ISO

[International Standards Organization]

(Course assignment of Exports Marketing)

Submitted to:

Mr. Shehzad Lakhani

Submitted by:

Zulqarnain

Hanif

Sohail

Izhar

INTRODUCTION:
ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world's
largest developer and publisher of International Standards.
ISO's origins
In 1946, delegates from 25 countries met in London and decided
to create a new international organization, of which the object
would be "to facilitate the international coordination and
unification of industrial standards". The new organization, ISO,
officially began operations on 23 February 1947, in Geneva,
Switzerland.
ISO is a network of the national standards institutes of 163
countries, one member per country, with a Central Secretariat in
Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates the system.
ISO is a non-governmental organization that forms a bridge
between the public and private sectors. On the one hand, many of
its member institutes are part of the governmental structure of
their countries, or are mandated by their government. On the
other hand, other members have their roots uniquely in the
private sector, having been set up by national partnerships of
industry associations.
Therefore, ISO enables a consensus to be reached on solutions
that meet both the requirements of business and the broader
needs of society.
ISO's name
Because "International Organization for Standardization" would
have different acronyms in different languages ("IOS" in English,
"OIN" in French for Organisation internationale de normalisation),
its founders decided to give it also a short, all-purpose name.
They chose "ISO", derived from the Greek isos, meaning
"equal". Whatever the country, whatever the language, the short
form of the organization's name is always ISO.

Why standards matter?

Standards make an enormous and positive contribution to
most aspects of our lives.
Standards ensure desirable characteristics of products and
services such as quality, environmental friendliness, safety,
reliability, efficiency and interchangeability - and at an
economical cost.
When products and services meet our expectations, we tend to
take this for granted and be unaware of the role of standards.
However, when standards are absent, we soon notice. We soon
care when products turn out to be of poor quality, do not fit, are
incompatible with equipment that we already have, are unreliable
or dangerous.
When products, systems, machinery and devices work well and
safely, it is often because they meet standards. And the
organization responsible for many thousands of the standards
which benefit the world is ISO.
When standards are absent, we soon notice.
What standards do
ISO standards:
• make the development, manufacturing and supply of
products and services more efficient, safer and cleaner
• facilitate trade between countries and make it fairer
• provide governments with a technical base for health,
safety and environmental legislation, and conformity
assessment
• share technological advances and good management
practice
• disseminate innovation
• safeguard consumers, and users in general, of products
and services
• make life simpler by providing solutions to common
problems

Who standards benefit

ISO standards provide technological, economic and
societal benefits.
For businesses, the widespread adoption of International
Standards means that suppliers can develop and offer products
and services meeting specifications that have wide international
acceptance in their sectors. Therefore, businesses using
International Standards can compete on many more markets
around the world.
For innovators of new technologies, International Standards on
aspects like terminology, compatibility and safety speed up the
dissemination of innovations and their development into
manufacturable and marketable products.
For customers, the worldwide compatibility of technology which
is achieved when products and services are based on
International Standards gives them a broad choice of offers.
They also benefit from the effects of competition among
suppliers.
For governments, International Standards provide the
technological and scientific bases underpinning health, safety and
environmental legislation.
For trade officials, International Standards create "a level
playing field" for all competitors on those markets. The
existence of divergent national or regional standards can create
technical barriers to trade. International Standards are the
technical means by which political trade agreements can be put
into practice.
For developing countries, International Standards that
represent an international consensus on the state of the art are
an important source of technological know-how. By defining
the characteristics that products and services will be expected to
meet on export markets, International Standards give developing
countries a basis for making the right decisions when investing
their scarce resources and thus avoid squandering them.
For consumers, conformity of products and services to
International Standards provides assurance about their quality,
safety and reliability.
For everyone, International Standards contribute to the quality
of life in general by ensuring that the transport, machinery and
tools we use are safe.
For the planet we inhabit, International Standards on air, water
and soil quality, on emissions of gases and radiation and
environmental aspects of products can contribute to efforts to
preserve the environment.
The ISO brand
• Democratic
Every full member of ISO has the right to take part in the
development of any standard which it judges to be important to
its country's economy. No matter what the size or strength of that
economy, each participating member in ISO has one vote. Each
country is on an equal footing to influence the direction of ISO's
work at the strategic level, as well as the technical content of its
individual standards.
• Voluntary
ISO standards are voluntary. As a non-governmental
organization, ISO has no legal authority to enforce the
implementation of its standards. ISO does not regulate 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 work is mainly carried out by experts from the
industrial, technical and business sectors which have asked for
the standards, and which subsequently put them to use.
• Consensus
ISO standards are based on international consensus among the
experts in the field. 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
position as 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 to recognize an ISO standard
In paper form, an ISO standard is published in A4 format - which is
itself one of the ISO standard paper sizes. It may be anywhere
between a four-page document and one several hundred pages'
long. ISO standards are also available as electronic downloads
and many are available as part of a collection on CD or in
handbook. An ISO standard carries the ISO logo and the
designation, "International Standard".
The scope of ISO's work
ISO has more than 17500 International Standards and other types
of normative documents in its current portfolio. ISO's work
programme ranges from standards for traditional activities, such
as agriculture and construction, through mechanical engineering,
manufacturing and distribution, to transport, medical devices,
information and communication technologies, and to standards
for good management practice and for services.
Examples of the benefits standards provide
Standardization of screw threads helps to keep chairs, children's
bicycles and aircraft together and solves the repair and
maintenance problems caused by a lack of standardization that
were once a major headache for manufacturers and product
users.
Standards establishing an international consensus on
terminology make technology transfer easier and safer. They
are an important stage in the advancement of new technologies
and dissemination of innovation.
Without the standardized dimensions of freight containers,
international trade would be slower and more expensive.
Without the standardization of telephone and banking cards,
life would be more complicated.
A lack of standardization may even affect the quality of life
itself: for the disabled, for example, when they are barred
access to consumer products, public transport and buildings
because the dimensions of wheel-chairs and entrances are not
standardized.
Standardized symbols provide danger warnings and
information across linguistic frontiers.
Consensus on grades of various materials gives a common
reference for suppliers and clients in business dealings.
Agreement on a sufficient number of variations of a product to
meet most current applications allows economies of scale with
cost benefits for both producers and consumers. An example is
the standardization of paper sizes.
Standardization of performance or safety requirements of
diverse equipment makes sure that users' needs are met while
allowing individual manufacturers the freedom to design their
own solution on how to meet those needs.
Standardized computer protocols allow products from different
vendors to "talk" to each other.
Standardized documents speed up the transit of goods, or
identify sensitive or dangerous cargoes that may be handled by
people speaking different languages.
Standardization of connections and interfaces of all types ensures
the compatibility of equipment of diverse origins and the
interoperability of different technologies.
Agreement on test methods allows meaningful comparisons of
products, or plays an important part in controlling pollution -
whether by noise, vibration or emissions.
Safety standards for machinery protect people at work, at play,
at sea... and at the dentist's.
Without the international agreement contained in ISO standards
on metric quantities and units, shopping and trade would be
haphazard, science would be unscientific and technological
development would be handicapped.
What's different about ISO 9001 and ISO 14001
The vast majority of ISO standards are highly specific to a
particular product, material, or process. However, ISO 9001
(quality) and ISO 14001 (environment) are "generic
management system standards". "Generic" means that the
same standard can be applied to any organization, large or small,
whatever its product or service, in any sector of activity, and
whether it is a business enterprise, a public administration, or a
government department. ISO 9001 contains a generic set of
requirements for implementing a quality management system
and ISO 14001 for an environmental management system.
Generic standards can be applied to any organization.
Why conformity assessment is important
"Conformity assessment" means checking that products,
materials, services, systems, processes or people measure up to
the specifications of a relevant standard or specification.
Today, many products require testing for conformity with
specifications or compliance with safety, or other regulations
before they can be put on many markets. ISO guides and
standards for conformity assessment represent an international
consensus on best practice. Their use contributes to the
consistency of conformity assessment worldwide and so
facilitates trade.

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-wide standardization exists. The economic
stakeholders concerned agree on specifications 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 Standards provide a reference framework, or a
common technological language, between suppliers and their
customers. This facilitates trade and the transfer of technology.
Membership of ISO is open to national standards institutes most
representative of standardization in their country (one member in
each country).
• Full members, known as member bodies, each have one
vote, whatever the size or strength of the economy of the
country concerned.
• Correspondent members pay reduced membership fees.
They are entitled to participate in any policy or technical
body as observers, with no voting rights.
• Subscriber members also pay reduced membership fees.
They are institutes from countries with very small economies
that nevertheless wish to maintain contact with international
standardization.
Although individuals or enterprises are not eligible for
membership, both have a range of opportunities for taking part in
ISO's work:
• Individuals may be selected by national member institutes to
serve as experts on national delegations participating in
ISO technical committees
• Individuals and enterprises may provide their input during
the process of developing a national consensus for
presentation by the delegation. This may done through
national mirror committees to the corresponding ISO
technical committee
• International organizations and associations, both non-
governmental and representing industry sectors, can apply
for liaison status to a technical committee. They do not
vote, but can participate in the debates and the
development of consensus.

There is a range of opportunities for taking part in ISO's

work
How the ISO system is managed
All strategic decisions are referred to the ISO members, who meet
for an annual General Assembly. The proposals put to the
members are developed by the ISO Council, drawn from the
membership as a whole, which resembles the board of directors
of a business organization.
ISO Council meets twice a year and its membership is rotated to
ensure that it is representative of ISO's membership.
ISO's operations are managed by a Secretary-General, which is
a permanent appointment resembling the chief executive of a
business enterprise. The Secretary-General reports to the ISO
Council, the latter being chaired by the President who is a
prominent figure in standardization or in business, elected for two
years.
The Secretary-General is based at ISO Central Secretariat in
Geneva, Switzerland, with a compact staff which provides
administrative and technical support to the ISO members,
coordinates the decentralized standards' development
programme, and publishes the output.
How the ISO system is financed
ISO's national members pay subscriptions that meet the
operational cost of ISO's Central Secretariat. The subscription paid
by each member is in proportion to the country's Gross National
Income and trade figures. Another source of revenue is the sale
of standards.
However, the operations of ISO Central Secretariat represent only
about one fifth of the cost of the system's operation. The main
costs are borne by the member bodies that manage the specific
standards development projects and the business organizations
that provide experts to participate in the technical work. These
organizations are, in effect, subsidizing the technical work by
paying the travel costs of the experts and allowing them time to
work on their ISO assignments.

How ISO decides to develop a standard

ISO launches the development of new standards in response to
the sectors that express 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, the
work item is assigned to an existing technical committee.
Proposals may also be made 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 strategic guidance for the standards'
development work on cross-sector aspects. These committees
ensure that the specific technical work is aligned with broader
market and stakeholder group interests. They are:
• CASCO (conformity assessment)
• COPOLCO (consumer policy), and
• DEVCO (developing country matters)
Who develops ISO standards
ISO standards are developed by technical committees comprising
experts from the industrial, technical and business sectors which
have asked for the standards, 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 national member institute for the country concerned. These
delegations are required to represent not just the views of the
organizations in which their participating experts work, but of
other stakeholders too.
According to ISO rules, the member institute is expected to take
account of the views of the range of parties interested in the
standard under development. This enables them to present a
consolidated, national consensus position to the technical
committee.
ISO standards are developed by experts from the sectors
which have asked for them.
How ISO standards are developed
The national delegations of experts of a technical committee
meet to discuss debate and argue until they reach consensus
on a draft agreement. This is circulated as a Draft International
Standard (DIS) to ISO's membership as a whole for comment and
balloting.
Many members have public review procedures for making draft
standards known and available to interested parties and to the
general public. The ISO members then take account of any
feedback they receive in formulating their position on the draft
standard.
If the voting is in favour, the document, with eventual
modifications, is circulated to the ISO members as a Final
Draft International Standard (FDIS). If that vote is positive, the
document is then published as an International Standard.
Every working day of the year, an average of eight ISO meetings
are taking place somewhere in the world. In between meetings,
the experts continue the standards' development work by
correspondence. Increasingly, their contacts are made by
electronic means and some ISO technical bodies have already
gone over entirely to working electronically, which speeds up
the development of standards and cuts travel costs.
ISO's international partners
ISO collaborates with its partners in international standardization,
the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and
International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The three
organizations, all based in Geneva, Switzerland, have formed the
World Standards Cooperation (WSC) to act as a strategic
focus for collaboration and the promotion of international
standardization.
ISO has a close relationship with the World Trade Organization
(WTO) which particularly appreciates the contribution of ISO's
standards to reducing technical barriers to trade.
ISO collaborates with the United Nations (UN) Organization and
its specialized agencies and commissions, particularly those
involved in the harmonization of regulations and public policies,
such as:
 • CODEX Alimentarius, on food safety measurement,
management and traceability
• UN Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE), on the safety
of motor vehicles and the transportation of dangerous goods
• World Health Organization (WHO), on health technologies
• International Maritime Organization (IMO), on transport
security
• World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), on the quality of
services related to tourism.
In addition, ISO cooperates with UN organizations that provide
assistance and support to developing countries, such as the
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD),
the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
and the International Trade Centre (ITC).
ISO's technical committees have formal liaison relations with over
600 international and regional organizations.
ISO has reinforced its links, too, with international organizations
representing different groups of stakeholders, including:
• World Economic Forum (WEF)
• Consumers International (CI)
• World Business Council for Sustainable Development
(WBCSD), and
• International Federation of Standards Users (IFAN).
Lastly, ISO also collaborates regularly with the major international
organizations for metrology, quality and conformity assessment.
ISO's regional partners
Many of ISO's members also belong to regional standardization
organizations. ISO has recognized regional standards
organizations representing Africa, the Arab countries, the area
covered by the Commonwealth of Independent States, Europe,
Latin America, the Pacific area, and the South-East Asia nations.
The regional bodies (listed below) commit themselves to adopt
ISO standards as the national standards of their members.
• African Regional Organization for Standardization (ARSO)
 • Arab Industrial Development and Mining Organization
(AIDMO)
• European Committee for Standardization (CEN)
• Pan American Standards Commission (COPANT)
• Euro Asian Council for Standardization, Metrology and
Certification (EASC)
• Pacific Area Standards Congress (PASC)
• ASEAN Consultative Committee for Standards and Quality
(ACCSQ)

How ISO develops standards

How ISO decides to develop a standard

ISO launches the development of new standards in response to
sectors and stakeholders that express a clearly established need
for them.
An industry sector or other stakeholder group typically
communicates its requirement for a standard to one of ISO's
national members. The latter then proposes the new work item to
the relevant ISO technical committee developing standards in
that area. New work items may also be proposed by organizations
in liaison (see below) with such committees. When work items do
not relate to existing committees, proposals may also be made by
ISO members to set up new technical committees to cover new
fields of activity.
To be accepted for development, a proposed work item must
receive the majority support of the participating members of the
ISO technical committee which, amongst other criteria, verifies
the "global relevance" of the proposed item – this means that it
indeed responds to an international need and will eventually be
suitable for implementation on as broad a basis as possible
worldwide.
In addition to the technical committees that address
standardization in a specific field, ISO also has policy
development committees addressing the standardization needs of
developing countries (DEVCO), consumers (COPOLCO) and
conformity assessment (CASCO). These may recommend the
development of new standards for their stakeholder groups,
which are then submitted to the approval process described
above, or in the case of CASCO, develop new standards itsel
Who develops ISO standards
ISO standards are developed by technical committees,
(subcommittees or project committees) comprising experts from
the industrial, technical and business sectors which have asked
for the standards 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.
Proposals to establish new technical committees are submitted to
all ISO national member bodies, who may opt to be participating
(P), observer (O) or non-members of the committee. The
secretariat (i.e. the body providing the administrative support to
the work of the committee) is allocated by the Technical
Management Board (which itself reports to the ISO Council),
usually to the ISO member body which made the proposal. The
secretariat is responsible for nominating an individual to act as
chair of the technical committee. The chair is formally appointed
by the Technical Management Board.
Experts participate as national delegations, chosen by the ISO
national member body for the country concerned. National
delegations are required to represent not just the views of the
organizations in which their participating experts work, but those
of other stakeholders too. National delegations are usually based
on and supported by national mirror committees to which the
delegations report.
According to ISO rules, the national member body is expected to
take account of the views of all parties interested in the standard
under development. This enables them to present a consolidated,
national consensus position to the technical committee.
International and regional organizations from both business and
the public sector may apply for liaison status to participate in
developing a standard, or to be informed about the work. Such
“organizations in liaisons” are accepted through voting by the
relevant ISO committee. They may comment on successive
drafts, propose new work items or even propose documents for
“fast tracking” , but they have no voting rights.
How ISO standards are developed
The national delegations of experts of a committee meet to
discuss debate and argue until they reach consensus on a draft
agreement. The “organizations in liaison” also take part in this
work. In some cases, advanced work within these organizations
means that substantial technical development and debate has
already occurred, leading to some international recognition and in
this case, a document may be submitted for "fast-track"
processing. In both cases, the resulting document is circulated as
a Draft International Standard (DIS) to all ISO's member bodies for
voting and comment.
If the voting is in favour, the document, with eventual
modifications, is circulated to the ISO members as a Final Draft
International Standard (FDIS). If that vote is positive, the
document is then published as an International Standard. (There
is no FDIS stage in the case of documents processed through the
fast track procedure of the joint technical committee ISO/IEC JTC
1, Information technology.)
Every working day of the year, an average of seven ISO technical
meetings takes place around the world. In between meetings, the
experts continue the standards' development work by
correspondence. Increasingly, their work is carried out by
electronic means, which speeds up the development of standards
and cuts travel costs.
Public access
Most ISO members have some form of public review procedures
for making proposed work items and draft standards known and
available to interested parties. The ISO members then take
account of any feedback they receive in formulating their position
on the proposed work item or on the draft standard.
Draft standards are also available for sale to interested members
of the public who can provide input through the ISO member in
their country. The public can purchase International Standards
through the ISO Web Store or through ISO's national members.
Consensus
Because ISO standards are voluntary agreements, they need to
be based on a solid consensus of international expert opinion.
Consensus, which requires the resolution of substantial
objections, is an essential procedural principle. Although it is
necessary for the technical work to progress speedily, sufficient
time is required before the approval stage for the discussion,
negotiation and resolution of significant technical disagreements.
"Consensus" is officially defined (in ISO/IEC Guide 2) as "general
agreement, characterized by the absence of sustained opposition
to substantial issues by any important part of the concerned
interests and by a process that involves seeking to take into
account the views of all parties concerned and to reconcile any
conflicting arguments". The definition notes, "Consensus need not
imply unanimity".
Voting
For a document to be accepted as an ISO International Standard,
it must be approved by at least two-thirds of the ISO national
members that participated in its development and not be
disapproved by more than a quarter of all ISO members who vote
on it.
Appeals
ISO national member bodies have the right of appeal to a parent
technical committee on the decision of subcommittee, to the
Technical Management Board on a decision of technical
committee and to the ISO Council on a decision of the Technical
Management Board. Appeals may relate to procedural, technical
or administrative matters. The appeals process relating to ISO's
standardization work in general and to JTC 1's work in particular is
described respectively in the ISO/IEC Directives and in the ISO/IEC
JTC 1 Directives.
Detailed stages of the development of International
Standards
An International Standard is the result of an agreement between
the member bodies of ISO. It may be used as such, or may be
implemented through incorporation in national standards of
different countries.
International Standards are developed by ISO technical
committees (TC) and subcommittees (SC) by a six-step process
• Stage 1: Proposal stage
• Stage 2: Preparatory stage
• Stage 3: Committee stage
• Stage 4: Enquiry stage
• Stage 5: Approval stage
• Stage 6: Publication stage
See the stage code table for a visual representation of the
development stages.
If a document with a certain degree of maturity is available at the
start of a standardization project, for example a standard
developed by another organization, it is possible to omit certain
stages. In the so-called "fast-track procedure", a document is
submitted directly for approval as a draft International Standard
(DIS) to the ISO member bodies (stage 4) or, if the document has
been developed by an international standardizing body
recognized by the ISO Council, as a final draft International
Standard (FDIS, stage 5), without passing through the previous
stages.
The following is a summary of each of the six stages:
For greater detail on how an International Standard is developed,
refer to the publication ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1, Procedures for
the technical work. For work in the information technology area,
see the ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1 Directives.
Stage 1: Proposal stage
The first step in the development of an International Standard is
to confirm that a particular International Standard is needed. A
new work item proposal (NP) is submitted for vote by the
members of the relevant TC or SC to determine the inclusion of
the work item in the programme of work.
The proposal is accepted if a majority of the P-members of the
TC/SC votes in favour and if at least five P-members declare their
commitment to participate actively in the project. At this stage a
project leader responsible for the work item is normally
appointed.
Stage 2: Preparatory stage
Usually, a working group of experts, the chairman (convener) of
which is the project leader, is set up by the TC/SC for the
preparation of a working draft. Successive working drafts may be
considered until the working group is satisfied that it has
developed the best technical solution to the problem being
addressed. At this stage, the draft is forwarded to the working
group's parent committee for the consensus-building phase.
Stage 3: Committee stage
As soon as a first committee draft is available, it is registered by
the ISO Central Secretariat. It is distributed for comment and, if
required, voting, by the P-members of the TC/SC. Successive
committee drafts may be considered until consensus is reached
on the technical content. Once consensus has been attained, the
text is finalized for submission as a draft International Standard
(DIS).
Stage 4: Enquiry stage
The draft International Standard (DIS) is circulated to all ISO
member bodies by the ISO Central Secretariat for voting and
comment within a period of five months. It is approved for
submission as a final draft International Standard (FDIS) if a two-
thirds majority of the P-members of the TC/SC are in favour and
not more than one-quarter of the total number of votes cast are
negative. If the approval criteria are not met, the text is returned
to the originating TC/SC for further study and a revised document
will again be circulated for voting and comment as a draft
International Standard.
Stage 5: Approval stage
The final draft International Standard (FDIS) is circulated to all ISO
member bodies by the ISO Central Secretariat for a final Yes/No
vote within a period of two months. If technical comments are
received during this period, they are no longer considered at this
stage, but registered for consideration during a future revision of
the International Standard. The text is approved as an
International Standard if a two-thirds majority of the P-members
of the TC/SC is in favour and not more than one-quarter of the
total number of votes cast are negative. If these approval criteria
are not met, the standard is referred back to the originating
TC/SC for reconsideration in light of the technical reasons
submitted in support of the negative votes received.
Stage 6: Publication stage
Once a final draft International Standard has been approved, only
minor editorial changes, if and where necessary, are introduced
into the final text. The final text is sent to the ISO Central
Secretariat which publishes the International Standard.
Review of International Standards (confirmation, revision,
withdrawal)
All International Standards are reviewed at the least three years
after publication and every five years after the first review by all
the ISO member bodies. A majority of the P-members of the
TC/SC decides whether an International Standard should be
confirmed, revised or withdrawn.

Governance and operations

ISO’s orientation is guided by a Strategic Plan approved for a five-
year period by the ISO members. The ISO members, ultimate
representatives of ISO for their own countries, are divided in three
categories: member bodies (full members), correspondent
members and subscriber members. Only member bodies have the
right to vote.
The General Assembly, which meets annually, consists of a
meeting of the Principal Officers of ISO and delegates nominated
by the member bodies. Correspondent members and subscriber
members may attend as observers. The Principal Officers include
the President who is a prominent figure in standardization or in
business, the Vice President (policy), the Vice President (technical
management), the Treasurer, and the Secretary-General. The
General Assembly’s agenda includes, inter alia, actions related to
the ISO annual report, the Strategic Plan with financial
implications, and the Treasurer’s annual financial status report on
the ISO Central Secretariat.
The ISO Statutes stipulate that, while the General Assembly is the
ultimate authority of the Organization, most of the governance
functions of ISO are performed by the Council in accordance with
the policy laid down by the member bodies. The Council meets
twice a year and its membership is rotated to ensure that it is
representative of ISO's membership. All member bodies are
eligible for appointment/election to the Council. Under the
Council, there are a number of policy development committees to
provide strategic guidance for the standards’ development work
on cross-sectoral aspects. They are: CASCO (conformity
assessment); COPOLCO (consumer policy), and DEVCO
(developing country matters). The policy development
committees are open to all member bodies and correspondent
members.
The Technical Management Board (TMB) reports to Council,
and is itself responsible for the overall management of the
technical work, including for a number of strategic and technical
advisory groups. Member bodies are eligible for
appointment/election to the TMB in accordance with a set of
criteria established by the Council.
Operations are managed by the Secretary-General (chief
executive officer) who reports to the Council. The Secretary-
General is based at the ISO Central Secretariat in Geneva
(Switzerland) with a compact staff which provides administrative
and technical support to the ISO members, coordinates the
decentralized standards' development programme, and publishes
the output. The ISO Central Secretariat also acts as the
secretariat of the governing bodies, policy development
committees and their subsidiary bodies.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
ISO 9000:
ISO 9000 is a set of international standards of quality
management that have become increasingly popular for large and
small companies alike. "ISO is grounded on the 'conformance to
specification' definition of quality,” wrote Francis Buttle in the
International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management. "The
standards specify how management operations shall be
conducted. ISO 9000's purpose is to ensure that suppliers design,
create, and deliver products and services which meet
predetermined standards; in other words, its goal is to prevent
non-conformity." Used by both manufacturing and service firms,
ISO 9000 had been adopted by more than 100 nations as their
national quality management/quality assurance standard by the
end of 1997.
This quality standard was first introduced in 1987 by the
International Organization for Standards (ISO) in hopes of
establishing an international definition of the essential
characteristics and language of a quality system for all
businesses, irrespective of industry or geographic location.
Initially, it was used almost exclusively by large companies, but
by the mid-1990s, increasing numbers of small-and mid-sized
companies had embraced ISO 9000 as well. In fact, small and
moderate-sized companies account for much of the growth in ISO
9000 registration over the past several years. The total number of
ISO 9000 registrations in the United States increased from a little
more than 2, 200 in 1993 to more than 17, 000 in 1998; of those
17, 000 registrations, nearly 60 percent were held by companies
with annual sales of $100 million or less.
The increased involvement of small and midsized firms in seeking
ISO 9000 registration is generally attributed to several factors.
Many small businesses have decided to seek ISO 9000
certification because of their corporate customers, who began to
insist on it as a method of ensuring that their suppliers were
paying adequate attention to quality. Other small business
owners, meanwhile, have pursued ISO 9000 certification in order
to increase their chances of securing new business or simply as a
means of improving the quality of their processes. "The pressure
for companies to become ISO 9000-certified is absolutely
increasing and will continue to increase,” predicted one
management consultant in an interview with Nation's Business.
"The question many smaller companies have to ask is when, not
if, they [will] get ISO 9000-registered."
ELEMENTS OF ISO 9000 QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
The standards of ISO 9000 detail 20 requirements for an
organization's quality management system in the following areas:
• Management Responsibility
• Quality System
• Order Entry
• Design Control
• Document and Data Control
• Purchasing
• Control of Customer Supplied Products
• Product Identification and Tractability
• Process Control
• Inspection and Testing Control of Inspection, Measuring, and
Test Equipment
• Inspection and Test Status
• Control of Nonconforming Products
• Corrective and Preventive Action
• Handling, Storage, Packaging, and Delivery
• Control of Quality Records
• Internal Quality Audits
• Training
• Servicing
• Statistical Techniques
MODELS OF ISO 9000
The ISO 9000 quality standards are broken down into three model
sets—ISO 9001, ISO 9002, and ISO 9003. Each of these models,
noted Industrial Management contributors Stanislav Karapetrovic,
Divakar Rajamani, and Walter Willborn, "stipulate a number of
requirements on which an organization's quality system can be
assessed by an external party (registrar)" in accordance with the
ISO's quality system audits standard. "A quality system, " they
added, "involves organizational structure, processes, and
documented procedures constituted towards achieving quality
objectives."
Each of the three sets concentrates on a different quality area.
ISO 9001 is the most wide-ranging, for it specifies the various
operating requirements in such areas as product design and
development, production, installation, and servicing. ISO 9002 is
concerned with quality assurance at the production and
installation stages. ISO 9003 covers testing and inspections. As
Karapetrovic, Rajamani, and Willborn noted, "if the minimum
requirements are met [for the above operating areas], a registrar
accredited by a national accreditation institution issues a
certificate of compliance and the organization's quality system
becomes ISO 9001, 9002, or 9003 registered."
It is worth noting that certification is handed out for individual
quality systems, not companies; this means that one company
may hold more than one ISO 9000 registration. Moreover, Harvey
R. Meyer pointed out in Nation's Business that "the standards do
not certify the quality of a product or service. Rather, they attest
that a company has fully documented its quality-control
processes and consistently adheres to them. If that's done,
quality products and services generally follow."
In addition to ISO 9000, two related quality standards emerged in
American industries in the late 1990s. ISO 14000, also known as
the Environmental Management Systems Standards, is intended
to combine environmental management systems with the ISO
9000 quality system. The second system, QS9000 is an
adaptation of ISO 9000 to meet the specific needs of the "big
three" American automobile manufacturers—Ford, General
Motors, and Daimler Chrysler. Both systems were expected to
have a substantial impact on U.S. companies.
ADVANTAGES OF ISO 9000
The advantages associated with ISO 9000 certification are
numerous, as both business analysts and business owners will
attest. These benefits, which can impact nearly all corners of a
company, range from increased stature to bottom-line operational
savings. They include:
• Increased marketability—nearly all observers agree that ISO
9000 registration provides businesses with markedly
heightened credibility with current and prospective clients
alike. Basically, it proves that the company is dedicated to
providing quality to its customers, which is no small
advantage whether the company is negotiating with a long-
time customer or endeavoring to pry a potentially lucrative
customer away from a competitor. This benefit manifests
itself not only in increased customer retention, but also in
increased customer acquisition and heightened ability to
enter into new markets; indeed, ISO 9000 registration has
been cited as being of particular value for small and mid-
sized businesses hoping to establish a presence in
international markets.
• A reduced operational expense—Sometimes lost in the many
discussions of ISO 9000's public relations cache is the fact
that the rigorous registration process often exposes
significant shortcomings in various operational areas. When
these problems are brought to light, the company can take
the appropriate steps to improve its processes. These
improved efficiencies can help companies garner savings in
both time and money. "The cost of scrap, rework, returns,
and the employee time spent analyzing and troubleshooting
various products are all considerably reduced by initiating
the discipline of ISO 9000, " confirmed Richard B. Wright in
Industrial Distribution.
• Better management control—The ISO 9000 registration
process requires so much documentation and self-
assessment that many businesses that undergo its rigors
cite increased understanding of the company's overall
direction and processes as a significant benefit.
 • Increased customer satisfaction—Since the ISO 9000
certification process almost inevitably uncovers areas in
which final product quality can be improved, such efforts
often bring about higher levels of customer satisfaction. In
addition, by seeking and securing ISO 9000 certification,
companies can provide their clients with the opportunity to
tout their suppliers' dedication to quality in their own
business dealings.
• Improved internal communication—The ISO 9000
certification process's emphasis on self-analysis and
operations management issues encourages various internal
areas or departments of companies to interact with one
another in hopes of gaining a more complete understanding
of the needs and desires of their internal customers.
• Improved customer service—the process of securing ISO
9000 registration often serves to refocus company priorities
on pleasing their customers in all respects, including
customer service areas. It also helps heighten awareness of
quality issues among employees.
• Reduction of product-liability risks—Many business experts
contend that companies that achieve ISO 9000 certification
are less likely to be hit with product liability lawsuits, etc.,
because of the quality of their processes.
• Attractiveness to investors—Business consultants and small
business owners alike agree that ISO-9000 certification can
be a potent tool in securing funding from venture capital
firms.
DISADVANTAGES OF ISO 9000
Despite the many advantages associated with ISO 9000, however,
business owners and consultants caution companies to research
the rigorous certification process before committing resources to
it. Following is a list of potential hurdles for entrepreneurs to
study before committing to an initiative to gain ISO 9000
certification:
• Owners and managers do not have an adequate
understanding of the ISO 9000 certification process or of the
quality standards themselves—Some business owners have
 been known to direct their company's resources toward ISO
9000 registration, only to find that their incomplete
understanding of the process and its requirements results in
wasted time and effort.
• Funding for establishing the quality system is inadequate—
Critics of ISO 9000 contend that achieving certification can
be a very costly process, especially for smaller firms. Indeed,
according to a 1996 Quality Systems Update survey, the
average cost of ISO certification for small firms (those
registering less than $11 million in annual sales) was $71,
000.
• Heavy emphasis on documentation—The ISO 9000
certification process relies heavily on documentation of
internal operating procedures in many areas, and as Meyer
stated, "many say ISO's exacting documentation
requirements gobble up time. Indeed, there are horror
stories about companies losing substantial business because
a documentation obsession redirected their priorities."
According to Nation's Business, small business owners need
to find an appropriate balance between ISO documentation
requirements, which are admittedly "one is ISO 9000's
hallmarks, " and attending to the fundamental business of
running a company: "Strike a balance among obsessively
writing down every employee's task, offering training for the
work, and letting common sense dictate how a task is to be
performed."
• Length of the process—Business executives and owners
familiar with the ISO 9000 registration process warn that it is
a process that takes many months to complete. The 1996
Quality Systems Update survey indicated that it took
businesses an average of 15 months to move from the early
stages of the process to passage of the final audit, and that
processes of 18-20 months or even longer were not that
uncommon.
SELECTING A LEADER FOR THE ISO 9000 REGISTRATION
PROCESS
ISO 9000 experts and businesses that have gone through the
rigorous process of certification agree that businesses that
appoint someone to guide the process are much more likely to be
able to undergo the process in a healthy, productive manner than
are firms that have murky reporting relationships. Hiring an
outside consultant is one option for businesses. "An ISO 9000
advisor could give you a rough sketch of the registration process
and help you get started, " stated Nation's Business. "Or the
consultant could counsel you through the entire process, writing
the company's quality policy statement and even specific
operating procedures." In addition, firms should hire an ISO-9000
registrar with a background in their industry, legitimacy with
international customers, and knowledge of small business issues.
Some small firms choose to appoint an employee as their ISO
9000 representative rather than hire an outside consultant. Many
companies have done this successfully, but small business
owners should take great care in making this decision. "The ISO
9000 representative [should be] a person who encompasses a
genuine and passionate commitment to quality and success,
knowledge of processes and systems within the company, and
power to influence employees at all levels, " wrote Karapetrovic,
Rajamani, and Willborn. "He should be familiar with the
standards. If this is not the case, there are ample training
opportunities available to acquire sufficient expertise."
For more information on ISO 9000 registration, small business
owners can contact several different organizations, including the
American Society for Quality and American National Standards
Institute.

ISO 9001:

ISO 9001:2000 specifies requirements for a quality management

system where an organization
1. needs to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide
product that meets customer and applicable regulatory
requirements, and
 2. Aims to enhance customer satisfaction through the effective
application of the system, including processes for continual
improvement of the system and the assurance of conformity
to customer and applicable regulatory requirements.
All requirements of this International Standard are generic and
are intended to be applicable to all organizations, regardless of
type, size and product provided.
Where any requirement(s) of this International Standard cannot
be applied due to the nature of an organization and its product,
this can be considered for exclusion.
Where exclusions are made, claims of conformity to this
International Standard are not acceptable unless these exclusions
are limited to requirements within clause 7, and such exclusions
do not affect the organization's ability, or responsibility, to
provide product that meets customer and applicable regulatory
requirements.
ISO 9004:

This International Standard provides guidelines beyond the

requirements given in ISO 9001 in order to consider both the
effectiveness and efficiency of a quality management system,
and consequently the potential for improvement of the
performance of an organization. When compared to ISO 9001, the
objectives of customer satisfaction and product quality are
extended to include the satisfaction of interested parties and the
performance of the organization.
This International Standard is applicable to the processes of the
organization and consequently the quality management principles
on which it is based can be deployed throughout the organization.
The focus of this International Standard is the achievement of
ongoing improvement, measured through the satisfaction of
customers and other interested parties.
This International Standard consists of guidance and
recommendations and is not intended for certification, regulatory
or contractual use, nor as a guide to the implementation of ISO
9001.
ISO 9005:
ISO 9005:2007 specifies an analytical method for the
determination of the oxygen/uranium ratio in uranium dioxide
powder and sintered pellets.
The method is applicable to reactor grade samples of hyper-
stoichiometric uranium dioxide powder and pellets. The presence
of reducing agents or residual organic additives invalidates the
procedure.
ISO 9006:

Specifies an analytical method for determining the nitrogen

content in uranium metal and uranium dioxide powder and
pellets. Applicable to the determination of nitrogen, present as
nitride.

ISO 9007:

This Technical Report type 3 contains the fundamental concepts

and terminology for the conceptual schema, the information base,
and the mechanisms involved in manipulating them. The
approaches and associated languages described in the
appendices A through H are intended to be explanatory only.

ISO 9008:

Glass bottles -- Verticality -- Test method

Specifies a test method which determines not only the deviation
of the whole body from the vertical, but also the combined effect
of various deformations which may also be present.

ISO 14001:

ISO 14001:2004 specifies requirements for an environmental

management system to enable an organization to develop and
implement a policy and objectives which take into account legal
requirements and other requirements to which the organization
subscribes, and information about significant environmental
aspects. It applies to those environmental aspects that the
organization identifies as those which it can control and those
which it can influence. It does not itself state specific
environmental performance criteria.
ISO 14001:2004 is applicable to any organization that wishes to
establish, implement, maintain and improve an environmental
management system, to assure itself of conformity with its stated
environmental policy, and to demonstrate conformity with ISO
14001:2004 by
a) making a self-determination and self-declaration, or
b) seeking confirmation of its conformance by parties having an
interest in the organization, such as customers, or
c) seeking confirmation of its self-declaration by a party external
to the organization, or
d) seeking certification/registration of its environmental
management system by an external organization.
All the requirements in ISO 14001:2004 are intended to be
incorporated into any environmental management system. The
extent of the application will depend on factors such as the
environmental policy of the organization, the nature of its
activities, products and services and the location where and the
conditions in which it functions.