Alas! the BSI have caught up with me.

[Ed Sirett]

I've not heard anymore from them yet.

[Ed Sirett]

Sorry I've lost the context to what you are driving at. I purchased the gas fitting BSI pdfs on ebay for a modest cost (tiny compared to the printed versions). It was never on a DVD.

However I do have a DVD of several hundred (mostly) boiler manuals.

[Steve Walker]

As a self-employed engineer, I'm always annoyed at the high prices of standards, especially when I can need dozens on any single job. What really winds me up though is that the standards are written by committees, which are generally formed from individuals sent free of charge by companies working in the area!

Steve W

[meow2222]

writes

I tried that and wouldnt recommend it. Makes a simple job time consuming / wasting.

NT

[John Stumbles]

And is there a torrent of that anywhere? ;-)

[Stuart Noble]

I'd put a few copies on EBay. Might as well get some reward for the effort it must have taken.

[Lurch]

On Sun, 29 Jul 2007 12:22:26 GMT, Stuart Noble mused:

I wouldn't. I have about 6,000 manuals here for my trade. They will not be sold to anyone, they are mine for me, not for some clueless numpty to buy from eBay and claim to know as much as me.

[chris French]

In message , [e-mail] writes

I tried out 4-5 clients, that was my preference. but as ever mileage varies.

[Ed Sirett]

I was the clueless numpty who bought the original DVDs.

There are of some use. But the really old appliances are not covered.

[Lurch]

On Sun, 29 Jul 2007 17:34:47 +0000 (UTC), Ed Sirett mused:

That's why I never bother with any of these DVD's that say they have everythign you need to be great at everything. I hit a problem, I solve it, if it needs exotic manuals or software, i find them and add them to my own collection. It's fun.

[clot]

True, but that is only part of the picture. BSi standards are more often than not either ISO or CEN standards. I speak as one who represented BSi on CEN standards committees for about 10 years. BSi pay for travel and accommodation costs of representatives on these committees (and they are not a boondoggle); BSi are strict in determining what are appropriate costs - rightly in my opinion.

If we want standards that are relevant and only necessary rather than being burdensome, then we need to have our interests strongly represented on CEN/ISO committees. It takes commitment by individuals over and above the time afforded by their employers in my experience. BSi also have the overhead of hosting committee meetings.

Having said that, the costs of purchasing the Standards are high - particularly to one man bands or SMEs.