It’s the time of year when we’re particularly sensitive to the safety of products intended for children. And from a standards perspective, that means the development and usage of standards that take the safety of children into account. But how does this happen? One tool that standards developers have is the ISO/IEC Guide 50, “Safety aspects – Guidelines for child safety in standards and other specifications.” And now there’s a new 3rd Edition of the guide that has just been released and is available from Document Center Inc.
This guide was developed to provide guidance for participants in standards development activities. But in actuality it provides an overview of the subject that could be of assistance as background information for anyone developing a product, facility, or even regulations and policy that will be used by or affect children.
As with most standards, the document starts with the usual scope, referenced documents and definitions sections. Then it moves into five specific clauses that cover various aspects of child safety. These clauses are:
- General approach to child safety
- Safety considerations: child development, behavior, and unintentional harm
- Safe environments for children
- Hazards relevant for children
- Adequacy of safeguards
Two Annexes (assessment checklist and injury databases) and a bibliography complete the publication.
In the developed world, preventing injury to children is a top priority. Sadly, unintentional injury ranks as a major cause of death and disability in most countries. So it is incumbent on companies as well as regulators to develop and implement requirements that minimize the risks for children in their environment. And standards provide a unique platform for implementing such requirements based on technical expertise.
If you’re already using the ISO/IEC Guide 50, you’ll want to know what changes are in this new edition. Here’s a list of the main points as noted by the committee itself:
- The guide was more closely aligned with ISO/IEC Guide 51, “Safety aspects – Guidelines for their inclusion in standards.”
- It is more directly stated that the guide can be used by a wide variety of stakeholders, not just standards developers.
- Clause 5 was further expanded to outline the relationship between child development, behavior and unintentional harm.
- Clause 7 was given a new structure on hazards, including the addition of additional items not in the previous edition.
- Clause 8 on safeguards was added to the guide.
Now you’ll need to buy the guide. You can purchase an authorized copy at the Document Center webstore at www.document-center.com. It’s available to order in both paper format and for pdf download. If you’d like to have multi-user access, check in with our staff about our Standards Online subscription service. You can contact them by phone (650-591-7600), fax (650-591-7617) or email (info@document-center.com).
Remember, working with standards can be challenging. If you find that you need assistance in procuring, maintaining or using this type of compliance documentation, make Document Center your source for standards. We’re your Standards Experts!
