Japan Sets New Standards for Drone Services: JIS Certification Promises Quality and Safety Across Industries

With a New Japanese Industrial Standard, the JSA Aims to Boost Quality and Reliability in Drone Services for Industrial, Delivery, and Inspection Applications

This article published in collaboration with JUIDA, the Japan UAS Industrial Development Association.

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian J. McNabb

On September 18, 2024, the Japan Standards Association (JSA) announced the issuance of a Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) for drone service providers to “define the processes and requirements necessary to ensure a certain level of quality in the services they provide”. 

As drones become ever more integral to a wide range of industries, from industrial inspection to cleaning, there’s been an increasing focus on industry practices and standards. Developed by the Fukushima Innovation Coast Framework Promotion Organization, which served as the secretary of record, the standard specifies guidelines for building a service provision system, delivering services, and conducting reviews for continuous improvement. Specific areas of focus include industrial spraying, delivery, aerial photography, and infrastructure inspection, with the goal of avoiding possible pitfalls like aerial collisions and other dangerous flight activity. 

JUIDA, the largest industrial organization of Japanese drone professionals, was quoted as saying, “The association expects that the issuance of this JIS will lead to an increase in the quality and reliability of drone services, further expanding and revitalizing the drone service market.”

The Japan Standards Association was founded in 1945 to establish guidelines for a wide range of businesses. Formerly a venture of the Patents and Standards Office, it transitioned and reincorporated into a private industry organization in 2012. It develops around 600 JIS papers a year, setting standards across a wide range of professional organizations, from construction to food and beverages. 

According to the press release, “As Japan’s comprehensive standardization organization, our group is engaged in a wide range of activities, including the development of JIS, international standards (ISO and IEC standards), and JSA standards, the issuance and sale of JIS standard sheets, the distribution of international and overseas standards, the provision of a wide variety of seminars, the auditing and registration of various management systems including ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, certification of various services, the registration of qualifications for management system auditors and others, and quality control certification (QC certification).”

The JIS-compliant symbol is an important marker of quality in Japan, which means that bringing the drone industry into compliance will be an important part of wider adoption of drone technology in the nation.