In the early days of the industrial revolution, manufacturing standards were non-existent. It was only through word of mouth and hastily prepared manufacturing sheets where most entrepreneurs and business people get the specifications of their clients’ orders. While clientele relied solely on the reputation of their builders, problems regarding quality was always an issue.
To prevent quality problems and disagreements, minimum standards were set for manufacturers. The government established quality controls to meet the minimum standard of quality that will be met by greedy entrepreneurs. While progress was slow, a consensus was eventually agreed upon by shippers, manufacturers, and capitalists regarding the standards. Organizations that dedicated their existence to standardization were birthed and created.
Fast forward to today, standardization practices are pretty much integrated into law. From safety issues and minimum quality standards, benchmarks were established. In industry flooring, the ASTM F-3010 standard regarding moisture mitigation in floor coatings is the norm. As regards street safety, signs and other markings are a must in school zones and intersections.
Thanks to the efforts during the Industrial Revolution, our children can enjoy the minimum community safety standards that almost all towns and counties experience. However, these minimum standards are not enough. How do we, as a community, further promote safety for our children?
According to a famous Japanese anecdote, it takes the whole village to raise a child. An adult man was asked why, in a pedestrian crossing where there are certainly no cars, he still stopped and looked at both sides of the road. He said that he still follows the rules even if he knows no one is looking because a child might be. Following the rules and being a role model even when no one is looking is important for the development of children. Children are very impressionable, and children imitate most things that you do. Safety begins at home.
The establishment of safety zones and other areas of play within the community is another step you and your neighbors can take to ensure the youth’s safety. Some roads may inevitably be too busy and dangerous for children. While you can only trust that the drivers will slow down at certain areas and intersections, it is better to be safe than sorry. Establishing playgrounds, meet-areas, and well-lit zones with great visibility, away from accident-prone areas, is key for the children in your neighborhood. With the help of your local town council, such areas may be established for everyone’s use. It will also provide the children with fresh air and exercise away from their gadgets. An area (as an option) that they can substitute for their online activities will make their social development more holistic.
Researching about problem areas within your neighborhood is a great step to solving community stressors. By being pinpoint accurate in your community’s problematic areas, you can take the right path to solve it. For example, if the problem area is road safety within your neighborhood, you can establish and lobby the desired driving speed within certain streets in the suburbs. If you identify a spot where accidents are likely to happen, installing road signs and humps will hamper potential rule violators. In cases where non-indigenous and poisonous plants are grown in a neighborhood where children are mostly roaming around, having a standard where limitations as regards which plants can be planted will be essential.
Standards have come a long way from being applied only on manufacturing and product quality. Nowadays, these standards are also applied to community safety and other improvements to the quality of life. Without these standards, we, as a community, would not have progressed.
