British Standards Institution (BSI)

The British Standards Institution is the UK's national standards body. This guide covers its role, how a British Standard is made, the status of standards in law and the BSI committees behind the crane standards.

Overview

What the British Standards Institution is

The British Standards Institution (BSI) is the UK’s national standards body. It publishes British Standards, such as the BS 7121 code of practice for the safe use of cranes, and adopts European and international standards as BS EN and BS ISO.

In short

The UK government recognises BSI as the national standards body under a memorandum of understanding.
British Standards are voluntary unless a law refers to them.
Anyone can read and comment on draft standards free of charge.
Published standards are bought from BSI, singly or by subscription.

Full name	British Standards Institution
Abbreviation	BSI
Type	A company incorporated by Royal Charter with no share capital, which reinvests its profits
Founded	1901, with a Royal Charter granted in 1929
Remit	National standards body for the UK, and the UK member of ISO, IEC, CEN and CENELEC
Northern Ireland	Covered, as part of the UK
Website	bsigroup.com

Role

What BSI is responsible for

The government’s recognition of BSI is set out in a memorandum of understanding signed with the Department for Business and Trade in September 2024, alongside BSI’s Royal Charter. The memorandum also names BSI as the UK’s member of the international and European standards organisations, and ring-fences government money for standards work from the rest of the business.

The BSI Group also runs commercial services, among them certification, product testing, training and software. Those sit apart from its role as the standards body, and a BSI certificate for a company’s management system is a separate thing from a British Standard.

Standards

How a British Standard is made

Standards are written by technical committees of people from industry, research, government and consumer groups, working by consensus. A standard takes one to four years to produce, according to BSI. Drafts go out for public consultation on BSI’s Standards Development Portal, which is free to use, and national standards are open for comment for two months.

BSI lists seven types of standard. Two of them matter on a lifting job:

Code of practice	Recommendations and current good practice, written with “should”. BS 7121 is one.
Specification	Requirements to be met, written with “shall”. Product standards such as BS EN 13000 also set requirements.

Most standards are reviewed every five years, and each review confirms, amends, revises or withdraws the standard. A Publicly Available Specification (PAS) is a faster, BSI-run route, still with a public consultation.

Publications

British, European and international standards

As a member of CEN and CENELEC, BSI must adopt every European standard and withdraw any British Standard that conflicts with it. A European crane standard is published here with the prefix BS EN. CEN and CENELEC confirmed BSI’s continued membership from 2022, after the UK left the EU.

For new machinery in Great Britain, the government lists designated standards. A machine built to one is presumed to meet the requirements that standard covers under the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008, although the presumption can be rebutted. From 20 January 2027, new regulations also let machinery that meets the EU Machinery Regulation be supplied in Great Britain.

Lifting

Why BSI matters for lifting and machine moving

Crane standards in the UK come from BSI committee MHE/3, Cranes and derricks, which mirrors the European and international crane committees. Its subcommittee MHE/3/11, Crane safety and testing, is responsible for the BS 7121 series, from BS 7121-1 on planning and supervising lifts to the BS 7121-2 series on inspection, maintenance and thorough examination. Product standards such as BS EN 13000 for mobile cranes and BS EN 12999 for loader cranes reach the UK through CEN.

HSE points out that standards are not legal requirements, though working to them is one way for a manufacturer to meet the law. BSI says HSE and the courts use BS 7121-1 as an indication of good practice. The legal duties on a lift are in LOLER and PUWER, and Northern Ireland has its own versions of both.

A rooftop plant unit hanging from the hook of a red and white mobile tower crane against a blue sky — A rooftop unit on the hook of a mobile tower crane.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland and further reading

Product rules in Northern Ireland differ from Great Britain’s. Under the Windsor Framework, EU product law applies, so EU harmonised standards give the presumption of conformity and products carry the CE marking, sometimes with the UKNI mark beside it. The GB designated standards lists do not extend there, and from 20 January 2027 the EU Machinery Regulation applies directly.

Sources and further reading

Questions

Common questions

What legal status does a British Standard have?

None of its own: a law or regulation has to refer to it. For new machinery, a designated standard gives a presumption of conformity in Great Britain, and in Northern Ireland EU harmonised standards do that instead.