Establishment
ThepredecessoroftheInternationalOrganizationforStandardizationistheInternationalFederationofNationalStandardizationAssociationsandtheUnitedNationsStandardsCoordinationCommittee.InOctober1946,representativesof25nationalstandardizationorganizationsheldameetinginLondonanddecidedtoestablishanewinternationalstandardizationorganizationnamedISO.TheconferencedraftedISO'sfirstcharterandrulesofprocedure,andapprovedthedraftcharter.OnFebruary23,1947,theInternationalOrganizationforStandardizationwasformallyestablished.
PurposeandMission
ThepurposeandpurposeoftheInternationalOrganizationforStandardizationare:"Promotethedevelopmentofstandardizationworkallovertheworld,soastofacilitateinternationalmaterialexchangesandservices,andexpandknowledge,Science,technology,andeconomiccooperation."Itsmainactivitiesaretoformulateinternationalstandards,coordinateworldwidestandardizationwork,organizemembersandtechnicalcommitteestoexchangeinformation,andcooperatewithotherinternationalorganizationstojointlystudyrelatedstandardizationissues.
Meaning
TheInternationalOrganizationforStandardizationisaninternationalnon-governmentalorganizationinthefieldofstandardization.Somepeoplewillnoticethat"ISO"isnotthesameastheabbreviationoftheInternationalOrganizationforStandardization.Whynot"IOS"?Infact,"ISO"isnotanacronymforitsfullname,butaword.ItcomesfromtheGreekisos,whichmeans"equal".Todaythereareaseriesofwordsthatuseitasaprefix,suchas"Isometric"(meaning"equalsize")"isonomy"(meaning"legalequality").From"equal"to"standard",theconnotativeconnectionmakes"ISO"thenameoftheorganization.
ISO'smembersarecomposedofnationalstandardizationbodiesfrommorethan100countriesintheworld.ThenationalorganizationrepresentingChinatoparticipateinISOistheChinaNationalStandardizationManagementCommittee.ISOhasclosetieswiththeInternationalElectrotechnicalCommission(IEC),andChina'snationalorganizationparticipatingintheIECisalsotheChinaNationalStandardizationManagementCommittee.ISOandIECasawholeareresponsibleforthetaskofformulatinggloballyagreedinternationalstandards.BothISOandIECarenon-governmentalorganizations.Thestandardstheyformulateareessentiallyvoluntary,whichmeansthatthesestandardsmustbeexcellentstandards.Willbringbenefitstoindustryandserviceindustries,sotheyconsciouslyusethesestandards.ISOandIECarenotUnitedNationsagencies,buttheymaintaintechnicalliaisonwithmanyspecializedagenciesoftheUnitedNations.ISOandIEChaveabout1,000professionaltechnicalcommitteesandsubcommittees,andeachmembercountryparticipatesintheactivitiesofthesetechnicalcommitteesandsubcommitteesonanationalbasis.ISOandIECalsohaveabout3000workinggroups.ISOandIECformulateandrevise1000internationalstandardseveryyear.
Content
Thecontentofthestandardcoversawiderange,frombasicfasteners,bearings,variousrawmaterialstosemi-finishedproductsandfinishedproducts,anditstechnicalfieldsinvolveinformationtechnology,transportation,agriculture,andhealthcare.Andtheenvironment,etc.Eachworkorganizationhasitsownworkplan,whichliststhestandarditems(testmethods,terminology,specifications,performancerequirements,etc.)thatneedtobeformulated.
ThemainfunctionofISOistoprovideamechanismforpeopletoformulateinternationalstandardsandreachconsensus.ItsmainorganizationandoperatingrulesarestipulatedinadocumentcalledISO/IECTechnicalWorkGuidelines.ThetechnicalstructureofISOhas800technicalcommitteesandsub-committees,eachofwhichhasachairmanandasecretariat.Thesecretariatisheldbyeachmember.Thereare30membergroupsundertakingtheworkofthesecretarycountry.EachsecretariatmaintainsdirectcontactwiththeISOCentralSecretariatinGeneva.
Throughtheseworkinginstitutions,ISOhasissuedmorethan17,000internationalstandards,suchasISOmetricthread,ISOA4papersize,ISOcontainerseries(95%oftheworld’sshippingcontainersconformtoISOstandards),ISO'sfilmspeedcode,ISO'sOpenSystemInterconnection(OS2)series(widelyusedinthefieldofinformationtechnology)andthewell-knownISO9000qualitymanagementseriesofstandards.
Inaddition,ISOalsohasliaisonrelationswith450internationalandregionalorganizationsintermsofstandards,especiallywiththeInternationalTelecommunicationUnion(ITU).Thereare28internationalstandardsbodiesoutsidetheISO/IECsystem.Everyagencysetssomeinternationalstandardsinacertainfield,andtheyareusuallyunderthecontroloftheUnitedNations.AtypicalexampleistheWorldHealthOrganization(WHO).85%oftheinternationalstandardsformulatedbyISO/IEC,theremaining15%areformulatedbythese28otherinternationalstandardsbodies.
Organizationalstructure
ISO’sorganizationalstructureisasfollows:
KeyOfficialsoftheGeneralAssembly,MemberGroupCorrespondenceMember
DonatedtothemembersofthePolicyDevelopmentCommitteeDirectorISOCentralSecretariat
SpecialAdvisoryGroupTechnicalManagementOfficeStandardSampleCommitteeTechnicalAdvisoryGroup
TechnicalCommitteeConformityAssessmentCommittee(CASCO)
ConsumerPolicyCommittee(COPOLCO)
DevelopingCountriesAffairsCommittee(DEVCO)
InformationSystemsandServicesCommittee(INFCO)SpecialAdvisoryGroupTechnicalAdministration
TechnicalCommitteeTCDirectorTheISOGeneralAssemblyoftheCentralSecretariatoftheConference
InstitutionalMembers
ISO'sorganizationalstructureisdividedintonon-permanentinstitutionsandpermanentinstitutions.ISO’shighestauthorityistheISOGeneralAssembly(GeneralAssembly),whichisanon-standardorganizationofISO.Before1994,theplenarymeetingwasheldeverythreeyears.Whentheplenarymeetingisheld,allISOgroupmembers,correspondentmembers,andinternationalorganizationsthathaveliaisonwithISOwillsendrepresentativestothemeeting.Eachmemberhas3seatsforofficialrepresentatives,andmorethan3representativeswillattendthemeetingasobservers;Thescaleoftheconferenceisabout200-260people.Themainagendaoftheconferenceincludestheactivitiesoftherelevantprojectsinvolvedintheannualreport,ISO'sstrategicplanandfinancialsituation.TheISOCentralSecretariatisresponsiblefortheworkoftheSecretariatoftheGeneralAssembly,the4Policy-makingCommittees,theCouncil,theTechnicalAdministrationandtheGeneralStandardizationPrinciplesCommitteeestablishedbytheGeneralAssembly.Since1994,accordingtothenewISOconstitution,theISOgeneralmeetinghasbeenchangedtoonceayear.
Thereare5keyISOofficials,theyare:ISOPresident(President);ISOVicePresident(Policy)(VicePresident,Policy),ISOVicePresident(TechnicalManagement)(VicePresident,TechnicalManagement);ISOTreasurer(Treasurer);ISOSecretary-General(Secretary-General),allprincipalofficialsareappointedbytheboardofdirectorsandenjoyalifetimeterm;ISOSecretary-GeneralisresponsibleforthedailyworkofISO.
Formationprocess
InternationalstandardsareformedbytheTechnicalCommittee(TC)andSub-TechnicalCommittee(SC)throughsixstages:
——Thefirststage:applicationstage;
——Thesecondstage:preliminarystage;
——Thethirdstage:committeestage;
——Thefourthstage:Reviewstage;
——Thefifthstage:Approvalstage;
——Thesixthstage:Releasestage.
Members
AsofAugust2020,ISOhasatotalof165members.(Seethememberlistontheleftlink)
CountryA2CodeCountryA3CodeCountryCodeNo.CountryName(English)StandardsBodyISOStatus
AFAFG004AfghanistanANSACorrespondentMember
ALALB008AlbaniaDPSCorrespondentMember
DZDZA012AlgeriaIANORMemberBody
ADAND020AndorraIRAMMemberBody
AOAGO024AngolaIANORQCorrespondentMember
AGATG028Antigua&BarbudaABBSSubscriberMember
ARARG032ArgentinaIRAMMemberBody
AMARM051ArmeniaSARMMemberBody
AUAUS036AustraliaSAMemberBody
ATAUT040AustriaONMemberBody
AZAZE031AzerbaijanAZSTANDMemberBody
p>BSBHS044Bahamas-
BHBHR048BahrainBMSDMemberBody
BDBGD050BangladeshBSTIMemberBody
BBBRB052BarbadosBNSIMemberBody
BYBLR112BelarusBELSTMemberBody
BEBEL056BelgiumNBNMemberBody
BZBLZ084Belize-
BJBEN204BeninCEBENORCorrespondentMember
BTBTN064BhutanSQCACorrespondentMember
BOBOL068BoliviaIBNORCACorrespondentMember
BABIH070Bosnia&HerzegovinaBASMPMemberBody
BWBWA072BotswanaBOBSMemberBody
BRBRA076BrazilABNTMemberBody
BNBRB096BruneiDarussalamCPRUCorrespondentMember
BGBGR100BulgariaBDSMemberBody
BFBFA854BurkinaFasoFASONORMCorrespondentMember
BIBDI108BurundiBBNSubscriberMember
KHKHM116CambodiaISCSubscriberMember
CMCMR120CameroonCDNQCorrespondentMember
CACAN124CanadaSCCMemberBody
CVCPV132CapeVerde-
CFCAF140CentralAfricanRepublic-
TDTCD148Chad-
CLCHL52ChileINNMemberBody
CNCHN156ChinaSACMemberBody
COCOL170ColombiaICONTECMemberBody
KMCOM174Comoros-
CGCOG178Congo,Republicofthe-
CD(ZR)COD180Congo,DemocraticRepublicofthe(Zaire)OCCMemberBody
CRCRI188CostaRicaINTECOMemberBody
CICIV384Côted'IvoireCODINORMMemberBody
HRHRV191CroatiaHZNMemberBody
CUCUB192CubaNCMemberBody
CYCYP196CyprusCYSMemberBody
CZCZE203CzechRepublicCNIMemberBody
DKDNK208DenmarkDSMemberBody
DJDJI262Djibouti-
DMDMA212DominicaDBOSSubscriberMember
DODOM214DominicanRepublicDIGINORCorrespondentMember
ECECU218EcuadorINENMemberBody
EGEGY818EgyptEOSMemberBody
SVSLV222ElSalvadorCONACYTCorrespondentMember
GQGNQ226EquatorialGuinea-
ERERI232EritreaESICorrespondentMember
EEEST233EstoniaEVSCorrespondentMember
ETETH231EthiopiaQSAEMemberBody
FJFJI242FijiFTSQCOMemberBody
FIFIN246FinlandSFSMemberBody
FRFRA250FranceAFNORMemberBody
GAGAB266GabonCNTTCorrespondentMember
GMGMB270Gambia,The-
GEGEO268GeorgiaGEOSTMCorrespondentMember
DEDEU276GermanyDINMemberBody
GHGHA288GhanaGSBMemberBody
GRGRC300GreeceELOTMemberBody
GDGRD308Grenada-
GTGTM320GuatemalaCOGUANORCorrespondentMember
GNGIN324GuineaINNMCorrespondentMember
GWGNB624Guinea-BissauDSNPQCorrespondentMember
GYGUY328GuyanaGNBSSubscriberMember
HTHTI332Haiti-
HNHND340HondurasCOHCITSubscriberMember
HKHKG344HongKong,ChinaITCHKSARCorrespondentMember
HUHUN348HungaryMSZTMemberBody
p>ISISL352IcelandISTMemberBody
ININD356IndiaBISMemberBody
IDIDN360IndonesiaBSNMemberBody
IRIRN364Iran,IslamicRepublicofISIRTIMemberBody
IQIRW368IraqCOSQCMemberBody
IEIRL372IrelandNSAIMemberBody
ILISR376IsraelSIIMemberBody
ITITA380ItalyUNIMemberBody
JMJAM388JamaicaJBSMemberBody
JPJPN392JapanJISCMemberBody
JOJOR400JordanJISMMemberBody
KZKAZ398KazakhstanKAZMEMSTMemberBody
KEKEN404KenyaKEBSMemberBody
KIKIR296Kiribati-
KPPRK408Korea,DemocraticPeople'sRepublicCSKMemberBody
KRKOR410Korea,RepublicofKATSMemberBody
KWKWT414KuwaitKOWSMDMemberBody
KGKGZ417KyrgyzstanKYRGYZSTCorrespondentMember
LALAO418Laos(LaoPeople'sDemocraticRepublic)DISMSubscriberMember
LVLVA428LatviaLVSCorrespondentMember
LBLBN422LebanonLIBNORMemberBody
LSLSO426LesothoLSQASSubscriberMember
LRLBR430Liberia-
LYLBY434LibyanArabJamahiriyaLNCSMMemberBody
LILIE438Liechtenstein-
LTLTU440LithuaniaLSTCorrespondentMember
LULUX442LuxembourgSEEMemberBody
MOMAC446Macau(MacauChina)CPTTMCorrespondentMember
MKMKD807Macedonia,TheformerYugoslavRepublicofISRMMemberBody
MGMDG450MadagascarBNMCorrespondentMember
MWMWI454MalawiMBSCorrespondentMember
MYMYS458MalaysiaDSMMemberBody
MVMDV462Malpes-
MLMLI466MaliMLIDNICorrespondentMember
MTMLT470MaltaMSAMemberBody
MHMHL584MarshallIslands-
MRMRT478Mauritania-
MUMUS480MauritiusMSBMemberBody
MXMEX484MexicoDGNMemberBody
FMFSM583Micronesia,FederatedStatesOf-
MDMDA498Moldova,RepublicofMOLDSTCorrespondentMember
MCMCO492Monaco-
MNMNG496MongoliaMASMMemberBody
(YS)[2]--MontenegroISMECorrespondentMember
MAMAR504MoroccoSNIMAMemberBody
MZMOZ508MozambiqueINNOQCorrespondentMember
MMMMR104MyanmarMSTRDCorrespondentMember
NANAM516NamibiaNSIQOCorrespondentMember
NRNRU520Nauru-
NPNPL524NepalNBSMCorrespondentMember
NLNLD528TheNetherlandsNENMemberBody
NZNZL554NewZealandSNZMemberBody
NINIC558NicaraguaDTNMCorrespondentMember
NENER562NigerDNQMCorrespondentMember
NGNGA566NigeriaSONMemberBody
NONOR578NorwaySNMemberBody
OMOMN512OmanDGSMMemberBody
PKPAK586PakistanPSQCAMemberBody
PWPLW585Palau-
PSPSE275PalestinianState[3]PSICorrespondentMember
PAPAN591PanamaCOPANITMemberBody
PGPNG598PapuaNewGuineaNISITCorrespondentMember
PYPRY600ParaguayINTNCorrespondentMember
PEPER604PeruINDECOPIMemberBody
PHPHL608ThePhilippinesBPSMemberBody
PLPOL616PolandPKNMemberBody
PTPRT620PortugalIPQMemberBody
QAQAT634QatarQSMemberBody
ROROU642RomaniaASROMemberBody
RURUS643RussianFederationGOSTRMemberBody
RWRWA646RwandaRBSCorrespondentMember
KNKNA659St.Kitts&Nevis-
LCLCA662St.LuciaSLBSMemberBody
VCVCT670SaintVincentandtheGrenadinesSVGBSSubscriberMember
WSWSM882Samoa-
SMSMR674SanMarino-
STSTP678SãoTomé&Príncipe-
SASAU682SaudiArabiaSASOMemberBody
SNSEN686SenegalASNCorrespondentMember
CSSCG891SerbiaISSMemberBody
SCSYC690SeychellesSBSCorrespondentMember
SLSLE694SierraLeone-
SGSGP702SingaporeSPRINGSGMemberBody
SKSVK703SlovakiaSUTNMemberBody
SISVN705SloveniaSISTMemberBody
SBSLB090SolomonIslands-
SOSOM706Somalia-
ZAZAF710SouthAfricaSABSMemberBody
ESESP724SpainAENOR.MemberBody
LKLKA144SriLankaSLSIMemberBody
SDSDN736SudanSSMOMemberBody
SRSUR740SurinameSSBSubscribermember
SZSWZ748SwazilandSQASCorrespondentMember
SESWE752SwedenSISMemberBody
CHCHE756SwitzerlandSNVMemberBody
SYSYR760SyrianArabRepublicSASMOMemberBody
TWTWN158Taiwan(ProvinceofChina)
TJTJK762TajikistanTJKSTNCorrespondentMember
TZTZA834Tanzania,UnitedRepublicofTBSMemberBody
THTHA764ThailandTISIMemberBody
TL(TP)TLS206TimorLeste,DemocraticRepublicof(EastTimor)-
TGTGO768TogoCSNCorrespondentMember
TOTON776Tonga-
TTTTO780Trinidad&TobagoTTBSMemberBody
TNTUN788TunisiaINNORPIMemberBody
TRTUR792TurkeyTSEMemberBody
TMTKM795TurkmenistanMSSTCorrespondentMember
TVTUV798Tuvalu-
UGUGA800UgandaUNBSCorrespondentMember
UAUKR804UkraineDSSUMemberBody
AEARE784UnitedArabEmiratesESMAMemberBody
UKGBR826UnitedKingdom(GreatBritain)BSIMemberBody[4][5]
USUSA840UnitedStatesANSIMemberBody
UYURY858UruguayUNITMemberBody
UZUZB860UzbekistanUZSTANDARDMemberBody
VUVUT548Vanuatu-
VAVAT336VaticanCity(HolySee)-
VEVEN862VenezuelaFONDONORMAMemberBody
VNVNM704VietnamTCVNMemberBody
EHESH732WesternSahara-
YEYEM887YemenYSMOCorrespondentMember
ZMZMB894ZambiaZABSCorrespondentMember
ZWZWE816ZimbabweSAZMemberBody
Tips:
1.DoesnothaverepresentationinISOunderanymembershipclassasofJanuary2008.
2.Macedonia,Montenegro,andSerbiawerepartofFormerYugoslaviaAlthoughitisacountry,ISO3166-1993(E)doesnotseparatelylistMontenegro.
3.AlthoughnottechnicallyaCountry,thePalestinianStatehasrepresentationinISOasifitwas.
4.Althoughtechnicallytheofficialcountrynameforthe'UK'isthe'UnitedKingdomofGreatBritainandNorthernIreland'itisreferredtoas'GreatBritain'bytheISO.
5.AlthoughtechnicallytheyareCountries,England,Wales,ScotlandandNorthernIrelandarenotlistedseparatelyfromGreatBritaininISO3166-1993(E)anddonothavetheirownISOrepresentation.
StandardClassificationh2>
ISOqualitysystemstandardsincludeISO9000,ISO9001,ISO9004.TheISO9000standardclarifiesthequalitymanagementandqualityassurancesystem,whichissuitableforproductionandserviceenterprises.TheISO9001standardprovidesguidelinesforengaginginandreviewingqualitymanagementandqualityassurancesystems.
TheISO9000qualitysystemstandardincludes3systemstandardsand8guidelines.ThethreesystemstandardsareISO9001,9002and9003;theeightguidelinesareISO9000-1to4andISO9004-1to4.TheprimarystandardisISO9001,whichclearlypointsoutthe20elementsofacompletequalitysystemfororganizationsthatdesign,manufactureproductsandprovideservices.ISO9002clearlypointsout19elementsfororganizationsthatonlymanufactureproductsbutdonotdesignproductsandprovideservices.ISO9003clearlypointsout16elementsfororganizationsthatonlyconductinspections.TheISO9000standardisrevisedevery5to7years.Thefirstbatchofstandardswaspublishedin1987,thefirstrevisionwaspublishedin1994,thesecondrevisionwaspublishedin2000,andthethirdrevisionwaspublishedin2008.Thenewrevisionwillreplacethecurrenttranslationinthreeyears..
ThenewrevisionofISO9001shouldincludeasinglequalitysystemstandard.ItspecifiedthatISO9001willapplytoallorganizations.Itwillinvolvethefollowing4parts:managementresponsibilities,resourcemanagement,processmanagement,measurement,analysisandimprovement.Thispartofresourcemanagementisbrandnew,andtheotherpartscontainnewprojects.Thenewrevisionwillcontainalltheoldrequirements,andaddadditionalmanagementrequirements,processmanagementrequirements,processmeasurementandimprovementrequirements.
ISO/iec'srecognitionofstandardinspectionlaboratoriesandtheirprescribedauthoritystandardsincludeISOguidelines25,58,61,62and65.ISO/iecguide58clarifiestherequirementsforaccreditationstandardsandinspectionlaboratories.ISO/iecguide61specifiestherequirementsforaccreditedproductcertificationandqualitysystemregistrationorganizations.ISO/iecguide62clarifiestherequirementsforthequalitysystem.ISO/iecguide65clarifiestherequirementsforproductcertification.ISO/iecguidelinesareusedtoassesstheconsistencyofproductsandservices.Thedifferencesinnationalaccreditationrequirementsareregulatedbyinternationalandregionalaccreditationcooperationorganizations.Inordertoshortentheconsistencyassessmentprocessoftelecommunicationsfacilitiesandotherproofreadproducts,amutualrecognitionagreement(mras)hasbeenformulated,whichwillshortenandreducethetimeandcostofobtainingproductandqualitysystemcertification.
ISO9000certificationrequiresarunningqualitysystemconsistentwithISO9001,asuccessfulandindependentevaluationbyaregisteredbody.Inordertomaintaincertification,registeredgroupsneedtoconductsurveillanceevaluationsevery6or12months,andafullre-evaluationevery3years.
ISO9000series2000andlaterversionswillintegrate9002and9003intotheISO9001:2000standard.Therefore,onlyISO9001,ISO9002andISO9003havebeenusedforcertification.ISO9004isaperformanceimprovementguide,notforcertification,butonlyfortheorganization'sinternalcomprehensiveperformanceimprovementguide.
QualitySystemCertification
Steps
Step1:DevelopaplantoimplementISOqualitysystemstandards;
Step2:EvaluatetheexistingqualitysystemwithreferencetoISOqualitysystemstandards;
Step3:TakecorrectactionstocomplywithallISOqualitysystemrequirements;
Step4:EstablishdocumentsandRecordsystem;
Step5:Completethequalitymanualandmakeiteffective;
Step6:Lettheregisteredgrouparrangeapre-assessmentreview;
Step7:Thecertifiedorganizationpreparesfortheformalevaluation;
Step8:Theregisteredorganizationimplementstheevaluationaudit.
Process
Undernormalcircumstances,ittakes1yearormoretocompletetheISO9000certificationintheUnitedStates.IftheexistingqualitysystemalreadyincludesalltheISO9000elements,itwilltakelessthanoneyear.Animplementationteamisrequiredtopay3to6peoplefor1yearundernormalcircumstances,andaregisteredorganizationisrequiredtoprovide3yearsofpaidservices.TheexternalcostoftheregisteredgroupwillremainbetweenUS$75,000andUS$150,000,dependingonthesizeoftheorganizationbeingcertified.Internalcostsandexternalcostsareroughlythesame.
TheISO9000qualitysystemprovidesinformationandprocesscontrolmechanismstomanageenterprisesmoreeffectively.TheISOqualitysystemcancontrolqualitycosts,reducewasteandincreaseproductivity.Customerswillbemoreinterestedinproductsfromcompanieswithqualitysystemcertification.Aneffectivequalitysystemcanalsoimproveproductquality.Thesetwofactorswillenhancethecompetitivenessofcompaniesandtheirproductsintheopenmarket.
Operatingbenefits
AlargenumberofAmericancompaniessurveyedin1998recognizedthefollowinginternalbenefitsbroughtbythefollowingISO9000certification:betterdocumentation,greaterqualityawarenessamongemployees,Increasedinternalcompanycontacts.Officeefficiencyandproductivityincrease.ThesecompaniesalsorecognizedtheexternalbenefitsbroughtbythefollowingISO9000certification;customers'perceptionofpoorquality,theimprovementoftheircompetitiveadvantageandthereductionofcustomers'qualityreviews.
AsmallgroupofAmericanmanufacturingcompaniessurveyedin1998recognizedthefollowinginternalandexternalbenefitsbroughtbyISO9000certification:theimprovementofproductquality,theincreaseofcustomerattention,andtheformationofredesignedfunctionalstepsBasically,theincreaseinmarketshare;21%ofcompaniessaidthatqualitycertificationhasnoeffectonthequalitysystemandproducts.