

in a particular field without identifying them individually.

١١,٣ Strength of reference

١١,٣,١ Exclusive reference (to standards)

٢٠
 Reference to standards that states that the only way to meet the relevant
requirements of a technical regulation is to comply with the standard(s)
referred to.

١١,٣,٢ Indicative reference (to standards)

Reference to standards that states that one way to meet the relevant
requirements of a technical regulation is to comply with the standard(s)
referred to.

Note: An indicative reference to standards is a form of deemed-to-satisfy

provision.

١١,٤ Mandatory standard

Standard the application of which is made compulsory by virtue of a general

law or exclusive reference in a regulation.

١٢. CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT

The terms and definitions given in ISO/IEC ١٧٠٠٠ apply.

KR-٠٠٧٤٩

٢١