BSI sets up guide to quality standards

HELP is at hand for small businesses worried about the application of the quality standards BS5750 and ISO9000.

The British Standards Institution policy committee for small businesses, set up by the BSI Board in February, is planning a guide to BS5750 designed specifically for small businesses. It is also looking at the need for guidance for buyers planning to purchase from them.

In addition, the committee is discussing with the Department of Trade and Industry how to make the assessment and registration options better understood.

And it is investigating the advantages and problems BS5750 may cause small businesses, analysing the costs associated with it, evaluating accreditation and advising on the safeguards small firms may need when using consultants.

Roger Dunn, chairman of the policy committee, said: 'The key tasks of the policy committee are to help small businesses overcome the problems associated with the widespread adoption of BS5750, and to assist them to obtain benefits from the application of the standard.'