SINGAPORE - New standards are expected soon for emerging business areas such as for drones, additive manufacturing and video analytics.
They are expected to help guide the development and adoption of cutting-edge innovations in Singapore.
At a media briefing on Monday, the Singapore Standards Council (SSC) said that over 40 new standards will be developed from April this year to March next year and over 900 organisations were expected to adopt them.
SSC was set up by Enterprise Singapore (ESG) and works with industry, academia and government organisations to review and develop standards in Singapore. There are more than 700 standards at work across all industry sectors here today.
ESG and SSC said in a press release: "The adoption of standards has enabled Singapore companies to uplift their capabilities in terms of improving productivity, facilitating innovation and meeting international benchmarks for practices, systems and performance.
"This in turn helped Singapore earn the trust of businesses and partners around the world and enhanced its position as a trusted hub for businesses."
One recent standard was the Technical Reference for autonomous vehicles (AV), which provides AV technology developers with clear guidelines on safety, vehicle behaviour, cybersecurity and data management. It covers issues such as how fast AVs should travel and the space between them on the road. The standard, which was launched this year, supports the pilot deployment of AVs in areas like Punggol early next year.
Other standards under development relate to how drones can be used to inspect buildings, design guidelines and test methods for additive manufacturing, and the deployment of video analytics and surveillance systems by the security industry.
ESG director-general of quality and excellence Choy Sauw Kook said standards help to raise the quality of products and services, allowing companies to gain market access overseas. They also support industry transformation and enable emerging areas and innovation.
"My hope is that companies leverage on standards as a strategic tool to help them differentiate and compete more efficiently on the global stage," she added.
SSC chairman Robert Chew said that moving forward, standards would be developed for emerging areas identified in initiatives like the Industry Transformation Maps and Smart Nation push. SSC will also continue to help shape international standardisation by participating in international standard-setting bodies such as the International Standards Organisation.
Ms Choy said: "It is important for Singapore to deepen its involvement in the global conversation on standards to ensure that our industries contribute to the development of new international standards and meet requirements as they are launched."
