Trades: Tools for your Toolbox

A code is a set of rules and specifications for the correct methods and materials used in a certain product, building or process. Codes can be approved by local, state or federal governments and can carry the force of law. The main purpose of codes is to protect the public by setting up the minimum acceptable level of safety for buildings, products and processes. - Milwaukee School of Engineering 

Codes are standards incorporated into law by governments at the national, regional or local level. Model codes, by contrast, are developed by standards bodies and can be adopted or customized by governments. Examples of model codes include the International Building Code and Canada's National Building, Fire, Plumbing and Energy Codes. - Ontario Tech Library

A standard is a document that provides a set of agreed-upon rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their results. Standards establish accepted practices, technical requirements, and terminologies for diverse fields. Most standards aim to achieve an optimum degree of order in a given context. Because they are easy to recognize and reference, standards enable organizations to ensure that their products or services can be manufactured, implemented and sold around the world. - SCC

Types of standards according to SCC:

• Performance standards test products by simulating their performance under actual service conditions.
• Prescriptive standards identify product characteristics, such as material thickness, type, and dimension.
• Design standards identify specific design or technical characteristics of a product.
• Management system standards define and establish an organization’s quality policy and objective.
• Service standards specify the requirements that are to be fulfilled by a service and establish its fitness for purpose. Service standards may be prepared in fields such as laundering, hotel-keeping, transportation, car-servicing, telecommunications, trading, and insurance and banking.