The Standard in Quality and
Environmental Consulting
Since 1985.
The Standard in Quality and
Environmental Consulting
Since 1985.
Who is ISO?
The International Organization for Standardization is a specialized international agency responsible for global standardization. They are responsible for harmonization of many standards (not just ISO 9000 and quality assurance), for instance, optical character recognition, (so all the banks across the world can read each others checks, perhaps).
Interestingly, the term ISO is not and acronym of “International Standards Organization”. It comes from the Greek work for equal and is used commonly in words like Isosceles (triangle with equal sides) and Isobar (line linking points of equal pressure).
The organization is made up of the national standards bodies of 91 countries. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is the member body representing the United States.
The work of developing and agreeing on standards is carried out by some 180 Technical Committees. Each Technical Committee is responsible for one of many areas of specialization ranging from asbestos to zinc. Technical Committee TC 176 is responsible for developing quality assurance standards. Once published, international standards are adopted by national standards organizations and may even be brought into national law, as appropriate.
