Economic Benefits of Standards
Economic Benefits of Standards – Application of ISO Methodology on Baron Foods (St. Lucia) Ltd.
The Saint Lucia Bureau of Standards (SLBS) in conjunction with the International Organization of Standardization (ISO) is conducting a study to determine the economic benefits of standardization and/or the use of standards.This initiative to quantify the benefits of standards is extremely important for monitoring and prioritizing standardization activities, as well as for raising awareness and improving communication, promoting the use of standards and encouraging stakeholder participation.
In that regard ISO is assisting Saint Lucia to apply of the ISO Methodology to assess the economic benefits of standards with a pilot organization which has successfully implemented standards.This ISO Methodology address the a key question,“What is the contribution of standards to corporate value creation?”
Baron Foods (St. Lucia) Ltd. was selected to conduct the pilot study in St. Lucia which will quantify the impact of standards used in Organisations.This was done on the backdrop of the number of standards utilized by the company,the certifications attained,the relationship with the SLBS,the willingness of the organization and evidence of benefits accrued through use of standards.
This pilot study forms part of an international initiative to determine the impact of standards in companies of all sizes from different regions.We anticipate that the data compiled will be useful not only to Baron Foods(St. Lucia)Ltd but to other companies in St.Lucia and the rest of the world.
As reference above, the study will help the SLBS to address systematically the issue of economic benefits of standards,with a view to: enable stakeholders in both private and public sectors, to better appreciate the economic and social impact of voluntary consensus standards,and to raise the awareness of policy makers and business leaders as to the importance of standardization.
The development of case studies applying the ISO methodology is also an excellent means for: reaching out to and strengthening the interaction with national stakeholders,focusing on their business needs and on the understanding of how standards can contribute to the performance of organizations,and developing cooperation with academic institutions building a collection of case studies, to be maintained by ISO/CS,which can be used to promote the value of standards to a broad variety of stakeholders.
Date | Date | Responsibility |
10th,October 2012 | Identify key individuals of the company (e.g. heads of business functions) as interview partners | J.James in consultation with Baron Foods contact |
10th to 12th October 2012 | Begin data collection for desk analysis before interviews (e.g. Quality policy, main areas using standards used in company,standards currently in use etc) | J.James |
11th to 12th October 2012 | Discuss and review how to conduct the upcoming interviews as effective as possible, incl. prepare questionnaires, data collection tools etc. | ISO methodology team |
15th October 2012 | Submit questionnaires to company in anticipation of discussions and interviews. | T.Haynes |
17th October 2012 10:30 am – 3:00 pm | Kick-off meeting, presentation of methodology and initial discussions | Project team and Baron Foods Team (office of SLBS,Bisee) |
19h October 2012 9:30 am – 3:00 pm | Conduct interviews and collect information | Project team and Baron Foods Team (Baron Foods office, Vieux Fort) |
20th to 25th October 2012 | Analyze the collected information and Review the findings | Project team |
Schedule a further rounds of interviews (if needed) | Project team and Baron Foods Team | |
20th to 30th October | Preparation of report | Project Team |
5th to 9th November | Ensure formal sign-off and approval of the report by the company | SLBS and Baron Foods Team |