The standards development process under which CSA and other Standards Development Organizations operate is well developed and formally documented and controlled. This process includes eight 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 conduct 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.
