I heard about Spring's standardisation programme and its activities from my business partners. I am interested in participating. Where can I find more information?

Spring Singapore, as the national standards body, coordinates the national standardisation programme, which develops voluntary Singapore Standards and connects industry to international and regional standards bodies.

Companies can influence the development of national or international standards to their competitive advantage.

By becoming a member of the relevant national standards committees, companies can shape international standards to meet Singapore's needs.

Through this membership, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could also represent Singapore in the international standards committee and network with international experts to obtain the latest trends for their industries.

The standardisation programme is guided by an industry-led Standards Council, which formulates strategies and directions for standardisation activities in Singapore.

More information on the national standardisation programme may be obtained at www.spring. gov.sg

What are the benefits from participating in this programme?

By participating in standardisation activities, SMEs can obtain first-hand information on the latest technological advancements and trends for their company's products and services. When they participate in Standards Implementation for Productivity projects, they will reap benefits such as increased revenue, manpower savings and reduced cycle time.

For example, in the pallet standardisation project, $7.8 million in savings were reaped annually for the 300,000 standard pallets in use.

Other benefits include the reduction in the cost of ownership through leasing of pallets by SMEs, and the optimising of warehouse storage space as only one-size pallets are used.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on May 28, 2008