About ISO

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world's largest developer and
publisher of International Standards.

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.

Discover ISO
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.

Causes for going for ISO Certification:

A list of ten benefits to having your company go through the registration

process for ISO certification for ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management
Standards (QMS) is provided here. Once you have decided that ISO QMS
certification is right for your company, you will be ready to read up on how
to get ISO certified and start preparing your documentation.

1. Increased Efficiency
Companies that go through the ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management
Standards certification process have given a lot of thought to their processes
and how to maximize quality and efficiency. Once certified for QMS, the
processes are established and guidelines in place for anyone to follow easily,
making training, transitions, and trouble-shooting easier.

2. Increased Revenue
Studies have shown that ISO QMS certified companies experience increased
productivity and improved financial performance, compared to uncertified
companies.

3. Employee Morale
Defined roles and responsibilities, accountability of management, established
training systems and a clear picture of how their roles affect quality and the
overall success of the company, all contribute to more satisfied and
motivated staff.

4. International Recognition
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is recognized
worldwide as the authority on quality management.

5. Factual Approach to Decision Making

The ISO 9001:2000 QMS standard sets out clear instructions for audits and
process reviews that facilitate information gathering and decision making
based on the data.

6. Supplier Relationships
Mutually beneficial supplier relationships are one of the key attractions to
ISO certification. Following the processes for documentation and testing
ensure quality raw materials go into your production system. The process
also requires thorough evaluation of new suppliers before a change is made
and/or consistency with respect to how and where orders are placed.

7. Documentation
The ISO QMS standard requires documentation of all processes and any
changes, errors and discrepancies. This ensures consistency throughout
production and accountability of all staff. This also guarantees traceable
records are available in case of non-compliant products or raw materials.

8. Consistency
One of the foundations of ISO; All processes from research and
development, to production, to shipping, are defined, outlined and
documented, minimizing room for error. Even the process of making
changes to a process is documented, ensuring that changes are well planned
and implemented in the best possible way to maximize efficiency.
Recommendations in the biotech industry to use XML authoring or similar
software formatting for data collection, reports, and product labeling,
minimizes the risk of obsolete documents/labels being mistakenly used.

9. Customer Satisfaction
Client confidence is gained because of the universal acceptance of the ISO
standards. Customer satisfaction is ensured because of the benefits of ISO
9001:2000 QMS to company efficiency, consistency and dedication to quality
service.

10. Improvement Processes

The ISO 9001:2000 QMS outlines audit processes, management review and
improvement processes based on collected data. Improvements are carefully
planned and implemented based on facts, using a system of documentation
and analysis, to ensure the best decisions are made for your company.

ISO certification benefits fits ISO certification drawbacks

– fairly high costs expended annually on the system´s

certificate for selection procedures
maintenance and certification

- order through the system set

– increase in documentation and administration
within the company

– detachment of the proposed system from working

- recognition of latent processes
informal structures

- defining clear responsibilities and – introduction of formal activities (internal and

competences certification audit)
- motivation of workers relative to – duplicate checking mechanisms – there is more
performance checking than trusting people

The ISO Standardization Process

Each member body who has an interest in the work of a committee is entitled to be a
member of that committee. Standards are reached by consensus with each member
organization representing the interests of the vendors, manufacturers, consumers,
profession als, and government of it's country.

Each standard goes through a six stage process before being published as an ISO
standard. The first stage is the proposal stage in which a need for a standard is determined
and members are identified who are willing to work on it. The standards then enters the
preparatory stage where a working draft of the standard is developed. When the working
draft is completed, it enters the committee stage and is sent out for comments until a
consensus is reached. The output of this stage is the Draft International Standard (DIS).
The DIS then enters the enquiry stage where it is circulated among all member bodies
and then voted upon. If a DIS does not receive 75% of the vote, it returns to lower stages
and work on it continues. If it passes the enquiry stage, it becomes a Final Draft
International Standard and enters the approval stage. During this stage it will again
circulate through all member bodies for a final vote and again it must pass this stage with
75% of the vote. If the standard passes this stage, it enters the publication stage and is
sent to the ISO Central Secretariat for publication.

Because certain technologies are changing so rapidly, ISO has instituted a Fast Track
procedure that allows a standard which has been proven in the market to enter the
approval process at the enquiry stage.

What Does ISO 14001 Mean To My Company?

There are several forces impacting the movement toward ISO 14001, including government
regulations and industrial sector initiatives. But perhaps the most prevalent one is the
tremendous amount of media coverage that environmental issues have had. Like it or not,
environmental issues make great press. As a result, no matter what type of business you
are in, environmental issues affect you.

Today, the environmental focus has two parts: reactive, corrective actions, such as
superfund clean-ups, and proactive, preventive actions, such as recycling and
environmental impact studies. ISO 14001 is a preventive management tool. By requiring
management commitment to compliance with applicable legislation and regulations and to
continuous improvement, it forms the basis for a systematic approach to the prevention of
pollution. What makes it significantly different from other approaches is this: ISO 14001 is
not a set of regulations or laws that require strict compliance. Rather, it is an
internationally recognized standard that defines the criteria for a management
system for developing and controlling those aspects of a firm's operations that can have an
effect on the environment. It can be implemented in any business, from manufacturing to
service and education. As such, it is not unlike other management systems such as quality
systems, budget systems, financial control systems, to name just a few.

To put the matter into perspective, one may view the implementation of ISO 14001 as
either evolutionary or revolutionary. In the evolutionary view, the implementation develops
at a pace that is acceptable to its participants. Pros and cons are debated, improvements
are made and, most importantly, conformance is voluntary. In the revolutionary view,
implementation becomes a mandate of either a government or a business sector. Focus is
immediately placed on conformance. Certification by an accredited third-party registrar is
required, typically with a deadline established for registration.

In the fish-bowl environment created by the media, it may be in your firm's best interest to
take a proactive stance, first toward conformance and then toward certification to ISO
14001. It may not make the media go totally away, but it will provide objective evidence
that your management is committed to protecting the environment. Also, from a pure
business view, conformance to the requirements of ISO 14001 may provide a competitive
marketing advantage. It also provides your firm a proactive approach to risk management.

The majority of the benefits of conformance to ISO 14001 can be realized by a company
without going the extra step of certification. However, there are two benefits that can only
be realized by certification. These are: entry into controlled markets and public recognition.
If you want to do business on an international level, it is likely certification will be a
requirement. Even if your business is all domestic, certification and the accompanying public
recognition may provide your firm with a marketing advantage. The risk you face is that
your competition may obtain this advantage before you do.

As of the early 2005, there were approximately 8000 certifications issued in North America.
Nearly 6000 of these were in the United States. This is a significant level of growth since
1997 when there were less than 100 certifications in the United States.

In March of 1997, The EU (European Union), a community of 15 member countries,

formerly accepted ISO 14001, with a bridge document, as meeting its EMAS (European Eco-
Management and Audit Scheme) requirements. Since one of the requirements of EMAS is
for certain companies to have an environmental management system (EMS), it is clear that
the number of certified companies will be higher than for those countries that do not have
such a requirement, such as the United States. In other words, there is today, in Europe, a
requirement for certain companies to be certified. In the United States, this action is
paralleled by the automotive sector – the major OEMs have mandated certification to ISO
14001 for their suppliers.
Why would a foreign-based company care whether or not products they purchase and use
were produced by a company certified to ISO 14001? Two reasons stand out. First, as
industry moves to more of a global economy, there is a need to be viewed by your industrial
peers as a Good Global Citizen. Second, on a more specific level, products produced in one
country and exported to others will eventually find their way to an incinerator or landfill.
Consequently, it may be very important to the importer to have confidence that a life-cycle
analysis of the product has been performed and that this information is readily available.
Although ISO 14001 does not specifically require life cycle analysis, some organizations
include this activity in their process for aspect and impact analysis.

In addition to the automotive OEMs, certain other companies in the United States have
taken the lead and are voluntarily pursing certification to ISO 14001. Many of these may be
your suppliers in the chemical industry. Just as the chemical industry led the way in ISO
9001, they have also taken a proactive position with ISO 14001. Prior to the existence of
ISO 14001, the CMA (Chemical Manufacturers Association) had developed a complete set of
environmentally focused standards entitled Responsible Care®. Participation in this
industry-driven, self-imposed program is a requirement of membership in CMA. The focus of
this program is to improve performance in environmental, health and safety, address public
fears and provide flexibility in implementation. Building upon this base (evolutionary), other
chemical companies have moved toward certification.

Those companies that have proceeded with the certification process have realized some of
the benefits of implementation, which include potential cost savings and improved ability to
train new employees. They saw that a well-defined EMS system would serve their
stakeholders well. Risks would be defined, proactive actions would be taken to prevent
negative environmental impacts and, possibly, there would be less scrutiny by regulatory
agencies.

The rubber industry, through its vast supply chain, is very closely aligned to the chemical
industry. Additionally, most of the tire manufacturers and many rubber products
manufacturers are multi-national. Consequently, they will be directly affected by
requirements and mandates in effect in Europe and other parts of the world.

One final, perhaps speculative, thought: It took ISO 9001 several years to catch-on. It got a
significant push when the Big-Three American automobile manufactures mandated it as part
of QS-9000. ISO 14001 has been a published standard for nearly 9 years. It is possible that
the growth of certifications to ISO 14001 may follow the path of ISO 9001. However, since
ISO 14001 has such a far-reaching impact and application, do not be surprised if its growth
ultimately exceeds that of ISO 9001. It will, if a government or more business sectors
mandates certification.