Building Systems Engineering ARCHIVE: Standards & Codes

 "A standard is a document that provides rules,guidelines or characteristics for activities or their results. Most standards aim to achieve an optimum degree of order in a given context. Standards are guidelines that establish accepted practices, technical requirements, and terminologies for diverse field." Standards Council of Canada

What are the various types of standards and the difference between standards and codes? 

Organizations that develop standards are called standards developing organizations (SDOs) or standards setting organizations (SSOs). This includes committees, companies, government, organizations, trade associations and other groups.

Standards apply to everything from Christmas trees to cell phones and children's toys to medical scanners.

Codes are

More information is available from the Government of Canada.

Most standards follow a similar number format.

Format:

ABC D123.56-07

• ABC is the organization that developed the standard
• D is a broad subject category (not always present)
• 123.56 is a document/standard number
• 07 indicates the standard was approved in 2007

Example:

CSA C22.1-18

• CSA=Canadian Standards Association
• C22.1 Canadian Electrical Code
• Edition issued in 2018.

You might also see:

ABC D123.56-95 R07 where the 1995 standard was reviewed in 2007 and determined that no changes were needed.

Find Ontario E-Laws

• Building Code Act
• Fire Protection and Prevention Act
• Technical Standards and Safety Act

Contact James Buczynski to request a standard or code from Techstreet Enterprise.

In April 2019, the National Research Council of Canada began offering Codes Canada publications for free. This includes the National Building Code, Fire Code, Energy Code and Plumbing Code. Orders can be placed for downloadable PDFs through their Virtual Store. A registered account is required. https://nrc.canada.ca/en/node/770/