Embed Doc
Copy Link
Readcast
Collections

CommentGo Back

Download

About ISO

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world's

largestdeveloper

and publisher of

International Standards

.ISO is a

network

of the national standards institutes of

159 countries

, onemember per country, with a Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, thatcoordinates the system.ISO is a

non-governmental organization

that forms a bridge between thepublic and private sectors. On the one hand, many of its member institutes arepart of the governmental structure of their countries, or are mandated by their government. On the other hand, other members have their roots uniquely in theprivate sector, having been set up by national partnerships of industryassociations.Therefore, ISO enables a

consensus

to be reached on solutions that meet boththe requirements of business and

the broader needs of society

ISO's origins

In 1946, delegates from 25 countries met in London and decided to create a newinternational organization, of which the object would be "to facilitate theinternational coordination and unification of industrial standards". The neworganization, ISO, officially began operations on 23 February 1947, in Geneva,Switzerland.

ISO's name

Because "International Organization for Standardization" would have differentacronyms in different languages ("IOS" in English, "OIN" in French for

Organisation internationale de normalisation

), its founders decided to give it alsoa short, all-purpose name. They chose

"ISO"

, derived from the Greek

isos

meaning "equal"

. Whatever the country, whatever the language, the short formof the organization's name is always ISO.

What "international standardization" means

When the large majority of products or services in a particular business or industry sector conform to International Standards, a state of industry-widestandardization exists. The economic stakeholders concerned agree onspecifications and criteria to be applied consistently in the classification of materials, in the manufacture and supply of products, in testing and analysis, in

terminology and in the provision of services. In this way, International Standardsprovide a reference framework, or a

common technological language

,between suppliers and their customers. This facilitates trade and the transfer of technology.

The ISO brand



Democratic

Every full member of ISO has the right to take part in the development of anystandard which it judges to be important to its country's economy. No matter whatthe size or strength of that economy, each participating member in ISO has onevote. Each country is on an

equal footing

to influence the direction of ISO's workat the strategic level, as well as the technical content of its individual standards.



VoluntaryISO standards are voluntary

. As a non-governmental organization, ISO has nolegal authority to enforce the implementation of its standards. ISO does notregulate or legislate. However, countries may decide to adopt ISO standards -mainly those concerned with health, safety or the environment - as regulations or refer to them in legislation, for which they provide the technical basis. In addition,although ISO standards are voluntary, they may become a

market requirement

,as has happened in the case of ISO 9001 quality management systems, or of dimensions of freight containers and bank cards.

ISO itself does not regulate or legislate.



Market-driven

ISO only develops standards for which there is a

market requirement

. The workis mainly carried out by experts from the industrial, technical and businesssectors which have asked for the standards, and which subsequently put them touse.



Consensus

ISO standards are based on international consensus among the experts in thefield. Consensus, like technology, evolves and ISO takes account both of evolving technology and of evolving interests by requiring a

periodic review

of its standards at least every five years to decide whether they should be

maintained, updated or withdrawn. In this way, ISO standards retain their positionas the

state of the art



Globally relevant

ISO standards are technical agreements which provide the framework for

compatible technology worldwide

. They are designed to be globally relevant -useful everywhere in the world.

ISO standards are useful everywhere in the world.How ISO decides to develop a standard

ISO launches the development of new standards in response to the sectors thatexpress a clearly established need for them. An industry or business sector communicates its requirement for a standard to one of ISO's national members.The latter then proposes the new work item to ISO as a whole. If accepted, thework item is assigned to an existing

technical committee. Proposals may also bemade to set up technical committees to cover new scopes of activity.At the end of 2006, there were

3 041 technical bodies

in the ISO system,including

193 ISO technical committees

.The focus of the technical committees is specialized and specific. In addition,ISO has three general

policy development committees

that provide strategicguidance for the standards' development work on cross-sector aspects. Thesecommittees ensure that the specific technical work is aligned with broader marketand stakeholder group

Who develops ISO standards

ISO standards are developed by

technical committees

comprising experts fromthe industrial, technical and business sectors which have asked for thestandards, and which subsequently put them to use. These experts may be joined by representatives of government agencies, testing laboratories,consumer associations, non-governmental organizations and academic circles.The experts participate as

national delegations

, chosen by the ISO nationalmember institute for the country concerned. These delegations are required torepresent not just the views of the organizations in which their participatingexperts work, but of other stakeholderstoo.