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Procuring Standards – Options & Licensing
Why Procurement Choices Matter:
Standards are not free resources. Each organization needs to decide how to access and license them based on:
– Number of users who need access
– Frequency of use (occasional vs. daily reference)
– Budget and cost control needs
– Compliance risk (ensuring usage is legal and auditable)
Selecting the right model can reduce costs, streamline access, and prevent copyright violations.
Buying vs. Subscription:
– Buying individual standards: Best when only a few documents are needed. Usually single-user, PDF or hard copy. Risk: higher costs if usage grows.
– Subscriptions (collections or platforms): Access to entire catalogs (e.g., ISO, ASTM, IEC) or multi-publisher bundles. Annual or multi-year licenses. Best for enterprises with regular, cross-departmental usage.
[Visual Placeholder: Flowchart – Do you need a few standards or many? → Buy vs Subscribe]
Licensing Models:
1. Single-User License: For one named individual. Lowest cost, highest restrictions. No legal sharing with colleagues.
2. Multi-User License: 2–10 named users. Allows small teams to share costs. Risk: not scalable for enterprise-wide use.
3. Enterprise Site License: Unlimited users within one organization/site. Centralized access with audit logs. Best compliance control, but highest cost.
Choosing the Right Option
Ask your team:
1. How many people will use the standard?
2. How often do we need updates?
3. Do we require access to multiple publishers?
4. What’s the risk if one team uses an outdated or pirated copy?
Prepaid Blocks / Packages of Standards:
Some SDOs and resellers offer prepaid credit packages:
– Buy access to 25, 50, or 100 standards in advance.
– Allows engineers to ‘spend credits’ as needed.
– Usually offered at a volume discount.
Benefits: Predictable budgeting; Flexible choice across multiple projects; Good for companies with varied but frequent needs.
Challenges: Credits may expire if unused; Often limited to one publisher’s catalog.
Prepaid packages are a middle ground between ad hoc buying and full subscriptions.
DRM & Access Restrictions:
– Digital Rights Management (DRM) protects copyrighted standards.
– Typical restrictions include: Watermarked PDFs; Limited number of prints; File locked to one device.
– DRM ensures fair use but can frustrate engineers under time pressure.
– Enterprise solutions often manage DRM better (centralized access, no need for each engineer to manage files individually).
Hard Copy vs Digital vs Custom Collections:
– Hard Copies: Useful in labs, workshops, or field sites. More durable for physical use. Risk: scanning/sharing violates copyright.
– Digital Copies (PDFs): Portable and searchable. DRM restrictions apply. Risk: file-sharing can cause compliance breaches.
– Custom Collections: Tailored sets of standards selected for your industry/project. Often bundled at a discount. May be digital or enterprise-based.
Compliance, Copyright & Risk
Why Compliance Matters:
Standards are not public-domain documents. They are copyrighted works owned by Standards Development Organizations (SDOs). Purchasing a standard gives you a license to use it, not ownership of the intellectual property. Misuse — even unintentionally — can result in:
– Audit failures during ISO or industry certification.
– Legal penalties for copyright infringement.
– Financial loss from rework, recalls, or regulatory fines.
Compliance is not just about avoiding lawsuits — it’s about protecting your company’s reputation and ensuring safe, consistent engineering practices.
What You Can and Cannot Do:
Allowed:
– Print a personal copy if the license permits.
– Use the standard for your engineering, quality, or compliance work.
– Share within your team if you have a multi-user or enterprise license.
Not Allowed:
– Emailing PDFs to colleagues without a license.
– Uploading standards to shared drives, SharePoint, or intranets.
– Photocopying entire hard copies for internal distribution.
– Sharing outside your organization (vendors, clients) unless your license covers it.
Differences by Access Model:
1. Retail / Single-User PDFs: Strict DRM controls. Locked to one device or named user. Sharing = copyright violation. Printing often restricted (watermarks, limited copies). High compliance risk if engineers forward internally.
2. Hard Copies (Printed Standards): Can be circulated physically, but still licensed to one buyer. Scanning or uploading = violation. Risk: uncontrolled photocopies.
3. Enterprise Subscriptions / Multi-User Licenses: Legal framework for organizational use. Centralized management (IP ranges, logins, concurrent users). Audit logs available for inspections. Safest model for compliance in large teams.
Compliance Risks of the Wrong Model:
– Audit Risk: A quality auditor may ask for proof of access — if you rely on an emailed PDF, you fail.
– Operational Risk: Teams may unknowingly design to an outdated or pirated copy.
– Legal Risk: Infringement penalties, damaged supplier/customer relationships.
Example: A manufacturer lost a major aerospace client after it was discovered they were using shared PDFs without proper licenses — raising concerns about compliance culture.
Compliance Checklist – Do’s and Don’ts
Do:
– Buy enough licenses for all active users.
– Train engineers on copyright basics.
– Keep audit logs and license agreements on file.
– Use enterprise platforms where possible.
Don’t:
– Upload standards to shared folders or servers without a license.
– Assume “we bought it once = everyone can use it.”
– Ignore update notifications — using outdated versions is also non-compliance.
Best Practices for Risk Reduction:
– Conduct a standards usage audit across departments.
– Move from ad hoc purchases to enterprise subscriptions for multi-user needs.
– Assign responsibility for license management to a document control officer.
– Build compliance training into your quality management system (QMS).
Industry Applications & Case Studies
Why Industry Lessons Matter?
Standards are not abstract — they directly impact safety, quality, and competitiveness.
By looking at how industries use (or misuse) standards, engineers can better understand the risks of poor management and the best practices that prevent failure.
Lessons Learned from Case Studies
- Using outdated standards can stop contracts, cause recalls, or fail audits.
- Enterprise-wide access saves time, reduces duplication, and increases trust with regulators and customers.
- Industry leaders treat standards not as a cost, but as a strategic investment.
