Metre Convention Units" was published in 2006. During the 1940s, the United States government recognised the benefits of its suppliers keeping quality control records in respect of manufactured goods that would provide traceability of the process. This process was formalised by the British Government and in 1979 as the quality control standard BS 5750. In 1987 BS 5750 was adopted by ISO as the basis for ISO 9000. ISO 9000 is a general purpose quality control standard which works in conjunction industry-specific standards: for example ISO 15195:2003 which gives the specific requirements for reference measurement laboratories in laboratory medicine. International trade is
British Standards to adhere to a common method for such a specification. The Kitemark can be used to indicate certification by BSI, but only where a Kitemark scheme has been set up around a particular standard. It is mainly applicable to safety and quality management standards. There is a common misunderstanding that Kitemarks are necessary to prove compliance with any BS standard, but in general it is neither desirable nor possible that every standard be 'policed' in this way. Following the move on harmonisation of the standard in Europe, some British Standards are gradually superseded or replaced by the relevant European Standards