BSI Group


The British Standards Institution is the national standards body of the United Kingdom. BSI produces technical standards on a wide range of products and services and also supplies standards certification services for business and personnel.

History

BSI was founded as the Engineering Standards Committee in London in 1901. It subsequently extended its standardization work and became the British Engineering Standards Association in 1918, adopting the name British Standards Institution in 1931 after receiving a Royal Charter in 1929. In 1998 a revision of the Charter enabled the organization to diversify and acquire other businesses, and the trading name was changed to BSI Group.
The Group now operates in 195 countries. The core business remains standards and standards related services, although the majority of the Group's revenue comes from management systems assessment and certification work.
In 2021, BSI appointed its first female chief executive officer, Susan Taylor Martin.

Activities

BSI produces British Standards, and, as the UK's National Standards Body, is also responsible for the UK publication, in English, of international and European standards. BSI is obliged to adopt and publish all European Standards as identical British Standards and to withdraw pre-existing British Standards that are in conflict. However, it has the option to adopt and publish international standards.
In response to commercial demands, BSI also produces commissioned standards products such as Publicly Available Specifications, Private Standards and Business Information Publications. These products are commissioned by individual organizations and trade associations to meet their needs for standardized specifications, guidelines, codes of practice etc. Because they are not subject to the same consultation and consensus requirements as formal standards, the lead time is shorter.
BSI also publishes standards-related books, CD-ROMs, subscription and web-based products as well as providing training on standards-related issues.

Management systems assessment and certification

With 80,000 clients, BSI is one of the world's largest certification bodies. It audits and provides certification to companies worldwide who implement management systems standards. BSI also runs training courses that cover the implementation and auditing requirements of national and international management systems standards.
It is independently accredited and assesses a wide range of standards and other specifications, including:

Testing services and healthcare

BSI's best known product in the UK is the Kitemark, a registered certification mark first used in 1903. The Kitemark – which is recognized by 82% of UK adults – signifies products or services which have been assessed and tested as meeting the requirements of the related specification or standard within a Kitemark scheme.
BSI also conducts testing of products for a range of certifications, including for CE marking. CE marking must be applied to a wide range of products intended for sale in the European Economic Area. Frequently, manufacturers or importers need a third-party certification of their product from an accredited or 'Notified' body. BSI holds Notified Body status for 15 EU Directives, including construction products, marine equipment, pressurized equipment and personal protective equipment.
BSI also conducts testing for manufacturers developing new products and has facilities to test across a wide range of sectors, including construction, fire safety, electrical and electronic and engineering products.
BSI provides regulatory and quality management reviews and product certification for medical device manufacturers in the Worldwide. It is the market leader in the US, the world's biggest healthcare market.

Acquisitions

Starting in 1998, BSI Group has adopted a policy of international growth through acquisition as follows:
  • 1998: CEEM, USA and International Standards Certification Pte Ltd, Singapore
  • 2002: KPMG's certification business in North America
  • 2003: BSI Pacific Ltd, Hong Kong
  • 2004: KPMG's certification business in the Netherlands
  • 2006: Nis Zert, Germany; Entropy International Ltd, Canada & UK; Benchmark Certification Pty Ltd, Australia; ASI-QS, UK
  • 2009: Supply Chain Security Division of First Advantage Corp. USA; Certification International S.r.l, Italy; EUROCAT, Germany
  • 2010: GLCS, the leading certifier of gas related consumer equipment in the UK and one of the top three in Europe, the certification business of BS Services Italia S.r.l. ; Systems Management Indonesia.
  • 2013: 9 May 2013 – NCS International and its daughter company NCSI Americas, Inc.
  • 2015: 24 January – EORM, a US consultancy specialising in environmental, health, safety and sustainability services
  • 2015: 30 January – the management systems certification business of PwC in South Africa
  • 2015: 3 June – Hill County Environmental Inc, a US environmental and engineering services consultancy
  • 2016: 4 April – Espion Ltd and Espion UK, experts at managing and securing corporate information
  • 2016: 15 August – Atrium Environmental Health and Safety Services LLC, experts in occupational safety, industrial safety and environmental compliance
  • 2016: 22 September – Creative Environment Solutions Corp., an Environmental and Safety consulting firm
  • 2016: 4 October – Info-Assure Ltd, a leading provider of cyber security and information assurance
  • 2016: 15 December – Quantum Management Group Inc, a US environmental, health and safety consultancy
  • 2017: 5 December – Neville Clarke, the Business Process Improvement Expert
  • 2018: 8 November – AirCert GmbH, a specialist aerospace certification company located in Munich, Germany
  • 2019: 3 April – AppSec Consulting, a US cybersecurity and information resilience company
  • 2021: 1 February – Q-Audit, a JAS-ANZ accredited healthcare auditing body based in Sydney, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand.

    BSI Identify

In 2021, BSI Group, with support from the Construction Products Association, led the development of a product identification and traceability system known as BSI Identify. The initiative responded to recommendations made by Dame Judith Hackitt following her review of building safety, which called for wider adoption of permanent product marking and consistent labelling systems to improve traceability across the built environment sector.
BSI Identify uses new Digital Object Identifier technology "to deliver a unique, constant, and interoperable identifier", known as a BSI UPIN, "which can be assigned to products to help UK manufacturers to directly manage information about their products in the supply chain". The aim of the BSI Identify programme is that "wherever you are with product, you can take a snapshot of the QR code with your mobile device, and it will immediately take you to the product technical data sheet. You can see exactly what product it is, you can answer any questions about it, you can see installation advice, etc."

Coat of arms

The BSI coat of arms was granted by the College of Arms in 1951.