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What are standards?
Standards are documented agreements containing technical
specifications or other precise criteria to be used consistently
as rules, guidelines, or definitions of characteristics,
to ensure that materials, products, processes and services
are fit for their
purpose.
For
example, the format of the credit cards, phone cards, and
"smart" cards that have become commonplace is
derived from an ISO International Standard. Adhering to
the standard, which defines such features as an optimal
thickness (0,76 mm), means that the cards can be used worldwide.
International
Standards thus contribute to making life simpler, and to
increasing the reliability and effectiveness of the goods
and services we use.
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What is ISO?
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies from
more than 140 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.
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ISO's name
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.
In addition, the name ISO is used around the world to denote the
organization, thus avoiding the plethora of acronyms resulting from
the translation of "International Organization for Standardization"
into the different national languages of members, e.g. IOS in English,
OIN in French (from Organisation internationale de normalisation).
Whatever the country, the short form of the Organization's name
is always ISO.
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