• Create a collection of standards specific to your business.
  
  
• Stay up to date with changes and revisions to the standards important to you.
  
  
• Discover the different ways you can use our search function to benefit you.

Create a collection of standards specific to your business

But what is a Custom Collection 

Custom Collections allow you to choose individual standards from almost all the content available in BSOL. This service is really useful when your business provides a range of services spread across a number of different business streams, and you only require a small number of documents, but from a wide range of subjects. It’s a simple feature which allows the administrator of the account to add any and all relevant standards, whenever they want.  

Custom Collection (CC) Features

With this service you are able pick a bundle which suits you the best. You can add up to 10 standards with a CC 10 (International only) all the way up to 400 standards with a CC 400. Having this flexibility and freedom to choose which standards are most relevant to you gets rid of the frustration of searching up for the standard you require, as they will be all in one place which will be easy to find. The benefit of this is that when changes happen to standards, you will get notified by “email alerts” if you have it set up. If the standard changed is in your CC it will save you the panic as you will get notified straight away, of the change. Once this happens it will be up to the administrator to decide whether they would like to add the amended version to the collection. We will touch upon this later.

Adding and removing documents from your Custom Collection 

Within the Custom Collection feature you are able to add as many documents as you need, however you will only be able to add up to the allocated number from the bundle you have subscribed to. Adding documents can be done all year round, however only an appointed administrator has the permission rights to do this. Having this feature allows you to have the freedom you need to manage this process yourselves. 

When it comes to removing a document in a Custom Collection, this can only be done when the time of renewal for the subscription is approaching. Again the administrator will have access to remove documents only. One more important piece of information that you will have to be aware of when using a Custom Collection, when a document is revised or superseded, it is up to the administrator to see if they would like to add the new document. However be warned this will take up a space in the custom collection additional to the original document. 

ASTM Custom Collections 

Within BSOL we also have over 12,000 ASTM standards; these are also available in custom collections. The ASTM standards are sorted into 15 specific modules, but you can pick and choose the ones of particular relevance to your business. The same rules will apply for these custom collections as for the normal custom collections. Want to know more about this? Let us know 

The value of Custom Collections 

There is great value in Custom Collections, for example; you can subscribe to any amount of documents dependant on the bundle you have and add documents whenever you want. Using this service gives you the freedom to pick and choose documents which are relevant to you. Our customers have really seen the benefits of having a custom collection as they can access the standards that are most relevant to them all in one place, allowing them to get on with their day jobs more effectively. 

Interested in finding out more about Custom Collections click here. 

With BSOL ‘My Email Alerts’ service you need never miss out on the latest best practice guidelines.  

So what is the 'My Email Alerts' service? 

‘My Email Alerts’ is the email alert service that allows you to stay up to date with changes to standards big or small. The service will send you email notifications highlighting any and all changes made to the standards you choose, even if they are not in your collection. It’s a simple service that can make a great difference. Our customers regularly ask about how BSOL can update them on changes to standards to which we always reply – the ‘My Email Alerts’ service can. 

Email Alerts

We appreciate you don’t want to get bombarded with email alerts about changes to standards at all hours of the day. With this service you are able to set up how frequently you receive email alerts. On the other hand, if you really want to stay on top of changes to standards, especially standards which are relevant to you a list can be created where it’s easy to view and manage your content. Find out how this works. 

More useful features of 'My Email Alerts' Service

The value of 'My Email Alerts' Service 

There is great value in this service for example; you are able to stay ahead of the competition and make changes as needed when there is a change in a standard. Using this service will allow you to keep on top of the changes to standards which you use, as well as allowing your organization to grow by having the most recent standards and not missing out on business. The service is really valued by our customers, as they have stated that by “staying on top and being aware of changing standards and acting quickly” has allowed them to demonstrate to their customers that they are doing their best and are dedicated to make excellence a habit. 

Interested in finding out more about 'My Email Alert' service click here. 

Searching for standards on BSOL could not be easier with the flexible search function. 

Search by a standard number

You can search for a standard by the standard number, if you know the exact standard prefix e.g. BS EN ISO 14001:2015. Using this format can save you a lot of time. Searching the number will bring up all versions of that standard, therefore making life simple and easy for you. 

Search by keyword

Searching for a standard using a keyword will come in handy when you do not exactly know the standard that you require. The results will be found from the “Title” and “Descriptor” fields of all relevant standards. The reason is so you can get the standard you want and not irrelevant standards.

The example below shows by typing in the keyword “environment” a number of different options are returned that you may be interested in. If you are looking to purchase or are researching standards, this method of search will be your best friend.

Searching by more than one keyword will produce results sorted by relevance. Moreover, wrapping words in inverted commas will look for a phrase within the title of the standards.

Search by a standard number

You can search for a standard by the standard number, if you know the exact standard prefix e.g. BS EN ISO 14001:2015. Using this format can save you a lot of time. Searching the number will bring up all versions of that standard, therefore making life simple and easy for you. 

Search by keyword

Searching for a standard using a keyword will come in handy when you do not exactly know the standard that you require. The results will be found from the “Title” and “Descriptor” fields of all relevant standards. The reason is so you can get the standard you want and not irrelevant standards.

The example below shows by typing in the keyword “environment” a number of different options are returned that you may be interested in. If you are looking to purchase or are researching standards, this method of search will be your best friend.

Searching by more than one keyword will produce results sorted by relevance. Moreover, wrapping words in inverted commas will look for a phrase within the title of the standards.

BSOL Suggestions

Another clever feature of BSOL is “BSOL Suggestions”.  When you are entering your search term, the selectable auto suggestions feature will display the most relevant matches, therefore making life simple and easy as possible for you. These types of searches will return results of all versions of related standards including, current, withdrawn and draft versions. The search functionality is tailored just for your needs.

Advanced Search

The use of Advanced Search is not as hard as it sounds. Have a look below for a few benefits of the Advanced Search function to gain a high level understanding of what this service can offer. [LINK] See how it can benefit you and your organization further.

• Using Advanced Search by status will allow you to identify the status of the standard whether it is confirmed, draft for public comment, work in hand, withdrawn etc
• If you are wanting to search for a specific standard be it International or British, Advanced Search can be used to search for the publishers (ASTM, BSI, CENELEC, IEC, ISO)
• If you are looking for historical data on a particular standard you are able to search by publication date, this will allow you to identify documents that have been published within a defined period of time  
• Having access to BSOL allows you to search for standards within the 60 different modules available 
• You can also search by ICS category, which is the international classification system for standards 

The value of the Search Function

There is great value in the search function for example; you are able to search for standards that are most important to you with great ease. Using this feature allows you to narrow down your searches to standards which matter to you. Our customers have saved time and effort and have found the standards that they are looking for that much quicker, allowing them to concentrate on more important things.

Interested in finding out more about the search feature.