Introduction to ISO

What is ISO?
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies from some 168 countries, one from each country.
ISO is a non-governmental organization established in 1947. The mission of ISO is to promote the development of standardization and related activities in the world with a view to facilitating the international exchange of goods and services, and to developing cooperation in the spheres of intellectual, scientific, technological and economic activity.
ISO's work results in international agreements which are published as International Standards.
Many people will have noticed a seeming lack of correspondence between the official title when used in full, International Organization for Standardization, and the short form, ISO. Shouldn't the acronym be "IOS"? Yes, if it were an acronym – which it is not.
In fact, "ISO" is a word, derived from the Greek “isos”, meaning "equal", which is the root of the prefix "iso-" that occurs in a host of terms, such as "isometric" (of equal measure or dimensions) and "isonomy" (equality of laws, or of people before the law).
From "equal" to "standard", the line of thinking that led to the choice of "ISO" as the name of the organization is easy to follow. Whatever the country, the short form of the Organization's name is always ISO.

Why is international standardization needed?
The existence of non-harmonized standards for similar technologies in different countries or regions can contribute to so-called "technical barriers to trade". Export-minded industries have long sensed the need to agree on world standards to help rationalize the international trading process. This was the origin of the establishment of ISO.
International standardization is well-established for many technologies in such diverse fields as information processing and communications, textiles, packaging, distribution of goods, energy production and utilization, shipbuilding, banking and financial services. It will continue to grow in importance for all sectors of industrial activity for the foreseeable future.
Industry-wide standardization is a condition existing within a particular industrial sector when the large majority of products or services conform to the same standards. It results from consensus agreements reached between all economic players in that industrial sector - suppliers, users, and often governments. They agree on specifications and criteria to be applied consistently in the choice and classification of materials, the manufacture of products, and the provision of services. The aim is to facilitate trade, exchange and technology transfer through:
· enhanced product quality and reliability at a reasonable price;
· improved health, safety and environmental protection, and reduction of waste;
· greater compatibility and interoperability of goods and services;
· simplification for improved usability;
· reduction in the number of models, and thus reduction in costs;
· increased distribution efficiency, and ease of maintenance.
Users have more confidence in products and services that conform to International Standards. Assurance of conformity can be provided by manufacturers' declarations, or by audits carried out by independent bodies.

ISO's achievements
Below are some examples of ISO standards that have been widely adopted, giving clear benefits to industry, trade and consumers.
· The ISO film speed code, among many other photographic equipment standards, has been adopted worldwide making things simpler for the general user.
· Standardization of the format of telephone and banking cards means the cards can be used worldwide.
· Tens of thousands of businesses are implementing ISO 9000 which provides a framework for quality management and quality assurance. The ISO 14000 series provides a similar framework for environmental management.
· The internationally standardized freight container enables all components of a transport system - air and seaport facilities, railways, highways, and packages - to interface efficiently. This, combined with standardized documents to identify sensitive or dangerous cargoes makes international trade cheaper, faster and safer.
· m, kg, s, A, K, mol, cd are the symbols representing the seven base units of the universal system of measurement known as SI (Système international d'unités). The SI system is covered by a series of 14 International Standards. Without these standards shopping and trade would be haphazard and technological development would be handicapped.
· Paper sizes. The original standard was published by DIN in 1922. Now used worldwide as ISO 216, standard paper sizes allow economies of scale with cost benefits to both producers and consumers.
· A well-designed symbol conveys a clearcut message in a multilingual world. The same symbols for automobile controls are displayed in cars all over the world, no matter where they are manufactured.
· The ISO international codes for country names, currencies and languages help to eliminate duplication and incompatibilities in the collection, processing and dissemination of information. As resource-saving tools, universally understandable codes play an important role in both automated and manual documentation.
· The diversity of screw threads for identical applications used to represent an important technical obstacle to trade. It caused maintenance problems, and lost or damaged nuts or bolts could not easily be replaced. A global solution is supplied in the ISO standards for ISO metric screw threads.

Who makes up ISO?
ISO is made up of its members which are divided into three categories:
A member body of ISO is the national body "most representative of standardization in its country". Thus, only one body in each country may be admitted to membership of ISO.
Member bodies are entitled to participate and exercise full voting rights on any technical committee and policy committee of ISO.

Who does the work?
The technical work of ISO is highly decentralized, carried out in a hierarchy of some 2 850 technical committees, subcommittees and working groups. In these committees, qualified representatives of industry, research institutes, government authorities, consumer bodies, and international organizations from all over the world come together as equal partners in the resolution of global standardization problems. Some 30 000 experts participate in meetings each year.

What fields are covered?
The scope of ISO is not limited to any particular branch; it covers all technical fields except electrical and electronic engineering, which is the responsibility of IEC. The work in the field of information technology is carried out by a joint ISO/IEC technical committee (JTC 1).

How are ISO standards developed?
ISO standards are developed according to the following principles:
· ConsensusThe views of all interests are taken into account: manufacturers, vendors and users, consumer groups, testing laboratories, governments, engineering professions and research organizations.
· Industry-wideGlobal solutions to satisfy industries and customers worldwide.
· VoluntaryInternational standardization is market-driven and therefore based on voluntary involvement of all interests in the market-place.
There are three main phases in the ISO standards development process.
The need for a standard is usually expressed by an industry sector, which communicates this need to a national member body. The latter proposes the new work item to ISO as a whole. Once the need for an International Standard has been recognized and formally agreed, the first phase involves definition of the technical scope of the future standard. This phase is usually carried out in working groups which comprise technical experts from countries interested in the subject matter.
Once agreement has been reached on which technical aspects are to be covered in the standard, a second phase is entered during which countries negotiate the detailed specifications within the standard. This is the consensus-building phase.
The final phase comprises the formal approval of the resulting draft International Standard (the acceptance criteria stipulate approval by two-thirds of the ISO members that have participated actively in the standards development process, and approval by 75 % of all members that vote), following which the agreed text is published as an ISO International Standard.
Most standards require periodic revision. Several factors combine to render a standard out of date: technological evolution, new methods and materials, new quality and safety requirements. To take account of these factors, ISO has established the general rule that all ISO standards should be reviewed at intervals of not more than five years. On occasion, it is necessary to revise a standard earlier.

How is ISO's work financed?
The financing of ISO closely reflects its decentralized mode of operation with, on the one hand, the financing of the Central Secretariat activities and, on the other hand, the financing of the technical work as such.
The financing of the Central Secretariat derives from member subscriptions (80 %) and revenues from the sale of the Organization's standards and other publications (20 %).

How it all started
International standardization began in the electrotechnical field: the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) was created in 1906. Pioneering work in other fields was carried out by the International Federation of the National Standardizing Associations (ISA), which was set up in 1926. The emphasis within ISA was laid heavily on mechanical engineering.
ISA's activities ceased in 1942, owing to the Second World War. Following a meeting in London in 1946, delegates from 25 countries decided to create a new international organization "the object of which would be to facilitate the international coordination and unification of industrial standards". The new organization, ISO, began to function officially on 23 February 1947.
The first ISO standard was published in 1951 with the title, "Standard reference temperature for industrial length measurement".
Extract from www.iso.org