A sub-sea glider is a type of autonomous underwater vehicle propelled by changes in buoyancy and is typically used for oceanographic research and monitoring. The BRIDGES (Bringing together Research and Industry for the Development of Glider Environmental Services) project is funded under the European Commission Horizon 2020 programme and aims to develop tools to further understanding, monitoring and sustainable exploitation of the marine environment. BRIDGES has the objective to improve sub-sea glider technology, system integration, operational management and standardisation. This paper summarises the research undertaken by BMT Isis as part of the BRIDGES consortium into understanding the safety benefits and applicability of standardisation to the design, manufacture and operation of gliders. The paper explores to what extent standardisation and guidance should be introduced into what is a relatively new and evolving domain. It also investigates what opportunities there are to transfer approaches from other domains; maximising the potential safety benefits whilst encouraging innovation.