Syed Gouseuzzaman Haideri Ali :
ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is an international standard setting body. The organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial standards. International Organization for Standardization would have different acronyms in different languages such as ‘IOS’ in English ‘OIN’ (Organisation Internationale de Normalisation) in French etc. So, its founders decided to give it a short and all purpose name. They chose ‘ISO’ derived from the Greek word isos meaning equal. Therefore, it was decided that whatever the language is or whatever the country may be, the acronym of the Organization would be ISO.
The functions of ISO are to develop standards that can be adopted in every country of the world. The standards are strictly voluntary. However, they can be used by industry, national standard bodies and governmental regulatory agencies if they possess appropriate technical merits and meet the needs of the countries involved. Companies which have overseas transactions must know that the products and services they contract for other countries, will conform to their needs and the only way to ensure this is if both the parties in transactions agree to meet a single set of standards. As economic interdependence increased among nations, the need for an authoritative international standards body became increasingly apparent. To attend to this need ISO has tried to maintain a similar set of standards in all countries, in all sectors of trade and commerce and in every stage of transactions. ISO standards cover the entire spectrum of scientific, industrial and commercial activities including manufacturing process, product quality, safety management technique and environmental protection.
ISO Standards are documented agreements containing technical specifications or other precise criteria to be used constantly as rules, guidelines or definitions of characteristics to ensure that materials, products, processes and services are fit for their purpose. For example, formats of credit cards, phone cards and ‘smart cards’ that have become so common and popular in use, have been derived from ISO Standards. ISO standards have decided the features of these cards whose optimal thickness would be (0.76mm) which means that these cards can be used worldwide. International Standards thus contributed to make life simpler and has increased the reliability and effectiveness of the goods and services we use.
In modern times, world is becoming smaller. Interdependence among nations has increased with the increase of international trade. The existence of non-harmonized standards for similar technologies in different countries or regions can contribute to so-called ‘technical barrier to trade’. Export minded industries have long sensed the need to agree on world standards to help rationalize the international trading process. So, some sort of common or international standard setting body became an urgent need. Hence ISO was established in February 23, 1947.
COMPOSITION of ISO
ISO is a non-governmental organization constituted by the 162 national members out of 204 countries of the world. Members are the national standardization bodies of their own respective countries. From each country only one standardization body can become member of ISO. BSTI is the national standardization body of Bangladesh. It is the Member Body from Bangladesh. ANSI is the national standardization body of United States and is representing United States as a Member Body. National standardization body of UK is BSI, of India is BIS and of France is ANFOR.
ISO has three membership categories:
Member Bodies are full members of ISO.They are the most important standard organizations of their countries. They are the only members of ISO that have the voting rights.
Correspondent Members are countries that do not have their own standard organizations. Correspondent Members do not take an active part in the technical and policy development work but are entitled to be kept fully informed about the work of interest to them.
Subscriber Members are the countries with very small economies. Subscriber Members pay reduced membership fees that nevertheless allow them to maintain contact with international standardization.
SOURCES of FUND of ISO
ISO is funded by the following:
(I) Subscription – from its Member Bodies (the national bodies most representative of standardization in its country) – which are in proportion to each country’s gross national product and trade figures.
(II) Organizations that manage the specific projects or loan experts to participate in the technical work.
(III) Sale of Standards.
STRUCTURE of ISO
The headquarters of ISO is in Geneva, Switzerland. ISO consists of the organs which are mentioned below.
(1) General Assembly
The General Assembly consists of the principal officers which includes the President, the Vice President, (Policy), the Vice President (Technical Management), the Treasurer and the Secretary General.
The General Assembly meets twice a year. It is the ultimate authority of the organization.
(2) Council
Council consists of officers and twenty elected Member Bodies. In 2012, the following Member Bodies were elected to the Council.
Brazil, France, USA, Bulgaria, India, United Kingdom, Cyprus, Germany, Egypt, Colombia, Iceland, Japan, Netherlands, Australia, South Africa ,China, Armenia, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and Turkey.
The Council meets twice a year. Though General Assembly is the ultimate authority, most of the operations of ISO are performed by the Council in accordance with the principles laid down by the Member Bodies.
(3) Technical Management Board (TMB)
Technical Management Board (TMB) is responsible for the overall management of the technical work. It is responsible to and reports to the Council about its activities and performance.
(4) Central Secretariat
Central Secretariat of ISO is located in Geneva, Switzerland. It performs administrative functions. Central Secretariat ensures the coordination of the worldwide activities of the technical groups that develop the standards in collaboration with the 164 ISO member countries.
(5) Strategic and Technical Advisory Groups and Committees on Reference Materials
(a) Strategic Advisory Groups (SAG) are established by the Technical Management Board, as needed, to provide strategic oversight and advice in particular fields, and also to explore standardization opportunities in new areas.
(b) Technical Advisory Groups (TAG) are established when necessary, by the Technical Management Board on matter of basic, sectorial and cross sectorial coordination, coherent planning and the need for new work.
(c) Committee on Reference Materials (REMCO) is a specialized committee which develops ISO guides concerning reference materials.
(6) Technical Committees
Technical Committees or Sub Committees are responsible for developing standards of ISO. Their functions are to develop new standards. The following are the technical committees of ISO.
(a) Policy Development Committees
Policy Development Committees are advisory committees. They are established by the General Assembly but their mnagement reporting line is to the Council. The Policy Development Committees are as follows;
CASCO-Committee on Conformity Assessment
COPOLCO-Committee on Consumer Policy
DEVCO-Committee on Developing Country Matters
(b) Council Standing Committees
Council Standing Committees are advisory bodies. Their functions are to advice the Council on relevant matters. There are;
Council Standing Committee on Finance (CSC/FIN) It acts as an advisor to the Treasurer in relation to his responsibilities as set out in the statute and relevant decisions of the Council;
Council Standing Committee on Strategy (CSC/START) It advises the Council on appropriate policy and strategic matters.
(7) Ad Hoc Advisory Groups
Ad Hoc Advisory Groups are established by the President with the consent of the Council for the for the purpose of advancing the goals and strategic objectives of the Organizations.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is the world’s leading developer and publisher of standards. In addition to its quality standards, ISO has issued two sets of general standards. These are ISO-9000 to govern manufacturing and organizational process and ISO-14000 to govern environmental protection. ISO’s work makes a positive difference to the world we live in. ISO standards add value to all types of business operations. They contribute to making the development, manufacturing and supply of products and services more efficient, safer and cleaner. They make trade between countries easier and fairer. ISO standards also serve to safeguard consumers and users of products and services in general and made their lives simpler. They can be an aspiration for sustainable development to balance the need for economic growth. ISO standards are an effective mechanism to develop one standard with one test applied to it whose results will be accepted around the world.
ISO and Bangladesh
BSTI is the member organization of ISO. It is the representative of ISO in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is one of the full member countries. BSTI has taken steps to create awareness among different bodies and entrepreneurs for adoption of all key standards of ISO (ISO 9000 and ISO 14000).
ISO-3166 has given code number to every member countries. So it has given code number to Bangladesh also. ISO-3166-2 has allotted a code number BD.
Besides, there are many certification bodies in Bangladesh which bare working for the implementation of various ISO standards like ISO-9000 which is for quality management and ISO-14000 which is for environmental protection.
(Syed Gouseuzzaman Haideri Ali is an Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh)
