Established in 1945 in terms of the Standards Act, (Act No. 24 of 1945). SABS became one of the founder members of the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) in 1947. SABS has always been actively involved in the development of international standards through the technical committees we represent.
Regionally, SABS is the leading standardisation body on the African continent. In 1972 SABS helped to establish the Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) by assisting in the preparation of standards legislation and drafting of the Malawian Standards Act.
SABS has seen South Africa through many transitions with the application of standard protocols and pioneered many standards that have shaped the way South Africa currently operates. Ours was the first country to lay down a national standard for radio receivers (SABS 766 in 1965) and developed the world’s first performance standard for colour television sets (SANS 454 in 1972) – before TV was even launched in South Africa. In 2005 SABS wrote the standard for the new National flag (SANS 1212)
Other significant achievements include the standardisation of the South African currency which moved from pennies and pounds to Rands and cents. (Decimal Coinage Act, Act 61 of 1959). SABS was also at the forefront of the change to our measurement systems – from an imperial system (gallons, pounds and miles) to a metric one (litres, kilometres and kilograms)
Current Legislation and Mandate
The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) is a South African statutory body that was established in terms of the Standards Act, 1945 (Act No. 24 of 1945) and continues to operate in terms of the latest edition of the Standards Act, 2008 (Act No. 29 of 2008) as the national institution for the promotion and maintenance of standardisation and quality in connection with commodities and the rendering of services.
The SABS Mandate is as follows:
- Develop, promote and maintain South African National Standards (SANS)
- Promote quality in connection with commodities, products and services
- Render conformity assessment services and assist in matters connected therewith.
SABS undertakes consignment inspections on behalf of customers, ensuring that batches of products comply with regulatory specifications.
SABS is also taking smaller enterprises step-for-step through ISO 9001 certification as the economy of South Africa will increasingly depend on the ability of entrepreneurs to expand trade into foreign markets, grow their businesses and create new jobs. The distribution of design knowledge and practice of design based methods and interventions are particularly focussed on applying design tools to support the growth of the SMME sector. In line with this focus, SABS actively supports the development of young entrepreneurs to create sustainable and competitive jobs.