Standards News
【Standards Focus】What is the Group Standard？
日期：2025-08-14阅读：55
What is a Group Standard
A group standard is a standard independently developed and issued by a legally established social organization to meet market and innovation needs, following the standard development procedures established by the organization, and voluntarily adopted by society. Group standards are uniformly managed by the standardization administrative department under the State Council.
Market-Driven: Market entities independently develop standards, freely select them, and voluntarily adopt them;
Government Guidance: Strengthen laws, regulations, and institutional frameworks to create a favorable policy environment for the development of group standards;
Innovation-Driven: Timely incorporate scientific and technological innovations to promote the marketization and industrialization of research outcomes;
Coordinated Advancement: Leverage complementary advantages, foster positive interactions, and achieve coordinated development with the existing standard system.
The Role and Significance of Group Standards
The role for enterprises
Enhancing Product Quality and Competitiveness: By adopting advanced group standards, enterprises can standardize production processes, improve product quality and stability, and strengthen market competitiveness. Moreover, the technological innovations embedded in group standards can help enterprises increase the technological content and added value of their products, while also opening up new market opportunities.
Cost Reduction: Implementing group standards facilitates technological exchanges and collaboration among enterprises, promotes resource sharing and complementary advantages, and reduces R&D and production costs.
Promoting Technological Innovation: Group standards encourage enterprises to participate in standard formulation, enabling them to integrate their technological innovations into the standard system and thereby enhancing both their innovation motivation and capabilities.
The role for the industry
Regulating Market Order: Group standards establish uniform technical specifications and market access thresholds for enterprises in the industry, helping to regulate market behavior, prevent unfair competition, and promote the industry’s healthy development.
Promoting Industrial Upgrading: Group standards guide enterprises to strengthen technological innovation and product upgrades, driving the industry toward high-end, intelligent, and green development, and enhancing overall industrial competitiveness.
The role for the country
Improving the Standard System: As an important component of China's standard system, group standards have enriched the levels and types of standards. They complement and promote each other with national standards, industry standards, local standards and enterprise standards, jointly forming a more complete standard system.
Promoting Scientific and Technological Innovation and Economic Development: Group standards can quickly transform scientific and technological achievements into productive forces, foster deep integration of science and technology with the economy, facilitate industrial restructuring and economic transformation, and provide strong support for the high-quality development of the national economy.
Enhancing International Competitiveness: By formulating and promoting internationally competitive group standards, China can strengthen its voice and influence in the field of international standardization, advance the global adoption of Chinese standards, expand the application of Chinese products and services in international markets, and enhance the country’s overall international competitiveness.
The Process of Managing Group Standards
The general process of a group standard typically involves six steps: solicitation, project initiation, drafting, solicitation of comments, submission for review, review and approval.
1. Solicitation
For the initial development or revision of a group standard, the issuing body conducts preliminary communication with project sponsors and R&D personnel to clarify requirements, and then issues a call for drafting proposals.
2. Project Initiation
The lead organization submits the application materials to the issuing body, which conducts a preliminary review, examines the initiation documents, and organizes the project initiation review. Approved projects are included in the initiation plan, and upon signing the agreement, the project is formally established and a notice of approval is issued.
3. Drafting
After the group standard is formally approved for project initiation, the issuing body shall organize a standards working group. Based on the materials and requirements provided by the lead organization, the working group shall collect relevant information, conduct necessary experimental validation, analyze the data, and prepare the draft for public comment. The drafting process shall comply with the national rules for standard preparation and be accompanied by the preparation statement. Upon completion of the draft, the working group shall solicit feedback from the lead organization
4. Seek Opinions
Comments may be collected by mail or through public online channels. The materials for public comment shall include the draft of the group standard, the explanatory notes, and any relevant attachments. The consultation period is generally limited to 30 days. Upon its conclusion, all feedback shall be summarized, and the draft for public comment shall be revised accordingly.
5. Submit for Review
The standard working group shall prepare submission materials, revise the draft for public comment, and organize an expert review meeting. Experts shall review the draft and provide comments, based on which the working group shall revise the draft and resubmit it for review.
6. Approval and Review
Upon completion of the review, the standard is assigned an official number and a public announcement is issued. Any part of the standard that does not comply with the specifications shall be returned to the standard working group for revision.
The Development of Group Standards
Standard Project Application and Draft Standard Development
1. The standard application includes:
(1) Necessity and current technical status;
(2) Relationship with other standards;
(3) Scope of application and content;
(4) Funding sources and management;
(5) Completion timeline.
2. The draft standard includes:
(1) Overview: Cover, table of contents, standard name, introduction, scope of application, etc.
(2) Technical Content: General provisions, normative references, terms and definitions, technical requirements and specifications, etc.
(3) Supplementary Parts: Normative appendices, informative appendices, etc.
Standard Development Notes
1. Research and Development Overview: Source of the task, composition of the undertaking organization and list of members, as well as a brief description of related work;
2. Standard formulation principles and content: evidence, data, and supporting arguments. When revising a standard, a comparison between the new and the previous version should be included;
3. Technical demonstration and analysis of expected social and economic impacts;
4. Relationship with current laws, regulations and technical standards in China;
5. The adoption of advanced domestic and international standards and their relevance;
6. Major differences and the basis and results of their handling;
7. Recommendations for promotion and tracking of standard implementation;
8. Other matters to be explained.
Seek Advice
1.Experts consulted should cover areas such as member units, research, production, usage, sales, industry regulation, and standardization. Participation of expert committee members from the All-China Environment Federation should constitute no less than two-thirds;
2.The period for public consultation shall be no less than one month;
3.The drafting unit shall summarize, analyze, and address expert feedback, revise the draft for public comment, and complete both the draft for review and the summary and handling table of opinions. For any feedback not adopted, sufficient justification shall be provided and explained in the summary table of opinions and in the standard compilation notes.
The Processing Period of the Group Standard
The development cycle of a group standard is generally 5 to 8 months, but exceptions exist. For example, if a certain type of standard is urgently needed in the market, a fast-track development process can be initiated. Conversely, some standards require extensive early-stage research, which may extend the development period.
The Cost of Group Standard
Cost Composition:
Application Fee: The basic fee for enterprises to submit a group standard initiation application is generally over 30,000 yuan, typically collected by industry associations or relevant standardization bodies. The fee usually depends on the complexity of the standard and the nature of the industry, and does not vary significantly with the size of the enterprise.
Review Fee: This fee is payable after the project application passes the initial review. It depends on factors such as the technical complexity of the standard, the duration of the review, and the size of the expert team. Generally, it ranges from several thousand to tens of thousands of yuan.
Expert Consultation Fee: The cost of engaging industry experts to provide technical consultation or guidance. The fee varies depending on the experts' qualifications and influence within the industry. Some industry associations may charge it uniformly, while enterprises may need to pay it separately.
Material Costs: Expenses incurred during the standard formulation process for preparing materials and compiling technical documents, including costs for printing, data collection, data analysis, and the use of relevant software tools. These costs are relatively flexible and depend on the enterprise’s specific standard formulation requirements and the level of detail in material preparation.
Publicity and Release Fee: Expenses incurred for publicity and the official release after the standard is finalized, including costs for public announcements, release events, and promotional activities. These fees generally range from several thousand to tens of thousands of yuan. For large-scale release events, additional costs such as venue rental and equipment usage may apply.
Certification and Testing Fees: In certain cases, a group standard must be reviewed by a third-party certification or testing agency. This may include certification fees, testing fees, and sample costs. Depending on the industry and the type of standard, the total expense may range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of yuan.
Case Studies of Group Standards
Case of Group Standards in the Field of Smart Manufacturing
Standard Name: Capability Maturity Model of Intelligent Manufacturing (Group Standard)
Background: With the rapid development of intelligent manufacturing technologies, enterprises lack a unified assessment standard and guidance framework when promoting intelligent manufacturing. To standardize and guide enterprise-level intelligent manufacturing construction and improve overall capabilities, the relevant industrial technology alliance formulated this group standard.
Main Content: The standard specifies the model architecture, assessment methods, and classification of intelligent manufacturing capability maturity. Capability maturity is divided into five levels—Planning, Specification, Integration, Optimization, and Leading—each corresponding to different capability requirements and characteristics. By evaluating enterprises across multiple dimensions such as personnel, technology, resources, and manufacturing, the standard helps organizations understand their current level and identify directions for improvement.
Implementation Effect: Since its release, this group standard has been widely recognized and adopted by enterprises in the field of intelligent manufacturing. Many enterprises have conducted assessments and constructed intelligent manufacturing capabilities based on the standard, achieving notable improvements in production efficiency, product quality, and resource utilization, thereby promoting the rapid development of China’s intelligent manufacturing industry.
Case of Group Standards in the Field of New Energy Vehicles
Standard Name: Technical Specification for the Charging Interface of Electric Vehicles (Group Standard)
Background: In the early stages of the new energy vehicle industry, charging interface standards were not uniform, resulting in poor compatibility among different brands and models of electric vehicles. This caused significant inconvenience for users and limited industry development. To address this issue, the relevant industry association organized the formulation of this group standard.
Main Content: The standard provides detailed specifications for the structure, dimensions, electrical performance, communication protocols, and other aspects of electric vehicle charging interfaces. It unifies the technical requirements for charging interfaces, ensuring compatibility and interchangeability between charging equipment from different manufacturers and electric vehicles.
Implementation Effect: The implementation of this group standard has effectively resolved the incompatibility of electric vehicle charging interfaces, improving the convenience and safety of charging, and accelerating the development of the new energy vehicle industry. Moreover, the standard serves as an important reference for subsequent national standards and supports the construction and improvement of China’s charging infrastructure for new energy vehicles.
