The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a non-profit organization that creates and releases quality standards for goods sold around the globe.
ISO helps to promote global trade by establishing shared standards for safety, reliability, and quality.
For consumers, ISO certification shows that the manufacturer of a product meets the basic international standards established by ISO. While ISO doesn’t certify individual products, it does provide certification to companies whose processes align with its quality standards in specific fields.
Learn more about International Organization for Standardization
The ISO, based in Geneva, was established in 1947.
Its origins trace back to the 1920s with the International Federation of the National Standardizing Associations (ISA), which was put on hold during World War II. A committee from the United Nations suggested creating the current organization to take over from the federation.
The ISO has a reach in 167 countries, each represented by one member from their national standards organization.
ISO members gather every year at a General Assembly to talk about the organization’s strategic goals. Additionally, there’s a council of 20 members with rotating positions that offers guidance and governance for the organization.
The Activities
ISO creates and releases standards for a wide variety of products, materials, and processes. Right now, they’ve set up over 24,362 standards, all listed in the ISO Standards catalog.
This catalog is divided into categories like healthcare, technology, railway engineering, jewelry, clothing, metallurgy, weapons, paint, civil engineering, agriculture, and aircraft. Besides creating standards, ISO also puts out technical reports, technical specifications, publicly available specifications, technical corrigenda, and guides.
Sometimes, the ISO name is used to refer to a product that meets an ISO standard. For instance, the speed of film, or how sensitive a photographic film is to light, is indicated by its ISO number (like ISO 6, ISO 2240, and ISO 5800).
What is ISO 9001?
ISO 9001 is an internationally recognized standard for quality management systems (QMS). Published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), it provides a framework that organizations can follow to ensure they consistently deliver products and services that meet customer and regulatory requirements.
Conclusion
The ISO, which stands for the International Organization for Standardization, is in charge of establishing consistent standards for products sold worldwide. It develops uniform guidelines for quality management, health and safety, energy efficiency, and more.
Products themselves don’t get ISO certified. Instead, the companies that make them can earn ISO certification for the manufacturing processes they implement.