Deciding to work towards one or more quality management standards can give your customers added confidence in your business and in your products or services. Meeting certain standards may also enable you to win business from larger customers with strict purchasing criteria.

Learn more in the Business Gateway guide to using standards as quality benchmarks, which examines the two main types of standards. Technical standards are about ensuring the quality of products, manufacturing processes and services. Management system standards are concerned with the quality – and efficiency – of business processes and activities.

This free guide also lists widely used standards for best business practice:

• ISO 9001:2008 – quality management of business systems
• ISO 14001 – environmental management
• BS EN 16001 – energy management
• OHSAS 18001 – occupational health and safety
• BS 7799 – information security
• BS 25999-2:2007 – business continuity

Yes, if you are thinking about starting, or already run, a business in Scotland.

This is a free and impartial service.

Any business based in Scotland, at any stage in its life cycle.

Take 6 minutes to read the guide to using standards as quality benchmarks.

Use of standards is optional – but meeting certain standards may be the best way for your business to fulfil its legal requirements.

Visit the Business Gateway website to learn more about using standards as quality benchmarks.