Standards news

Abstract

The BSI catalogue for 2002 has been published recently. It is available on both CD ROM and in hard copy format, though stocks of the latter are limited. All subscribing members of BSI were provided with the CD ROM version of the new catalogue during April 2002. The minimum hardware requirements to use this on an IBM compatible PC are a Pentium P90 processor with a Windows 95, 98, or NT 4 (service pack 5, or newer) operating system and at least 64 Mb of RAM and 140 Mb of hard disk space. Installation is straightforward, and takes only 2 min. The contents of the CD ROM are comprehensive. In total, there are over 30 000 records relating to British Standards, both current and withdrawn, dating back to 1903. The information that is provided for each standard includes, as appropriate: the title; a brief description of the contents; the status (current, withdrawn, etc.); the confirmation date; the ICS classification; the BSI Committee reference; the ISBN reference; notes; number of pages (and their size); and price (member or nonmember, as the case may be). Standards can be ordered by preparing an electronic order form, which automatically updates the total value of the order as more standards are added. This can then be submitted by email at the click of a button, or printed and sent by fax. The earliest standard referred to in the CD ROM is BS 251903, ‘Influence of gauge length and section of test bar on the percentage of elongation’. Although now withdrawn, this can still be purchased at a non-member price of £66·00 (non-member prices are generally twice the price paid by BSI Members). The oldest standard that is still current is BS 10551919, ‘Light and heavy bridge type railway rails’. This was reset in new type in 1945, but the text remains identical with previous copies (although the full size drawings of individual rails were omitted). It was last confirmed in 1994 and can be purchased at a non-member price of £22·00. There is a good search engine, which means that it is a simple matter to find a particular standard. If the reference number is known, this can be entered in the search window. Otherwise, use can be made of appropriate key words, entered either as a phrase or linked by the operators ‘and’ and ‘or’. Entering the word ‘corrosion’ results in 387 records relating to current standards published over the past 40 years. If withdrawn standards are included, the total number increases to 454. The CD ROM contains a good deal more than just published and withdrawn British Standards. Among the other items included ate BS ISO and BS EN ISO adoptions; BS EN publications and BS IEC publications; Codes of Practice; Drafts for Development; Published Documents; Drafts for Public Comment; Technical Publications; Specialist Books from BSI; Electronic Products; ETSI Standards, etc. The price of the BSI Catalogue on CD ROM to nonmembers is £100 plus VAT and £3·75 for postage. This contains everything issued up to April 2002. For an additional £100 plus VAT the catalogue will be updated on a monthly basis (12 updates). This adds, typically, another two hundred records per month. The paper copy catalogue (circa 1200 pages) is available to non-members for £100 (no VAT). The following British Standards have been published recently: