Our birthday Standards Heroes have been nominated by their peers to represent all our contributors - individuals we consider to be the real heroes of standards, in Australia and internationally. We thank those who contribute their knowledge and expertise, service, and time to Standards Australia for the benefit of the Australian community.  

Dr Darryl Yaniuk is a former employee of Standards Australia as a Technical Secretary to more than 30 Australian Technical Committees and subcommittees as well as holding 4 ISO Secretariats concurrently.
How did you become involved in standards development? 

I joined the Standards Association of Australia (SAA) – as Standards Australia was then known - in January 1976 as Technical Secretary in the Chemical and General Technology Group.  During my time at SAA I was Technical Secretary to more than 30 Australian Technical Committees and subcommittees as well as holding 4 ISO Secretariats concurrently (TC 27/SC 1, TC 102/SC 2, TC 129/SC 2 and TC 183).  One of the highlights of my time at SAA was hosting the plenary meetings of ISO/TC 102 and its subcommittees in Sydney in 1978.

I left SAA in 1984 to take up the role of Technical Manager with SGS Australia.  As SGS was heavily involved in the sampling and analysis of coal and minerals traded internationally I maintained membership of several the Standards Australia coal and minerals committees.

In 1990 SGS Australia decided to implement a quality management system complying with ISO 9002.  I was appointed Quality Manager and joined Standards Australia committees for Quality Systems and Assessments and Audits.  I have been a member of the Quality Systems committee since then and, Chair since 2007.  I have led the Australian delegation to ISO/TC 176 and its subcommittees on a number of occasions.  I also Chaired the Australian mirror committee to revise ISO 19011 – Guidelines for auditing management systems and led the Australian delegation to international meetings of the Project Committee.

I have also recently joined the Australian Conformity assessment committee, in light of my roles as a member of the JAS-ANZ Technical Advisory Council and Accreditation Review Board.

What role have standards played in your career?   

Standards were my whole career for the first 8 years of my working life while I worked at Standards Australia.

SGS Australia sampled and analysed coal and minerals according to Australian and international standards, so I was heavily involved in the Australian and International committee meetings to ensure that we (SGS Australia) were aware of the latest developments in the relevant standards.

Since becoming involved in the quality management committees I have had several roles that required me to develop and maintain quality management systems based on ISO 9001.  The last one of those was with O’Brien Glass Industries where I oversaw the quality system for 55 branches around Australia.

I am currently teaching a course on Total Quality Management at the University of Wollongong.  This course is based on the quality management principles set out in ISO 9000.  In addition, I am consulting to companies to help them set up quality management systems complying with ISO 9001.

What is a project you’ve been particularly proud to have helped deliver? 

While at Standards Australia I was responsible for establishing the Minerals Standards Board (MN/-), bringing all the minerals technical committees under the one Board.

I have been heavily involved in preparing the Australian comments on the 1994, 2000, 2008 and 2015 versions of ISO 9001.  In 2000 I was a member of a team that presented seminars on the 2000 version of ISO 9001 throughout Australia.

Most recently (2022) I was responsible for proposing that Australia take over the Secretariat of ISO/TC 176/SC 3 from the Netherlands who will relinquish the Secretariat at the end of 2022.  Members of QR-008 supported this proposal, Standards Australia made the submission to ISO, and we were successful in being allocated the Secretariat.    

Outside of standards development, what have been some highlights of your career? 

Assisting companies to establish quality management systems complying with ISO 9001 and seeing them use those systems to improve their businesses.  Most notable among these companies has been Philips Electronics Australia and O’Brien Glass industries Pty Ltd.

While working at SGS I trained a number of international visitors in the sampling of coal according to the international standard (ISO 1988) and was seconded to the Vietnamese Inspection agency to train their staff in the sampling of coal at Cam Pha port.

Since leaving O’Brien Glass the biggest highlight has been teaching quality management to students studying for the Master of Science in Supply Chain at Wollongong University and instilling in them the benefits that quality management systems (complying with ISO 9001) can bring to an organisation.

Is there anything you’d like to say or mention about Standards Australia’s centenary year?

Standards are fundamental to ensure that products are made according to agreed and well thought out technically correct specifications.  Standards Australia has always been since its inception, and will continue to be, the foremost authority on standardisation in Australia.  Through the expertise of its technical committee members Standards Australia has made a significant contribution to the development of international standards in such a way that has promoted international trade.

Recently many standards have been developed for the service industries.  These have given organisations a sound base on which to start and maintain their businesses.

Standards Australia has a great reputation in International Standardisation due to the technical expertise of its committee members and the dedication of its Project Managers.  This combination enables Standards Australia to be one of the foremost contributors to international standardisation.

There is currently a significant change in the way that standards are being developed due to the need to bring standards to market more quickly.  However, in the search for speed to publication Standards Australia needs to keep sight of the need for standards to be technically correct.

This centenary year provides the opportunity to celebrate the leading contribution that Standards Australia has made to Australian and international standardisation (and therefore international trade).  I expect that it will provide such leadership for many years to come.

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