CSA For Occupational Health & Safety

The standards development process under which CSA and other Standards Development Organizations operate is well developed and formally documented and controlled. This process includes seven distinct stages:

Preliminary Stage

On receipt of a request for the development of a standard, an evaluation is conducted and the project is submitted for authorization.

Proposal Stage

Public notice of intent to proceed is published and a Technical Committee is formed - or the project is assigned to an existing Technical Committee.

Preparatory Stage

A working draft is prepared and a project schedule is established.

Committee Stage

The Technical Committee or Technical SubCommittee - facilitated by CSA staff - develops the draft through an iterative process that typically involves a number of committee meetings.

Enquiry Stage

The draft is offered to the public for review and comment, the Technical Committee reaches consensus, CSA staff conduct a quality review and a pre-approval edit is completed.

Approval Stage

The Technical Committee approves the technical content by letter ballot or recorded vote. A second level review verifies that standards development procedures were followed.

Publication Stage

CSA staff conducts a final edit to verify conformity with the applicable editorial and procedural requirements and then publishes and disseminates the standard.

Maintenance Stage

The standard is maintained with the objective of keeping it up to date and technically valid. This may include the publication of amendments, the interpretation of a standard or clause, and the systematic (five-year) review of all standards.