About South African Bureau of Standards (SABS)
The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) is a South African statutory body that was established in terms of the Standards Act, 1945 (Act No. 24 of 1945) and continues to operate in terms of the latest edition of the Standards Act, 2008 (Act No. 29 of 2008) as the national institution for the promotion and maintenance of standardisation and quality in connection with commodities and the rendering of services.
As the national standardisation authority, the SABS is responsible for maintaining South Africa's database of more than 6,500 national standards, as well as developing new standards and revising, amending or withdrawing existing standards as required.
Internationally, SABS experts represent South Africa's interests in the development of international standards, through their engagement with bodies such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). South Africa has a long and proud history of involvement with these bodies and was a founder member of ISO. On a regional level, the SABS currently holds the Secretariat for SADCSTAN, the standardisation body for the Southern African Development Community of 14 nations.
In a move to improve its service offerings and responsiveness to customer needs, the SABS also restructured its commercial services into seven industry clusters:
- Chemicals
- Electro-technical
- Food & Health
- Mechanical & Materials
- Mining & Minerals
- Services
- Transportation
The SABS provides the platform for quality services and products which is the key differentiator in an increasingly competitive environment. The SABS strategic objective contributes to the efficient functioning of the economy by:
- Developing standards to advance the socio-economic well-being of South Africa in the global economy.
- Delivering relevant conformity assessment services that facilitate access to markets for South African industry, thereby improving its competitiveness in the global trade environment.
The SABS, with its rich history in standardisation, will continue to play a significant role in ensuring that industry is kept abreast of the pace of the dramatic transition of the world economy through standards development and quality assurance services, thereby providing industry with the quality edge.
MANDATE
SABS is a statutory body that was established in terms of the Standards Act, 1945 (Act No. 24 of 1945) and continues to operate in terms of the latest edition of the Standards Act, 2008 (Act No. 8 of 2008) as the national standardisation institution in South Africa, mandated to:
- Develop, promote and maintain South African National Standards (SANS)
- Promote quality in connection with commodities, products and services
- Render conformity assessment services and assist in matters connected therewith.
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