Generally, the standards are quite precise, in terms of what it takes to meet the standard. It could be things like chemical composition, or its ability to take on specific loads. They're supposed to be objective, performance-based, so you're able to actually test them independently. That's kind of the main role the standard plays.
The idea is to have an objective, performance-based statement of how a product should behave for a specific outcome. That's fundamentally what the standard is for.
That's what makes it useful, for instance, in reference to regulation. If you do regulate something and say we want the standard.... If you got into the specifics, that it can't break with less than so many kilograms of force, all that stuff, in regulation that would become very difficult to put together. By referencing it to a standard...the CGSB standard for patio doors, for instance, is ensuring that the patio door meets all the standards. If you accidentally step into a patio door, it shatters in a particular way that reduces harm, those kinds of things. Those things are all specified so you can actually test to see that the patio door meets that standard.
So it's a very specific piece. It's not meant to be easy to get through.