BS 5179 is a three-part guide document dealing with final inspection systems, comprehensive inspection systems and comprehensive quality control systems, and is an outgrowth of earlier U. S. military documents such as MIL-Q-9858A and MIL-I-45208A. BS 4891 is a basic guide document covering several areas not discussed in BS 5179. The evolution of BS 5179 is reviewed, unique aspects of BS 4891 highlighted and comparisons made between these documents and several U. S. documents.