NBR is an acronym used to represent the expression Technical norm. It is a set of technical standards and rules related to documents, procedures or processes applied to companies or certain situations.
An NBR is created by the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (ABNT). This body is responsible for organizing and preparing technical standards that are applied in different areas, ranging from academic research to business documents and procedures.
What is the role of NBR?
The NBR, as well as other standards, serves to standardize, organize and qualify the production of documents or procedures. Standardization, through compliance with technical standards, facilitates understanding, since all documentation is made up of the same standard.
These patterns can, for example, refer to:
- documentation formatting and settings,
- steps of carrying out procedures and processes,
- proper use of predefined terms, symbols, and classifications to facilitate understanding.
Other advantages of using NBR
The habit of using technical standards is also efficient to reduce the
failure occurrence in the processes, as it guarantees a standard of quality in the documents. Investing in the quality of what is produced is always positive for a company, as it gives more reliability to the materials produced.Another advantage of using NBR is the improvement in efficiency the production of business documents, since the procedures are always carried out following the same pattern. Thus, over time companies have gains in productivity and time savings.
Types of NBR
It is important to know that the NBR does not only refer to the elaboration of documents and processes. There are hundreds of specific technical standards for different areas, such as:
- Quality management system standards.
- Standardization of operating procedures.
- Accessibility standards.
- Environmental management.
- Occupational safety.
- Construction, acoustics and engineering.
- Data and information storage systems.
- Measurement methods.
- Food safety.
- File Management.
- Standards for healthcare products.
- Fuel control.
Learn a little about some of the most used NBR.
NBR 9050
This standard contains the definition of several technical standards that are related to the accessibility for people who have some kind of problem or reduced mobility, such as people with special needs or elderly people.
The rules of this standard must be followed to help ensure that all people have easy access to buildings and public places, increasing social inclusion. There are also norms about furniture standards that must be followed in the construction of furniture adapted for people with special needs.
These are some examples of guidelines defined in NBR 9050: type of floor that should be used to facilitate passage of a wheelchair user, availability of information in Braille, norms for the placement of ramps and elevators, among others.
NBR 5410
NBR 5410, on the other hand, is related to standards that address safety issues for workers who carry out electrical installations. The standard also serves to regulate the quality of installations to prevent accidents that may be caused by careless installations.
The standard is quite broad and covers the safety of indoor and outdoor installations and the voltage pattern applied, in addition to measures to prevent short circuits, both in new installations and in cases of reforms.
NBR 6118
NBR 6118 regulates which procedures must be adopted in engineering projects for the construction of concrete structures and beams. The technical standard establishes which parameters must be followed to ensure safety and durability in reinforced concrete structures.
Items such as: quality of the concrete used in the work, mechanical strength of the material used and adequate amounts of cement and water are covered by the standard's specifications.
The standard also defines the use of spacers to achieve the correct measurements between spaces, defining the minimum and maximum measurements that must be used in construction.
NBR 6023
NBR 6023 defines technical standards for academic work, especially for the organization of bibliographical references used in research papers. It is a standard used frequently for the presentation of school and academic works, such as monographs, dissertations and theses.
The NBR 6023 technical standard is very detailed and defines formatting aspects, such as the use of fonts, spacing, expressions and characters. It also determines how the names of authors and books used during the research should be indicated.
The NBR also regulates the form of presentation of the consultation made to virtual documents. These have special registration rules, such as noting the date of access to the content.
About standards for academic work see the articles: ABNT Standards for Academic Work and Abbreviations in citations according to ABNT standards.
Is NBR mandatory?
In general the use of an NBR It's not mandatory, but it is indicated to ensure greater security of processes, constructions, installations and circulation of documents.
In some specific cases, standards may be mandatory. In these situations, the obligation must be included in a law that defines in which situations it must be adopted.
NBR ISO
The NBR ISO are Brazilian standards corresponding to the ISO (International Organization for Standardization - International Organization for Standardization), the organization responsible for creating internationally valid standards.
NBR ISO 9001
This is one of the best known and most used technical standards in Brazil. NBR ISO 9001 sets standards for Quality Management System. The purpose of the standard is to ensure the best possible operation for companies, also ensuring a satisfactory provision of service to customers.
The existence of this standard encourages companies to constantly review and monitor the operating its methods and processes to ensure continuous improvement in the quality of services offered.
Companies that follow the indications of the technical standard may receive the NBR ISO 9001 quality seal. The seal confirms a company's excellence in meeting quality standards.
Read more about the meaning of ISO and about the functioning of the ISO 9001.
Also read the meaning of ABNT.