The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 plus 1 plus 5 plus 4 letter word RUN A TIGHT SHIP
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
R
U
N
A
T
I
G
H
T
S
H
I
P
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Maintain strict standards" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case maintain strict standards = run a tight ship.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.