Quality control is a very crucial aspect for businesses to establish a minimum performance protocol and ensure strict adherence to safety requirements. The quality control system also makes sure that products, processes and overall functions perform steadily. Various Government agencies introduce regulatory guidelines from time to time to ensure standard compliances across all sectoral domains. In India, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is responsible for the development and compliance of various standards on products or services across all sectors. This helps in facilitating a level playing field and a common understanding of a product. Additionally, several cement companies in India have adopted voluntary protocols and practices to establish best practices and do demonstrate a sustainability conscious business leadership.

The Cement (Quality Control) Order 2003 ² prohibits manufacture, sale and distribution of cement, which does not conform to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) specifications and does not bear the standard mark. Table 1 enlists 13 standards pertaining to the cement industry.

The quality of cement depends on a variety of factors, including technology; fuel and raw material characteristics, plant operations and quality control procedures, among others. Table 2 enlists physical attributes that have been standardised for cement powders, cement pastes and mortars.

The chemical composition of cement is an important factor to determine its performance across various applications. Table enlists chemical attributes that are verified for cementitious materials.

Quality Standards are necessary to maintain consistent quality, ensure safety measures and promote active trade across various geographies. A periodic reassessment of all standards ensures continued alignment with national priorities and suitable alignment with the global economies, particularly with the evolving standards being increasingly performance led.