ISO Focus, September 2007.Pdf

ISO Focus The Magazine of the International Organization for Standardization Volume 4, No. 9, September 2007, ISSN 1729-8709

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• Interview Swiss Minister of Economy Doris Leuthard Contents

1 Comment Jai Ok Kim, Chairperson of COPOLCO From consumer to citizenship of the global village 2 World Scene Highlights of events from around the world 3 ISO Scene Highlights of news and developments from ISO members 4 Guest View Doris Leuthard, Swiss Minister of Economy ISO Focus is published 11 times a year (single issue : July-August). It is available in English. 8 World Standards Day Message Annual subscription 158 Swiss Francs Individual copies 16 Swiss Francs Standards and the citizen Publisher ISO Central Secretariat (International Organization for Standardization) 1, ch. de la Voie-Creuse CH-1211 Genève 20 Switzerland Telephone + 41 22 749 01 11 Fax + 41 22 733 34 30 E-mail [email protected] Web www.iso.org

Manager : Roger Frost Editor : Elizabeth Gasiorowski-Denis Assistant Editor : Maria Lazarte Artwork : Pascal Krieger and 10 Main Focus Pierre Granier • Protecting e-consumers • Human-friendly everyday ISO Update : Dominique Chevaux products • Making buildings more accessible to all • Subscription enquiries : Sonia Rosas Friot Accessible design for all citizens • The quest for social ISO Central Secretariat responsibility • Creating a safer world for consumers • Telephone + 41 22 749 03 36 Symbols to help world citizens • Is your food safe ? • Fax + 41 22 749 09 47 Medicine without borders • The benefit of safe machines E-mail [email protected] – From industry to leisure • The role of information © ISO, 2007. All rights reserved. security protecting the consumer’s use of IT • Societal The contents of ISO Focus are copyright security – ISO tackles a new field for standards • and may not, whether in whole or in Worldwide impact of biometric standards in personal part, be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or authentication applications • A tonne of carbon is always by any means, electronic, mechanical, a tonne of carbon • A government you can trust • photocopying or otherwise, without Management system standards can play greater role in written permission of the Editor. better regulation • The articles in ISO Focus express the views of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of ISO or of any of its members. 55 Developments and Initiatives COPOLCO workshop in Brazil : Can consumers rely on fair ISSN 1729-8709 Printed in Switzerland trade claims ? Cover photo : World Standards Day poster for 2007. 61 Coming up ISO Focus September 2007 Comment From consumer to citizenship of the global village

he consumer, the worker, the user of not forget all those who do not share and in 2007, “Can consumers rely on fair public services, the tourist, some- this privilege. With the growing facili- trade claims”. We will remain vigilant so Ttimes the patient and, eventually, tation of trade and the opening of bor- that these societal issues and concepts, the voter are all one and the same person : ders, consumers have gained influence correctly embedded in consensus-based the citizen, belonging to a community on the global economic scene and this International Standards, may be asso- which, nowadays, extends to the whole also creates responsibilities. ciated with products and services in a planet and makes him/her a citizen of the Clearly, standards play a major clear and harmonized way. This gives global village. Belonging to a commu- role in assisting the “ consumer-citi- consumers the possibility of choosing nity, however large, entails both rights zens ” to exercise their rights and obli- to act also as citizens by contributing to and obligations. This includes the right gations. They may clarify and widen the society by their purchasing act. Environ- to health and safety, security, education, choice on performance, by defining and mental and societal issues are increas- a clean environment, as well as to infor- measuring characteristics or by ensuring ingly used as marketing tools. Consum- mation and representation, while imply- interoperability. They address safety, ers will therefore increasingly wish to ing obligations such as respecting one’s security and health issues. They enable be able to identify and select the com- neighbours and the environment, and, to quantify, reduce or communicate the panies which offer a true and depend- more generally, contributing to the well- environmental impact or the consump- able added value, and not just pretend being and progress of the community. tion of energy, water or other precious they do. And the companies which, in The globalization of trade and natural resources. Because of the open- earnest, add this value will be rewarded the related supply chain, and the trend ing of borders to trade and the Internet by increased market shares. towards liberalization of the world econ- revolution, International Standards are In this context, the theme chosen omy, lead to more competition both in increasingly what consumers need in by ISO, IEC and ITU for World Stand- products and for networked services such order to be, fully, citizens of the world ards Day 2007, “ Standards and the citi- as telecommunications, transport, post- community. zen : Contributing to society”, is partic- al services, energy or water production ularly welcome and topical in order to and distribution. The “ consumer-citi- raise awareness of the role of standards zen ” is thus exposed to a broader range “ Standards allow in a globalized community. of products and services. The world eco- consumers to act as nomic growth, especially spectacular in citizens, contributing emerging economies such as China and India (more than 10 % in 2006), is also to society through their expanding the population of “consum- purchasing acts.” er-citizens” who, increasingly, have the privilege to be confronted with a In COPOLCO, the ISO Com- “ hyper choice ”, which the development mittee on consumer policy, created in of e-commerce allows to exercise prac- 1978, we did not wait for the recent and tically on a global scale. broad realization of the reality of climate One of the major trends identi- change and of the imperative to ensure fied by economic leaders at the World sustainable development to identify such Economic Forum in Davos last Janu- concerns. We are indeed the “ spur ” of ary was the shift of power from cor- the ISO system to have these societal porations to consumers, meaning that trends taken on board in its work pro- we are clearly shifting from an econo- gramme. As far back as 1981, we de- my of offer to an economy of demand. dicated our yearly workshop to “ Ener- Jai Ok Kim, And the demand is no longer just for gy conservation and the consumer ” and Chairperson of COPOLCO a good price/performance (including in 1991 to “ Environment labeling and safety) ratio, it is also about the servic- product assessment ”. More recently, we es and information surrounding a prod- addressed in 2002, “ Corporate responsi- uct, the impact on the environment or bility – Principles and ethical practices ”, the social conditions of its production in 2006 “ How can environmental stand- and delivery. But, of course, we must ards promote sustainable consumption ”

ISO Focus September 2007 1 World Scene

Euro-Asian ISO’s contributions Council celebrates highlighted at Global 15th anniversary Compact Leaders Summit Economic development of the The two-day Global Compact Commonwealth of Independent Leaders Summit entitled both public and private sectors delivery times, refurbished its States (CIS) in the context of “ Facing realities : getting with guidance on social financial health and grouped globalization was the overall down to business ”, took place responsibility. its operations in a new, intel- theme of the Euro Asian Council in Geneva, in July 2007. UN ligent and energy-efficient He elaborated, “ Social for Standardization, Metrology Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon building in the center of the responsibility came on the and Certification (EASC) meeting announced that the UN has ‘ Genève internationale’.” (photo below), which celebrated successfully created an inter- ISO agenda because of the its 15th anniversary in June national movement of compa- need to harmonize terminolo- CEN and CENELEC 2007, in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. nies dedicated to advancing gy and principles, as well as announced their intent to responsible the numerous guidance docu- establish a European Stand- business ments and initiatives devel- ardization System Group to oped on this topical subject.” practices, look at streamlining rules for developing European Stand- but added Mr. Bryden called the business ards and to solve technical that more community to action on social issues arising from the stand- work needs responsibility : “ I wish to ardization of emerging and to be done. encourage the business com- converging technologies. munity to further contribute Another group will spearhead About 1 000 and seize the advantage of a promotional campaign to chief execu- eventually having a voluntary attract new business sectors. tive officers, International Standard on government social responsibility which ministers, will facilitate the sharing and Building the information and heads of promotion of best practices society together civil society and their communication ITU and the European Broad- and labour towards stakeholders and casting Union (EBU) held a organiza- society at large.” joint workshop in June 2007 “ Standards make the cake big- tions partici- on “ competitive platforms for ger,” said ISO President Håkan pated in the meeting. A range ISO President attends the delivery of digital content ” Murby at the EASC meeting, of new initiatives on climate CEN meeting (photo below). The meeting when referring to how stand- change, education and water ISO President Håkan Murby ards disseminate innovation were announced during the rd and increase the size of the summit. attended the 33 annual meet- market. He also went on to say ing of the European Committee how ISO plans to increase the Launched in 2000, the UN for Standardization (CEN) in availability of Russian versions Global Compact brings busi- June 2007, in Lemesos, Cyprus. ness together with UN agen- of its standards. The meeting (photo above) cies, labour, civil society and took action to strengthen the Participants discussed interna- governments to advance 10 common values and principles tional and European experienc- universal principles in the areas of the European standardiza- es, application of information of human rights, labour, envi- tion system. The decision brought together the two com- technology in regional stand- ronment and anti-corruption. ardization, information exchange, seeks to create a more open, munities of the telecoms and normative documents, and inter- ISO Secretary-General Alan flexible, and dynamic system broadcasting worlds to dis- action between international Bryden spoke at one of the to anticipate, and respond to, cuss the promise of emerging and regional organizations. A summit’s three “ selected ini- the challenges of an ever more new platforms – such as memorandum of understanding tiatives ” sessions about ISO’s globalized world. IPTV, mobile TV, social net- collaboration with the UN working Web sites, etc. – for was signed among Azerbaijan, The ISO President told partic- Global Compact on the future the delivery of digital content. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, ipants : “ The ISO system is in ISO 26000 standard, now Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to good shape, having signifi- One full session was devoted under development, which coordinate their participation cantly increased its produc- to “ Building the Information will provide organizations in in ISO. tion of standards, reduced its Society Together : What is the EASC consists of 12 standards role of International Organi- bodies of the countries that zations in a convergent media make up the Commonwealth of world ? ”, and included a pres- Independent States (CIS). entation by ISO Secretary- General Alan Bryden on how From left – Alan Bryden, ISO ISO is contributing to foster Secretary-General ; Ban Ki-moon, the convergence, e.g. through UN Secretary-General ; the expansion and success of Georg Kell, Executive Director of the MPEG series of ISO the UN Global Compact. standards.

2 ISO Focus September 2007 ISO Scene

ISO meeting in Saõ Building connections food safety stand- Paulo on greenhouse gas worldwide ards in the region. reporting In line with the committee’s A similar work- A seminar on greenhouse gas policy to encourage the geo- shop will be held quantification, reporting and graphical spread of its activi- in Tunis, Tunisia, verification based on ISO ties, the 17th plenary meeting Regional workshop on in November 2007. 14064 and ISO 14065 was of ISO/TC 195, Building conformity assessment For more information, contact : held in May 2007, Saõ Paulo, construction machinery and The South African Bureau of [email protected] Brazil (photo below). The equipment, took place in May event, attended by 85 partici- Standards (SABS) hosted a 2007, Jeju Island, Republic of DEVCO/CASCO regional Paving the way pants, was organized with the Korea (photo below). support of the Federation of workshop in May 2007, in to nanotechnology Industries of Saõ Paulo The meeting was hosted by Johannesburg, South Africa innovation (FIESP) and the cooperation the Korean Agency for Tech- (photo above). Around 130 experts from 27 of the Standards Council of nology and Standards Over 90 delegates from the countries met in Berlin, Ger- Canada (SCC). (KATS), ISO member for the southern African region many, in June 2007 to discuss Republic of Korea, with par- attended the workshop, includ- International Standards ticipating experts from around ing representatives from 11 intended to pave the way for the world : China, Finland, ISO member bodies sponsored innovative products based on Germany, Japan, Poland, under the ISO Action Plan for nanotechnologies, allowing Sweden, the USA and the developing countries. ISO Sec- them to enter the global market host country. retary-General Alan Bryden (photo below). In preparation for the plenary and SABS President Martin The purpose of the week-long meeting, ISO/TC 195 working Kuscus welcomed delegates. meeting was to further work groups met to discuss stand- The workshop provided infor- relating to the measurement and ards covering concrete pumps, mation on the latest Internation- characterization of carbon nano- internal vibrators for concrete, al Standards and guides that set tubes, as well as on developing asphalt pavers, vibratory out internationally agreed prac- terminology and nomenclature plates and rammers, and tices for conformity assessment. to provide a common language Climate change has been mobile crushers, among others. It was an opportunity to improve for researchers, legislators, recently recognized as a threat under- manufacturers and consumers. to the world economy, during standing While significant benefits are the meeting of the World Eco- of the anticipated from nanotechnolo- nomic Forum in Davos and WTO gies in the fields of medicine, during the G8 meeting earlier agreement electronics and information this year. ISO’s contribution in relation technology, and energy pro- with these standards builds to con- duction, many health, safety upon the Kyoto Protocol from formity and environmental aspects re- the United Nations Frame- assess- main to be clarified. The fourth work Convention on Climate ment pro- meeting of ISO/TC 229 Change (UNFCCC), as they cedures, provided a platform to ad- apply to the quantification and including dress these issues, most nota- reporting of emission reduc- supplier bly health and safety consider- tion projects, as well as the Among the new work item declaration of conformity, man- ations in occupational settings, requirements for bodies proposals were concrete mix- agement systems and product precautions required for in-vitro involved in greenhouse gas ing plants safety, concrete certification, and methods for testing of nanoparticles, and validation and verification. floating machines and self- providing added confidence in ways of studying the effects of propelled sweepers and clean- conformity assessment results This new seminar, the first on nanoparticle inhalation. ing equipment for road main- such as accreditation, peer ISO 14064 and ISO 14065 tenance. Safety of building assessment under the framework of the construction machinery was and mutual ISO Action Plan for developing identified as a key concern to recognition countries, has been received be addressed in the near arrange- with a lot of interest and many future. ments. requests have already been received from countries to The Polish Committee for Regional and hold the seminar in other Standardization (PKN), ISO international Coordination efforts with the regions. The next ones will member for Poland, holds the structures to facilitate trade recently formed IEC (Interna- be held in Indonesia for Secretariat of ISO/TC 195, within the region were also tional Electrotechnical Commis- the South East Asia region which consists of 14 partici- discussed. and in South Africa later pating and 17 observer sion) technical committee on this year. countries. A strong emphasis was placed nanotechnology standards relat- on food safety and the role of ing to electrical and electronic For more information, For more information, contact : ISO 22000 in acting as a basis products and systems, IEC/TC contact : [email protected] [email protected] for consolidation of the various 113, were also discussed.

ISO Focus September 2007 3 Guest View Doris Leuthard

s Head of the Federal ISO Focus : Mrs. Leuthard, Department of Eco- before asking for your views Anomic Affairs (FDEA), on international standards, Minister Doris Leuthard is what are the main objectives one of the seven members of the you would like to achieve dur- Federal Council, the executive ing your term as the head of authority of the Swiss Govern- Switzerland’s Federal Depart- ment. The FDEA is the compe- ment of Economic Affairs ? tence centre of the Swiss Gov- ernment for all core issues Doris Leuthard : The aim of related to economic affairs my economic policy is to make and trade policies. Switzerland an even more com- In that capacity, Mrs. Leuthard petitive location for business is responsible for the Doha with a view to maintaining, or Round negotiations of the World rather, improving the stand- Trade Organization. While ard of living of my fellow citi- Switzerland places a priority zens. In its international activi- on multilateralism in its foreign ties, Switzerland’s economy is economic policy, it defends its extremely competitive. Howev- special interests through bilat- er, we have some catching up to eral free trade agreements. At do as far as the domestic market the domestic level, the FDEA’s is concerned. This will be ben- goal is to create the regulatory eficial both for consumers and framework and economic policy the economy as a whole. conditions enabling Swiss and foreign companies located in Photo : Edouard Rieben Switzerland to prosper. “ Standards make ISO Focus : The adoption of interna- Mrs. Leuthard is also responsible for it possible to support tional standards, such as those pro- labour, professional education, technology transfers.” duced by ISO, form part of the commit- technology and innovation. A main ments of the 151 signatories of the objective is to establish a favourable WTO agreement on technical barriers environment for creating jobs by Prior to assuming her current position to trade. ISO standards are based on a flexible labour market conditions. as Head of the FDEA on 1 August dual consensus : that achieved among Another policy priority is to ease 2006, Mrs. Leuthard had been a the stakeholders and that achieved at access to the labour market for young member of the National Council for the international level. What is your people, women and older workers. seven years and President of the Christian Democratic People’s Party view on the application of voluntary Furthermore, the Federal Office for since 2004. During her time in the standards in the context of good Agriculture and the Federal Veterinary National Council, she was a member governance ? Office are part of the FDEA. of the following committees: legal Through “ Agricultural Policy 2011,” affairs, political institutions, judicial Doris Leuthard : The bodies at differ- Mrs. Leuthard seeks to make Swiss affairs and economic affairs and taxation. ent levels of the Swiss administration agriculture more competitive by (communes, cantons and federal gov- increasingly opening it to free market Mrs. Leuthard was born in 1963 and ernment) apply the management stand- requirements while respecting is an attorney-at-law by training. ards (ISO 9000 and ISO 14000) with a sustainable development. She is married to Dr. Roland Hausin. view to ensuring that their activities are

4 ISO Focus September 2007 organized as efficiently as possible and taking into account specific aspects of Doris Leuthard : Due to the limited size take appropriate account of the envi- administration activities, would not be of its domestic market, Switzerland is a ronment (e.g. implementation of ISO justified. This would represent a true country largely oriented towards exports 9000 standards by the State Secretari- challenge for the ISO family, to draft (one franc in two is earned abroad). That’s at for Economic Affairs (SECO) in the a standard that meets the principle of why international standardization rep- development assistance sector). consensus and of voluntary application resents a key strategic element for the Therefore, together with the principle that would be so interesting that it suc- Swiss economy, enabling it to facilitate of openness that is in place, the gov- ceeded in being applied worldwide for access to new supply and export mar- ernment and administration create a government activities. kets. In fact, harmonized internation- climate of good governance offering, al standards make it possible to reduce amongst other things, greater transpar- costs, to facilitate the conclusion of con-

“ Standardization also has a positive effect on innovation.”

Photo : Edouard Rieben ency, more efficient use of taxpayers’ ISO Focus : Switzerland is renowned tracts and to reduce technical barriers money and sustainability with regard to the world over for its quality and its to trade. Participation in international the administration’s general activities. exports. How does Switzerland standardization increases the competitiveness of Swiss manufacturers (first Moreover, Switzerland places a great encourage the use of international mover advantage). deal of importance on respecting the standards to anticipate and conquer rules of good governance in its develop- markets for goods and services ? In Switzerland, standardization is a mat- ment assistance activities. The families How do you see the role of interna- ter for the private sector. The government of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 standards tional standards in the spread of does not play a direct role in matters relat- can also be cited as benchmarks. innovation and good business prac- ing to standardization. It is happy to pro- One could, however, ask whether a spe- tice, especially in terms of quality or vide support, on the one hand by creat- cific ISO standard on good governance, environmental management ? ing advantageous basic conditions – an

ISO Focus September 2007 5 Guest View example is the contract linking the FDEA and the Swiss Association for Standardi- zation (SNV), the Swiss member of ISO – and on the other, by taking appropriate economic policy measures. I’m thinking, for example, of the implementation of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barri- ers to Trade or the financing of projects and programmes for newly industrializ- ing countries. We believe that this form of assistance is the appropriate method for ensuring that Swiss firms, particularly SMEs, are able to gain ground on international markets. “ Participation in international standardization increases the competitiveness of Swiss manufacturers.” Photo : Edouard Rieben

Standardization also has a positive effect to guaranteeing the necessary transpar- on world trade, particularly discussions on innovation, and the Swiss Government ency for effective consumer protection. on economic policy. This instrument has is very mindful of that. Actually, interna- That’s why their spread and application become essential for the proper function- tional standards serve as a bridge between are of great importance in terms of eco- ing of a global economy, based, among an invention and its practical application nomic policy. other things, on the division of labour. on an industrial basis. Standards serve as Switzerland has always been aware of this a positive stimulus for innovation. The and has made its contribution according- spread of innovation through the appli- ISO Focus : Geneva is a model plat- ly, in particular, by concluding a fiscal cation of standards takes on particular form of international cooperation of agreement with ISO. importance in the information society. increasing importance in the three Standards make it possible to support areas of sustainable development : technology transfers. economic growth, environmental ISO Focus : ISO has established a As an expression of economic self-reg- integrity and social justice. How does major plan of action to strengthen the ulation, standards also take over some the Federal Council perceive and abilities of developing countries and of the burden the government would encourage this development ? What their commitment in standardization otherwise have to carry as a regulator. importance do you attach to the pres- activities. SECO supports a number Harmonized international standards also ence of ISO in Geneva ? of associated programmes. Could you reduce the risks related to responsibility outline the reasoning and the pros- for companies because they reflect the Doris Leuthard : ISO has been based pects for this support ? current state of technology. in Geneva since its foundation in 1947 The standards for quality and environ- and has taken on a fundamental role in Doris Leuthard : Through its actions, mental management belong to two fam- terms of international politico-economic SECO seeks to assist developing coun- ilies of standards (ISO 9000 and ISO cooperation. This international coopera- tries in their efforts for integration into 14000) whose influence ranges from the tion is also an important element of Swit- the world economy (institution build- world of purely private business to the zerland’s foreign policy, which is why ing, know-how transfer, etc.). SECO socio-political world. Their application ISO has always enjoyed the country’s funds different programmes, bilaterally by companies ensures that processes are support, also in material terms. As the as well as with institutions such as ISO followed that lead to quality assurance, location of various organizations, both or UNIDO. Their purpose is to foster the reduced costs, more efficient collabora- governmental and non-governmental, participation of developing countries’ tion, better protection of humans and the Geneva today is indeed one of the most institutions in the process of interna- environment – in short, to the sustainable important platforms of this cooperation. tional standardization. In this way their running of the company in its socio-eco- An enormous potential for synergies has interests can be reflected in the defini- nomic environment. They also contribute developed there in terms of discussions tive standard arising from a consensus.

6 ISO Focus September 2007 This support is of great importance for State Secretariat for Economic Affairs – SECO trade in developing countries due to the adoption of international standards in SECO is the Swiss federal government’s centre of expertise for all core issues relat- the WTO rules. ing to economic policy. Its aim is to ensure sustainable economic growth by putting In parallel to their accession to the WTO, in place the necessary regulatory and economic policy conditions. many developing countries also seek Employers and employees should be able to benefit from growth-oriented policies, the to join ISO. SECO supports the plan removal of barriers to trade, and the reduction of Switzerland’s relatively high prices. of action drawn up by ISO for a better integration of developing countries. On the domestic front, SECO acts as an interface between business, social partners From that perspective, SECO has par- and government. It supports the regionally and structurally balanced development of ticipated in organizing technical semi- the economy and ensures the protection of employees. Through its labour market pol- nars, as well as in the development of icy, it contributes to the prevention and tackling of unemployment and consequently the new ISO 26000 standard on social to upholding social peace. responsibility. SECO’s actions benefit SECO also helps to ensure access to all markets for Swiss goods and services and the long-term participation of developing investment. In terms of foreign trade policy, SECO is active in the formulating of effi- countries in the global economy, there- cient, fair and transparent rules for the world economy. by creating jobs, which in turn contrib- Switzerland’s relations with the European Union are coordinated by the Integration ute to poverty reduction. Office, a joint office of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and the FDEA. SECO is also involved in efforts in the form of economic development cooperation to reduce poverty internationally. The Swiss Accreditation Service (SAS) affiliated to SECO is responsible for all accred- itations in regulated and non-regulated fields.

Photo : Edouard Rieben

“ Standards also take over some of the burden the government would otherwise have to carry as a regulator.”

ISO Focus September 2007 7 World Standards Day

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Pascal Krieger and Pierre Granier are well used to combining their talents since they work together �� as graphic artists in the Communication Services department of the ISO Central Secretariat. Pascal Krieger, of Swiss nationality, is the “ senior partner ” with 25 years of service. With a background in print publication, he has been responsible over the years for the design of many ISO promotional and informative publications. He is also a talented cartoonist and practitioner of Japanese calligraphy – the latter explaining the bold strokes that are part of his trademark. Pierre Granier, who is French, has been with ISO since 2001. His background leans more towards the information technology side of graphical art and publication, which has allowed him to mentor Pascal in the migration from pen, crayon and scalpel towards IT-assisted design. As often, on the World Standards Day 2007 poster, their skills and experience were put to work effectively in a complementary manner. The artists Outside the working sphere, their life styles are also complementary : • Pascal is a long-time and highly qualified adept of Japanese martial arts, while Pierre has practised a number of sports (rock climbing, mountain biking and running). • Both are married and have children – and neither of their households has a television. • Both cycle to work !

Pierre Granier (left) and Pascal Krieger (right) cycle to work separately – but worked in tandem to create the poster for World Standards Day 2007.

8 ISO Focus September 2007 World Standards Day Message 14 October 2007

Standards and the citizen : Contributing to society

he Global Village to prevent global warming. Tbrings a broad range of Our audio systems, televi- rights and obligations to sion sets and DVD players, its citizens. These include mobile phones and WiFi rights to safety, security and all comply with standards health and access to infor- to make them compatible mation. Obligations include with other systems. From protecting the environment mobile videos and music and respecting the safety, Mr. Renzo TANI, Mr. Håkan MURBY, Dr. Hamadoun TOURÉ, to online education, tele- property and privacy of oth- IEC President ISO President ITU Secretary-General medicine, e-banking and ers. Standards help citizens satellite navigation sys- to exercise these rights and tems for our cars and air- obligations. They do this, for example, by providing con- craft – where would we be without standards in an increas- sumers with information and protection, by ensuring the ingly networked world ? quality and safety of products and services, and by defin- The work of IEC, ISO and ITU in developing inter- ing requirements or giving guidance related to the environ- national standards opens up markets but also brings envi- ment and other issues important to citizens, including soci- ronmental protection, safety, security, health and access to etal equity, health, security, information and communica- information and knowledge. Increasingly international stand- tion, and fair trade. ards are helping to break down the barriers between rich and A world without standards would soon grind to a halt. poor nations. Standardization helps provide higher quality at Transport and trade would seize up. The Internet would sim- lower costs by ensuring that competition exists between ven- ply not function. Hundreds of thousands of systems depend- dors. It makes it easier for consumers to make an informed ent on information and communication technologies would choice about equipment or services that they buy. falter or fail – from government and banking to healthcare, International standardization has been in place for air traffic control, emergency services, disaster relief and nearly 150 years. Today, with the understanding that stand- even international diplomacy. So many aspects of the mod- ards can vastly expand the market for technological innova- ern world are heavily dependent on standards. tions, industry invests billions of dollars in standardization. It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of stand- Standards foster healthy commerce and fair prices. Global ards in our everyday lives. Consider the standards involved standards developed with open processes and with consen- in reading this message. If you are sitting in front of a com- sus among all stakeholders give access to global markets. puter screen, hundreds of standards are at work running the As we move into the future, the work of IEC, ISO computer, providing Internet access, and even defining the and ITU will continue to facilitate the development and dif- fonts and formatting of the text itself. If you are reading this fusion of new technologies that will drive the world econ- message on paper, then the paper size probably conforms omy, contributing to the well-being of all of the world’s to a standard simplifying the printing and distribution pro- inhabitants. cesses. The power source for your computer or printer, the lighting, heating or air conditioning – all, to some extent, rely on standards. Without standards, consider how difficult – or even dangerous – it would be to carry out ordinary, daily tasks. Safety standards for machinery protect us at work and at play. At home, standards keep electrical appliances connected to the national grid and keep our refrigerators and airconditioners compliant with environmental safeguards ISO Focus September 2007 9 Main Focus

Standards and the citizen

products or services were defective, it was – specific and documented proposals for Protecting impossible to get a cost-effective remedy. new fields of technical activity, includ- This presented a dilemma for this rising ing the handling of complaints. e-consumers marketing area : how could you have a system that consumers could trust ? Put another The WG undertook this task and way, if nothing were done, a “ black hole ” developed two further proposals on mar- in consumer protection would emerge. ket-based codes of conduct and industry- by Bill Dee, Convenor, sponsored customer dispute systems. COPOLCO working group, Consumer protection in Finding a solution the global marketplace Enter customer In response to this issue, the ISO satisfaction he development and increasing use Committee on consumer policy (COPOL- CO) adopted a resolution in May 1998 The WG has been active in recent of commercial transactions over the years in developing a suite of interlinked Internet presented consumer pro- asking the then recently established work- T ing group (WG) on consumer protection customer satisfaction standards. The three tection policy makers with a new 1) in the global marketplace to develop : standards, ISO/FDIS 10001, Quality man- challenge. While consumers in some nation- agement – Customer satisfaction – Guide- – detailed arguments to convince oth- al jurisdictions were offered protection lines for codes of conduct for organiza- through a number of laws and institution- er stakeholders involved in standards al backup, they lacked this support in trans- development of the need for specific actions conducted over the Internet. If the actions, and 1) Final Draft International Standard (FDIS)

10 ISO Focus September 2007 Standards and the citizen

tions, ISO 10002:2004, Quality manage- more informed purchasing choices, and The third standard covers exter- ment – Customer satisfaction – Guidelines improved quality of codes. The standard nal customer dispute resolution schemes. for complaints handling in organizations, will establish procedures for code devel- Such schemes have been and are being and ISO/FDIS 10003, Quality management opment and implementation to ensure that developed in a number of jurisdictions; – Customer satisfaction – Guidelines for claims about codes can be substantiat- hence, COPOLCO considered that there dispute resolution external to organiza- ed and verified. It should be emphasized was a need for criteria and benchmarks tions, are conceptually linked. Together, that the proposed International Standard that established the key elements of effec- they form a comprehensive approach for does not in any way prescribe what the tive schemes. Dispute resolution applies all phases of customer complaint manage- content of codes should be: this is for to those circumstances where complaints ment. The standards are an attempt to dis- individual organizations to decide. The cannot be resolved through internal com- til international best practice in codes of standard is expected be published in the plaint handling. Like the standard on conduct, complaint handling and exter- fourth quarter of 2007. codes, this standard is expected to be nal dispute resolution. Their purpose is published before the end of 2007. to provide benchmarks to help organiza- “ If nothing were All three standards recognize tions and their customers do business in the critical role that customer feedback an increasingly borderless marketplace. done, a ‘ black hole ’ in plays in identifying product and service The three standards were developed with- consumer protection inadequacies and, therefore, in improv- in the subcommittee on supporting tech- would emerge.” ing quality in these areas. Adoption and nologies in quality management (ISO/ use of these standards by ethical traders TC 176/SC 3), which, together with the The ISO standard on complaint should generate more consumer confi- identical title headings (Quality manage- handling (ISO 10002) was released in dence and distinguish them from traders ment – Customer satisfaction), indicates 2004. It covers such issues as the essen- who have no such “trust” systems. their interlinked nature. tial guiding principles, the complaint The objective of the proposed management organizational framework International Standard on market-based needed to drive effective complaint hand- About the author codes of conduct is to enhance fair trad- ling, day-to-day operational requirements, ing in the marketplace by harmonizing guidance on maintaining the system in Bill Dee is the the use of claims about codes. It is antic- good working order, and information Convenor of the ipated that among its benefits will be : on how product and service improve- ISO consumer non-misleading, accurate and verifiable ments can be achieved through the use policy commit- claims, a reduction in marketplace con- of complaint data. This standard applies tee (COPOLCO) fusion, the facilitation of internation- to complaints concerning an organiza- working group, al trade, an increased opportunity for tion’s products and services. Consumer protection in the global marketplace. Mr. Dee is currently the chair of the ISO subcommittee drafting International Standards on environmental marketing claims (ISO/TC 207/SC 3) and the working group that drafted the ISO International Standard on complaint handling, and a member of the working groups drafting international standards on market-based codes of conduct and external customer dispute resolution schemes. At a national level in Australia, Mr. Dee chaired the Standards Australia (SA) drafting committees on complaint handling (AS 4269 and AS ISO 10002) and dispute management (AS 4608). He also prepared the working drafts for Australian standards on corporate social responsibility, whistle-blowing protection programmes for entities and organizational codes of conduct, and was on the SA drafting committee that drafted these together with the standards on good governance principles and fraud and corruption control.

ISO Focus September 2007 11 Main Focus

Best practice for social of the authentication of the merchant’s the processes and procedures that are responsibility identity, their reliability, the disclosure required to ensure effective regulatory of accurate and sufficient information to compliance within an organization. An One of the major initiatives of the allow for informed online transactions, international guidance standard would WG was the development of a proposal payment security, fair marketing practices, provide advice on how to set up the right on social responsibility (SR). The WG assurances of consumer safety and of procedures and processes to reduce the saw this as an emerging issue requiring getting redress if something goes wrong. risk of non-compliance, even inadvert- agreed objective indication as to what con- Online merchants also face challenges ently, with the law. Consumers can be stitutes an effective SR programme. CO- in persuading consumers that they are more confident that an organization that POLCO accepted the WG’s proposal at reliable and that their products are what implements an International Standard on its meeting in Trinidad and Tobago, and it consumers want. Furthermore, the situa- compliance programmes will have a sys- was subsequently adopted by ISO. Now, tion is complicated by cross-jurisdiction- tem that offers greater certainty of adher- a WG made up of representatives from al purchases where it is not clear which ence to laws, regulations and standards, industry, labour, consumers, government, or even whose rules apply. For instance, including rules covering cross-border and NGO sectors among others, such as when there are existing national-based and global issues. academics and consultants who operate e-commerce rules, should the buyer’s or COPOLCO also agreed to cor- in the area, is developing a standard on the seller’s jurisdiction be considered ? respond with the Organization for Eco- social responsibility (ISO 26000) intend- Consequently, the WG’s position is that nomic Cooperation and Development ed to apply to any organization. an ISO guidance standard will ideally (OECD) Committee on Consumer Policy The SR core issues agreed at the address such problems. and the International Consumer Protec- Sydney meeting of the WG on social tion and Enforcement Network (ICPEN) responsibility earlier this year were as to inform them of the new work item pro- follows : Making consumer-friendly posal on compliance management and • environment ; standards invite their participation in the work, pending approval. • human rights ; National standards bodies have • labour practices ; recently voted in favour of developing an International Standard in the field of An important player in • organizational governance ; network services billing by retail commercial transactions • fair operating practices ; service providers. This followed an ini- The above discussion indicates • consumer issues ; and tiative from the UK energy user group, energywatch, after experiencing high that ISO is being recognized as a legit- • community involvement/society devel- customer dissatisfaction with many imate and important player in the area opment. aspects of billing. A number of other of what could be termed “ business-to- consumer transaction” standards. Where This standard is expected to be countries also called for an Interna- there has been no readily identifiable published at the end of 2008. One of the tional Standard on this matter. relevant technical committee to develop anticipated benefits for members of the A new work item proposal on the standards put forward by COPOLCO, public is that they can expect organiza- development of a guidance standard on ISO has developed a project commit- tions using this standard to have a system consumer product recall and corrective tee mechanism whereby adequate and in place that delivers socially responsible action, code of good practice, has now appropriate consumer/demand side inputs outcomes within their operations. been sent to all national standards bodies for their response. The goal of this could be made in the development of the standard will be to identify high-level standards. In the future it may be appropriate to establish a technical committee E-commerce : Whose principles which could be applied in a cross-cutting fashion. When develop- to develop these standards. rules apply ? ing the justification paper, the WG not- As explained above, the work of At its recent meeting in Brazil, ed that many countries have no such the WG on consumer protection in the COPOLCO agreed that it would submit procedures. global marketplace and COPOLCO and the WG’s proposal to develop an Inter- Following a justification paper their significant contribution to consum- national Standard on e-commerce. on guidelines for regulatory compli- ers and businesses gives expression to The WG highlighted that e-com- ance programmes, COPOLCO agreed the theme of World Standards Day 2007, merce transactions can present numer- at its 2007 meeting that it will submit “ Standards and the citizen : Contributing ous challenges for consumers and busi- the proposal for the development of an to society ”. nesses alike. In the Internet-based mar- International Standard. The justifica- ketplace, e-consumers are at a disadvan- tion paper highlighted a degree of non- tage because they cannot touch and inter- conformance with laws and regulations act with the product in the same way as in the market. The reason for this situ- with conventional marketplace purchas- ation is that many organizations do not es. There are also the added difficulties understand, nor do they have in place,

12 ISO Focus September 2007 Standards and the citizen

they soon proved that they could also deliv- er economic advantages. Products having a user interface inspired by usability research sold out products with otherwise identical technology. Customers were will- ing to pay more for better usability, which did not imply higher production costs, as usability testing could be integrated into the usual required testing. Another advantage of usability engineering was a lower repair cost during the guarantee phase of a product, shedding light on the faulty usage leading to these costs. It soon became clear that brand names standing for good usability were winning market shares, not only among the elderly, but also the young.

Order within chaos At this time, the ISO standard for visual display terminals, ISO 9241, Ergo- nomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs), was already broadly accepted. Consisting of 17 parts, the standard addressed user friendliness and usability in parts 10 and 11. However, the available tests were all rather computer-oriented and intended mainly for soft-

A helping hand for Human-friendly the elderly everyday products A few visionary CEOs and high- level managers in the industry were already aware of the problems presented to the aging ware testing, therefore making their appli- by Dr. Roland Schoeffel, CEO and population, and could perceive that tech- cation difficult to hardware products. For Senior Consultant, Schoeffel Design nology had the potential to help the elderly instance, it did not make sense to ask, for & Consulting (SD&C) GmbH manage their lives and maintain personal a simple product like a light switch, doz- freedom. They therefore required that tech- ens of questions including whether the n the early 1990s, as technology was nological progress considered their elderly test person enjoyed using the switch and rapidly evolving and becoming an acces- customers, investing in projects that facil- would like to use it again. Isible commodity of increasing complex- itated their life, such as intelligent hous- Consequently, different interpreta- ity, industry discovered that it was benefi- es. In this concept for instance, computers tions of usability were applied by interna- cial to explore product usability before mar- can check whether doors are closed over- tional practitioners when testing hardware, keting. Advances made computers cheap night or if the heating saves energy and is and the resulting data was not comparable. and the increasing use of electronic proc- properly adjusted, together with alarms A company that had invested in usabil- essors in various products made them more that automatically alert its owner should ity engineering could therefore receive powerful, but also more complicated to an emergency occur. negative reviews, for instance if the test- operate. This affected principally elderly Usability labs were set up to guar- ing organizations were using other eval- people, who were left behind in the rapid antee that all household appliances devel- uation procedures. Procurement organi- technological developments, and hence oped were easy to operate. Although it zations could not rely on the validity of unable to adjust to the new products. might not have been the initial intention, usability test results, and had to explain

ISO Focus September 2007 13 Main Focus the methodical needs themselves. Con- address the needs of older persons and sumers could not trust these results either, persons with disabilities, which reach- as all packages and test media were based es out to include aged and disabled per- on differently selected criteria. Psycholo- sons, was taken into consideration by gists at universities could not map human the experts preparing the standard. Nev- interaction with products, as there was no ertheless, despite today’s technological agreed usability baseline. Thus, with an advances, it is not yet possible to pro- aging population demanding technologi- vide all everyday products with an inter- cal simplicity, it was clear that a standard face that every disabled person can eas- for hardware product usability, and a test- ily operate. It is however possible to do ing and evaluation baseline for everyday so for all normally aged persons, which products were urgently needed. is quite an achievement of internation- In 1997, the ISO member for Ger- al ergonomics of the last 10 years, that many, DIN, asked usability practitioners has not been sufficiently honoured yet. in the industry for help. An ad hoc group It mostly needs an age simulation suit composed of experts from industry, DIN, and a personal experience of age to win universities, testing, and consumer organi- With the respect towards the elderly. zations was created to study the question. SD&C age As a next step, colleagues and experts simulation 1) It should be noted that the standard does from Japanese universities and standards suit, we not claim any minimum values, but leaves organizations were asked to comment on can their specification to its application. the first draft. Translated copies of the experience draft were then widely distributed in the what it Japanese industry, including the coun- means to About the author try’s consumer organization. be 30 to After discussion and consultation 40 years Dr. Roland with industry stakeholders, the draft was older. Schoeffel is a circulated to all member bodies. DIN pro- Certified Euro- pean Ergono- posed that it be developed into an Inter- build a product so that it meets the testing national Standard at the ISO meeting of mist (CREE). requirements outlined in the other parts of He has studied the technical committee on ergonomics the standard. In addition, it gives an up-to- in Loughborough in 1999. psychology, date, chaptered and commented reference anthropology, list to valuable sources of design. and computer Think human Part 1 defines the concept of ease sciences. He of operation, explains relevant factors for started his The standard has now been pub- design, and shows how to conduct the career in 1980 as an officer for psycho- lished as ISO 20282:2006, Ease of oper- design process. Ease of operation is mea- logical ergonomics at an institute of the ation of everyday products. It is divided sured as the percentage of persons who German Navy, developing computer into four parts, the first two are published can successfully operate a product (techni- simulations and tests for the evaluation of as International Standards and the third cally named “effectiveness of operation”). human efficiency in military operation and fourth as publicly available speci- Good values start above 80 %, and 100 % centers. Starting in 1988, he was dele- fications (PAS) : is not always achievable, as human char- gated as a German expert to different • Part 1 : Design requirements for con- acteristics vary significantly. The ease of European Committee for Standardization text of use and user characteristics operation quotient is a meaningful and (CEN) committees. From 1992 to 2002 he • Part 2 : Test method for walk-up-and- useful value that allows to calculate the worked for Siemens, with a final posi- use products effects caused on persons who do not get tion as Human Factors Director within along with an interface design.1) the design department. For example, he • Part 3 : Test method for consumer was involved in the ergonomics for the products (PAS) German super train ICE, and initiated • Part 4: Test method for the installa- Technology for everyone the usability testing of Siemens household tion of consumer products (PAS) appliances. He was the chair of the German The factors relevant to the design ad hoc group for product usability, and In the future, parts 3 and 4 could of an easy-to-operate product include local the Convenor of the ISO working group become International Standards. environmental conditions, anthropomet- developing ISO 20282. In 2002, he founded Part 1 focuses on the design of rics, strength, vision, hearing, knowledge, his own company, SD&C Schoeffel easy-to-operate everyday products, such as and age. ISO 20282 is the first standard Design & Consulting near Munich, serv- washing machines, TV sets, cameras, tele- explicitly embracing the elderly in its tar- ing the industry with ergonomics knowl- phones, radios, shower faucets, and micro- get population. ISO/IEC Guide 71:2001, edge and usability testing. waves, among others. It explains how to Guidelines for standards developers to

14 ISO Focus September 2007 Standards and the citizen

Walk up and use it Part 2 of the standard provides a method to test ease of operation for walk- up-and-use products. Walk-up-and-use © EduardoAlvarez products are machines in the public are- na intended to be used by more or less everybody, for instance public telephones, vending machines, hotel TVs, elevators, banking machines, etc. Walk-up-and-use products differ from private consumer © EduardoAlvarez The difficulty to reach and identify a products, as they do not require instal- button inside an elevator by a child, a lation or servicing from the user. low height person, a wheelchair user or a Testing for ease of operation needs visually impaired individual, can be avoided a higher number of participants than oth- by correct position and design, without erwise found in heuristic usability tests changing the cost of construction. (over 20 participants, but the recommend- ed minimum is 50). It requires a strati- The wheels and size of vehicles and technical fied sampling method including a suf- assistance — to carry persons with reduced ficient representation of aged persons. mobility and babies — define conditions to Testing may take place in the laborato- which building entrances must comply, with a ry, as well as in real situations. less significant incidence in newer buildings Part 3 outlines a test method for and a greater one in unforeseen cases or the ease of operation of private consumer remodelling of existing constructions. products. Part 4 provides a test method for installation procedures, conscious that although using a product may be simple, its installation may be very difficult. © EduardoAlvarez

A user-friendly world It is a little early to talk about application results, as the standard is still new to the market and has not yet been translated into all languages. Nev- ertheless, it has already received a warm Everyone has the welcome from the professional commu- right to recreation nity. The ISO committee responsible for and tourism. its development has been congratulated by different international experts for the overall achievement of reaching consensus on the physical conditions of environments in this area, and on more specific issues Making buildings fitted with infrastructure and equipment. such as the foundation of the design rec- These notions adopt a universal perspec- ommendations, the reference list and the more accessible tive to the design of products, to ensure that soundness of the testing methods. A gov- to all these can be used by all regardless of age, ernment organization was already eager ability or circumstance. Accessibility seeks to use the standard for procurement, and by Eduardo Alvarez, Chair to optimize interactions between people, many practitioners and companies have infrastructure and equipment, thus creating also asked for a copy. Altogether, with of ISO/TC 59, Building a mechanism for social responsibility. the achievement of this standard, ISO construction, SC 16, Accessibility is philosophically and the international experts on usabil- Accessibility and usability inclusive, trying to accommodate people ity have done their part to help every- of the built environment with different characteristics, as well as body, including the elderly, to easily get the diverse circumstances, limitations or along with modern technology. Now it is hink about what you have done today. conditions of each person in the course up to each country and respective orga- How easy has it been to access loca- of their life, for their age or capacity. nizations to make use of it. Ttions, use devices, services or envi- This can be either in permanent or tem- ronments ? Accessibility and usability of porary situations that require particu- the built environment address the degree of lar attention. Basic accessibility in the ease with which you did this, by focusing environment would ensure that there are

ISO Focus September 2007 15 Main Focus no barriers between handicapped peo- architects, designers, engineers, build- al costs and broadening the possibility ple and participation in ordinary activi- ers, building owners, managers, policy- for stakeholder participation of those ties, such as going to work and school, makers and legislators with requirements who cannot afford to attend interna- going shopping, visiting friends, going and recommendations to create a built tional meetings. on holiday and take advantage of neigh- environment that is accessible to all. It is vital that accessibility be bourhood facilities. applied in planning and construction. The issue of accessibility to prod- Provision for building accessibility ucts and services has become more critical “ Accessibility is should be both realistic and economi- with the aging of the population world- philosophically cal, and should be viewed in relation to wide. While not all older persons have inclusive.” other demands and to the type of popu- disabilities, the prevalence of disability or lation it will serve. limitations is higher amongst this demo- It should include a range of pro- graphic group. These can include changes visions for many of the elements, compo- “Accessibility seeks to in mobility, hearing and eyesight. nents and fittings that comprise the built optimize interactions environment. Those provisions relate to the constructional aspects of access to build- between people, ings, to circulation within buildings and to infrastructure and egress from buildings : the latter in the nor- equipment.” mal course of events and in the event of an emergency. This future International Stan- According to ISO/TR 9527:1994, dard should lead to continuous improve- Building construction – Needs of disabled ment in the built environment. people in buildings – Design guidelines, ISO/IEC Guide 71:2001, Guide-

© EduardoAlvarez “ too high a requirement can mean in prac- lines for standards developers to address The proper design of a handle facilitates tice that nothing is implemented ”. Conse- the needs of older persons and persons with its use by an elderly person or any person quently, it may be better to comply with disabilities, will be used to increase under- with difficulties in their motor skills. some basic needs on a short-term basis and standing of and assist in the implementa- aim — in the long run — at a gradual devel- tion of the standard’s requirements. opment towards better accessibility. There are few design elements Building for accessibility needed in order to make buildings more ISO technical committee ISO/TC accessible – and can easily be met at the About the author 59, Building construction, first addressed design stage – thereby keeping costs the problem of accessibility of buildings down to a minimum. Eduardo when it published in 1981 the internation- Alvarez is the ally relevant document Needs of disabled Why accessibility needs Chair of ISO/ people in buildings – Design guidelines TC 59/SC 16 followed by the technical report ISO/ consensus since 2001 and TR 9527:1994, Building construction It is important to keep in mind that has participated — Needs of disabled people in build- International Standards are the result of in the promotion ings — Design guidelines. consensus among the stakeholders for the of its creation. The need to address the issue achievement of a collective benefit. He is an archi- entirely by a separate ISO/TC 59 sub- This is why a standard for acces- tect and has committee emerged in 2001 with the cre- sibility and usability of the built environ- been working in ation of SC 16, Accessibility and usabil- ment must include stakeholder partici- accessibility for more than 30 years. He has promoted the CT143 COPANT, has ity of the built environment. The purpose pation from around the world ; It must been co-author and presenter of a Basic of SC 16 is to define a built environment aim for collective benefit, not solely Course of Accessibility in 40 cities of 20 in which people can have independent of those writing it. Developing coun- countries of Latin America and Spain. and safe access and egress, a built envi- try participation is an important and He contributes to the work of the Uru- ronment in which they can function and essential goal in the process of build- guayan Institute for Technical Standards use with maximum independence in an ing an inclusive society, in an accessi- (UNIT) technical committee on accessi- equitable and dignified manner. These ble environment. bility and the Uruguayan Architects principles are supported by Articles 9 and The consensus of stakeholders Society Commission on Accessibility 11 of the UN Convention on the Rights implies participation and ISO has facil- and has been consultant of the Inter- of Persons with Disabilities (4th Revised itated broader participation on stan- American Development Bank (IDB), the Draft, October 2006). dardization in this field by electronic World Bank and the Pan American The subcommittee is setting out means, such as document exchange, Health Organization (PAHO)/World to achieve an International Standard as video conferencing and electronic bal- Health Organization (WHO) on the a guidance document, providing users, loting, thereby diminishing operation- subject.

16 ISO Focus September 2007 Standards and the citizen

Globally relevant and An example of this is the Oper- (IDB), available at their Web site (in universally accessible ational Guidelines on Accessibility in English, Spanish and Portuguese) sup- Urban Development Projects with Uni- ported by The Pan American Standards In view of the different economic versal Design Principles a contribution Commission (COPANT) : conditions existing among countries, and of the Inter-American Development Bank http://www.iadb.org/sds/SOC/ the importance of accessibility and its use- publication/gen_6191_4180_e.htm fulness to all, the ISO Global Relevance Policy for standardization can help pro- ISO’s commitment to the stake- vide guidance when there are differences holder process as well as its capacity to in markets : “…where a single technical bring technical specialists from various solution is not possible because of mar- disciplines to work on an issue such as ket differences1), options can be included accessibility in buildings helps ensure in the ISO standard, with a note speci- that – among others – the needs of the fying the market for which the options elderly, people with disabilities and those are intended […] the ISO policy allows who find themselves temporarily need- an ISO/TC or SC to include ‘options’ in ing special access, such as mothers with the standard in order to achieve its glob- prams, are met. A comforting thought as al relevance ”. we go through all of life’s stages and an The future ISO standard on acces- essential goal of social responsibility, in sibility and usability of the built envi- the process of building an inclusive soci- ronment is expected to include options ety, in an accessible environment. for existing buildings, which will receive different considerations in view of technical and economic circumstances.

It is a key to have internation- © EduardoAlvarez al technical standards adequate to the Correctly positioned signs with adequate economic realities, which constitute the visual and audible elements enable their technical support of national legal instru- perception by all persons, including those 1) It should be noted that the standard does ments on planning and construction, and who have hearing and visual difficulties. not claim any minimum values, but leaves establish eligible criteria of programmes their specification to its application. for support and financing needed.

Eligible criteria accompanied by adequate technical support for all persons, empowers programmes applicable to developing countries. © Vinicius© Vogel

ISO Focus September 2007 17 Main Focus

Accessible design for all citizens by Ken Sagawa, Convenor of TC 159/WG 2, Ergonomics for people with special requirements, and Kenji Kurakata, Secretary of TC 159/ WG 2 and Convenor of ISO/TC 159/SC 5/WG 5, People with special requirements

ith some 650 million people with disabilities across the Wworld, accessible design is now a worldwide concern in the design of products, services and environments. The United Nations addressed the issue when it adopted the “ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”, which pro- hibits discrimination against disabled people in all areas of life. Its aim is to guarantee an effective protection of dis- mittee (JISC), to use ISO/IEC Guide 71 abled people and ensure that they can Common methods for as the basis for accessible design stan- enjoy the full range of human rights: civil, common problems dards within the committee. A strate- political, economic, social and cultural. gic paper was submitted by the group The issue of accessibility to prod- The Convention will strongly emphasizing the necessity for technical ucts and services has become more crit- enhance the needs for accessible design guidance, with both human ergonomic ical with the increasing percentage of and accelerate implementation of the data and design principles, for develop- older people in the population world- design concept in products, services and ing accessible design standards. wide, as the prevalence of disability or environments. limitations is higher amongst this demo- “ With 650 million graphic group. Guidelines for standards people with disabilities While the future ISO/TR 22411 developers will provide useful guidance on acces- across the world, sible design, it should not be the final Since its publication, ISO/IEC goal for implementing ISO/IEC Guide Guide 71: 2001, Guidelines for stan- accessible design is now 71. Another tool must be developed dards developers to address the needs of a worldwide concern.” to effectively utilize the knowledge older persons and persons with disabil- of product design. As a result of long ities, has been adopted by regional bod- As a result of this strategic paper, discussions in Japan and in ISO/TC ies such as the European Committee for working group WG 2, Ergonomics for 159, a new methodology was proposed Standardization (CEN) and the Europe- people with special requirements, was with a series of “ common basic stan- an Committee for Electrotechnical Stan- established, taking over the responsi- dards ”. dardization (CENELEC), and by nation- bilities from the ad hoc group. For example, older people might al standards institutes of Italy, Japan, the After more than two years of find it difficult to read small print on pre- Republic of Korea and Spain. extensive work to collect human data, the scription medication, which may cause The Guide’s concepts have also working group’s efforts will result in fru- them to misread the directions and mis- been used as the basis for standards ition with the publication of ISO techni- use the medication. To cope with this developed by ISO technical committee cal report ISO/TR 22411, Ergonomic data problem, a design method for determin- ISO/TC 159, Ergonomics. In 2002, for and ergonomic guidelines for the applica- ing the legible size of the print should be example, an ad hoc group was estab- tion of ISO/IEC Guide 71 to products and developed, which can be applied com- lished in response to a proposal from services to address the needs of older per- monly to every industrial product and the Japanese Industrial Standards Com- sons and persons with disabilities. visual signing.

18 ISO Focus September 2007 Standards and the citizen

Auditory signals in electric appli- design standards that are directly relat- proposals were approved as new work ances, often used to inform the user of ed to products, services and environ- items early in 2007. the state of operation, are another good ments. For example, individual acces- example. For example, older people find sible standards such as for tactile guide high frequency sounds around 4 kHz dif- maps, communication symbols or pack- Cooperation for ficult to hear, yet these are often used in aging for people with visual disabilities the benefit of all products. Therefore, methods for deter- have been developed in Japan. Accessible design covers a wide mining an appropriate frequency and scope both in scientific and industrial sound pressure of auditory signals are fields, and any area where there is emerg- necessary to enhance accessibility for A movement for better ing progress. In particular, the field of some users. design information and communication technol- These methods are “ common ” ogies has already made great progress in Meanwhile, a movement to pro- in that they are developed based on the surveying user needs and in making a mote accessible design has arisen in characteristics of older people or on the standards inventory since 2004 (e.g. the Asian countries. In 2003, the govern- characteristics of people with disabilities, ISO/IEC JTC 1/SWG-A, Special work- ments of China, Japan and the Repub- and should be applied to any product, ing group on accessibility). service and environment where acces- lic of Korea jointly established a stan- sibility may be needed. dards committee on accessible design in JISC is putting forward the idea order to disseminate the concept to north- to develop common basic standards to east Asian countries. The idea to have a facilitate the development of individual committee on accessible design was an accessible design standards in ISO tech- important one as previously the region “ Accessible nical committees. For example, new did not experience a strong movement working groups were recently established on issues concerning older persons and design can be in ISO/TC 159 subcommittees SC 5 (WG 5 persons with disabilities. achieved on people with special requirements) One of the first proposals to come and SC 4 (WG 10 on accessible design out of the committee was the joint pro- with minor for consumer products). posal of five new work items (four to and rapid In addition to these common ISO/TC 159 and one to ISO/TC 122, adjustments.” standards, JISC is also promoting the Packaging), all of which were based on development of individual accessible Japanese Industrial Standards. These

About the authors

Ken Sagawa is Kenji Kuraka- a prime senior ta is leader of researcher at Accessible In the field of ergonomics, a num- the Institute for Design Group ber of relevant activities are also emerg- Human Science at the Institute ing. To harmonize these activities and to and Biomedical for Human Sci- increase cooperation with relevant stake- Engineering in ence and Bio- holders, ISO/TC 159 decided in 2006 to the National Insti- medical Engi- appoint a liaison officer that would : tute of Advanced neering in the Industrial Science National Insti- • coordinate activities concerned with and Technology tute of Advanced accessible design within TC 159 (SCs (AIST), Tsukuba, Japan. He is Secretary Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), and WGs) ; of the International Commission on Illu- Tsukuba, Japan. His research interests • liaise with other ISO/TCs as regards mination (CIE). His major research field are ageing effects in auditory perception of accessible design ; is visual psychophysics in photometry and human-machine interface design with and colorimetry. Most of his recent stud- auditory signals. Dr. Kurakata is Secre- • keep contacts and cooperate with ies concern age-related changes in visual tary of ISO/TC 159/WG 2 and Convenor international parties of people with functions and their application to acces- of ISO/TC 159/SC 5/WG 5, People with disabilities for developing accessible sible design. Dr. Sagawa is Convenor of special requirements. He is also an expert standards. TC 159/WG 2, Ergonomics for people with of ISO/TC 43, Acoustics. The importance of cooperation special requirements, and serves as a liai- with international stakeholders can- son officer for accessible design in ISO/TC not be understated. Accessible design- 159. He is also a member of the Japanese related standards should clearly reflect Committee on Consumer Policy. user needs and one way to accomplish

ISO Focus September 2007 19 Main Focus this would be through the participation of organizations devoted to caring for the rights of people with disabilities. Inversely, it would also be beneficial for these organizations to realize the role of International Standards as an important tool for solving accessibility inconveniences. Until now, there has been no formal liaison between such organizations and ISO technical committees. This is now starting to change. Dr. K. Sagawa from JISC, appointed to take this role, has already visited some of the international disabled parties such as the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) and the World Blind Union (WBU), asking for their cooperation. A group to advise and support Dr. Sagawa will be created at the next ISO/ TC 159 plenary meeting in November 2007 with the responsibility of liaising with disability rights groups and developing accessible design strategies.

More common in product design While progress on accessible The end of charity design is making headway in ISO/TC The quest During the Middle Ages, the poor 159, other ISO technical committees in certain parts of Europe formed mas- should follow its lead by incorporating for social sive urban and rural clusters, and the accessibility in their work. responsibility initiatives to alleviate their suffering Accessible design does not always were generally under the influence of require high technology or complex the Christian charity doctrine. It was modifications; rather, it can be achieved only in the Modern Age that the con- with minor and rapid adjustments. We by Jorge Emanuel Reis cept of social responsibility became should already start thinking about how associated with poverty. we can incorporate accessible design Cajazeira, Head of As the traditional system of and take action. As we proceed, the con- competitiveness, Suzano Pulp workmanship corporations declined, cept of accessibility will be more and and Paper, and Chair, and with it the assistance provided to more common in product design: not ISO/TMB/WGSR, and its members in old age, their widows, to be adopted as a concept on its own, José Carlos Barbieri, Professor, orphans and the sick, governments in but rather as one which every designer several countries took responsibility for has in their mind. Fundação Getúlio Vargas the unemployed and neglected. he notions of social development Beneficence, benefaction and and social responsibility (SR) were philanthropy were some of the new Tfirst associated with the needs terms that replaced the religious ori- of the poor. Over time, this idea has ented notion of charity, as poverty alle- expanded to include a number of issues, viation became the duty of the state. such as the protection of the environ- With time, other issues would join ment and the fight against corruption. poverty under the concerns of social Today, ISO is undertaking an unprece- responsibility, such as the respect for dented worldwide initiative to develop human diversity, fight against corrup- an International Standard giving guide- tion, promotion of quality of life in lines on SR (ISO 26000, Guidance on the workplace and protection of the social responsibility). environment.

20 ISO Focus September 2007 Standards and the citizen

• the different ways of understanding Life as we know it an organization and its relations to But why is the world so intent on society and the environment ; working together to develop an Interna- • an organization’s activities and its tional Standard on social responsibility? aim to obtain favourable economic International standardization is indis- results. pensable to society in the 21st century. Without it, many aspects of our lives such as transport, trade and the Internet A sustainable would falter. organization Standards address issues from all spheres of life ranging from healthcare to There are today a number of initia- banking. Safety standards for toys protect tives addressing social responsibility and our children and keep our refrigerators sustainability, which converge to form the connected in an environmentally friend- models for a sustainable organization. A ly way. Television, DVD players, mobile core concept in both social responsibility phones and computers rely on standards and sustainable development is the idea of for compatibility. Paper sizes, electron- the triple bottom line (TBL) across three ic file formats, e-banking, nanotechnolo- spheres − economic, environmental and soci- gies, doors, faxes, security systems, dis- etal. A range of local, national and region- aster reduction and much more, benefit al initiatives provide guidance, standards from International Standards. and other management tools to implement these concepts. The great challenge now is to make them applicable to all organi- “ International zations on an international scale. standardization is indispensable to life in the 21st century.” Power to the individual Not only do standards contribute or to the organization ? to increasing safety and performance, Our modern notion of social but they bring the world closer together responsibility starts with perhaps one by disseminating knowledge, promoting of the greatest liberal thinkers, Adam innovation and facilitating trade. Smith. Smith’s liberalism is based upon the doctrine of individualism as explained by Friederich Hayek, 1974 Speak one language Nobel Prize winner, who concludes ISO standards facilitate the that humanitarian aid, philanthropy exchange of goods and services in the and other assistance for the poor should international marketplace and promote be decided by an organization’s own- In the array of initiatives aim- cooperation amongst countries in the ers as individuals and, therefore, as ing to promote social responsibility, the scientific, technological and production judges in their own causes. However, myriad of options is so vast that rank- sectors. The goal of ISO is to publish this can create conflict between own- ing, classification and further instruction documents that establish international- ers and executives. are necessary. Common, for example, ly accepted practices. In the 1990s this view suffered are questions on how to use the Millen- In the universe of tools and con- serious criticisms due to the raising nium Development Goals or the United cepts upholding socially responsible of social and environmental demands. Nations (UN) Agenda 21 in corporate management, there is a wide spectrum A new concept of social responsibili- missions or visions. of possibility: from the ISO 14001 and ty was created including the power of While some of these concepts are the social accountability SA 8000 man- stakeholders. not as friendly for application in the day-to- agement standards, to the Declaration of day environment of an organization, others Human Rights and the Global Compact SR practices can present some – such as ISO management standards like principles, to mention a few. implementation difficulties due to : ISO 9001 on quality management or ISO The guidance in ISO 26000 • the diversity of issues involved, trans- 14001 on environmental management sys- will draw on the good practices devel- lated into a myriad of rights, duties tems – allow for the establishment of pro- oped by existing public and private sec- and expectations for a variety of inter- cedures to implement, monitor, control and tor SR initiatives, and be complemen- nal and external stakeholders ; improve products and processes. tary to these instruments, including the

ISO Focus September 2007 21 Main Focus relevant conventions and declarations • give marginal voices a platform to par- this end, the international community by the UN and its constituents, nota- ticipate in the development of require- needs an ISO standard giving guidance bly the International Labour Organi- ments that will affect them. This is on SR for a more harmonious and bal- zation (ILO), and consistent with the particularly relevant for developing anced society. principles of the Global Compact and countries, which had little involve- In face of the above mentioned ILO labour standards. ment in the creation of existing SR issues, an organization’s social responsi- initiatives, and could not ensure that bility is a means to reach organizational their priorities and concerns were sat- sustainability. This can be defined as how Advantages of working isfactorily addressed ; the organization carries out its business together management in order to be economical- • level the playing field at the glo- ly efficient, socially inclusive and envi- It is generally accepted that inter- bal level for business organizations, ronmentally judicious. governmental instruments, such as those developing and developed countries, of the UN, ILO and Global Compact have and stakeholders of all types ; a significant role to play in any effective • assemble a broader range of experi- “ The future ISO 26000 approach to social responsibility, con- ence and expertise on SR, resulting stituting important building blocks for will help implement in deliverables that could replace rel- any ISO guidance on SR. At the same atively less effective standards, while ethical and sustainability time, we should not detract from the promoting good-practice and technol- commitments.” valuable contribution of other relevant ogy dissemination ; stakeholders. ISO standards have been devel- • reduce transaction costs, improve The model that guides the future oped through open and transparent multi- communications and facilitate trade ISO 26000 will be attuned to these con- stakeholder processes, and used by many at an international level, widening the verging movements: social responsibility organizations around the world. A clear scope of national and regional initia- and sustainable development. One of its statement at the outset of the value of tives ; basic premises is that an organization’s social responsibility involves contribut- aligning with related SR initiatives will • add trust to the area of social respon- reassure stakeholders that the ISO SR ing to overcoming social and environ- sibility with a standard developed and mental crises. Thus, without intending standard draws on, and potentially pro- implemented in a credible manner. vides links to a variety of different SR to be prescriptive or superpose existing tools currently in operation, while recog- initiatives, the future ISO 26000 will provide a practical tool to implement nizing that distinctions do exist between A global challenge different types of instruments. ethical and sustainability commitments, The greatest challenge for man- for example, in the daily routine of an In addition, an ISO standard for agement in modern organizations is to organization. SR would provide numerous advantag- show that these tools are compatible ISO is taking action to ensure es, including : with the various management levels, that the standard will benefit from broad • provide a global “ common under- and can be applied individually to each input by all those with a serious inter- standing ” of SR issues, thereby cre- of the sustainability dimensions : soci- est in social responsibility. This is being ating a reference point that is appro- etal, economic and environmental. The achieved by a balanced representation priate, understood, accepted and dis- alignment of these three dimensions in the working group, the largest multi- tributed in all countries ; depends on management maturity. To stakeholder participation of its kind. For this reason, participation and the capacity to include multi-stakeholder interests in About the authors the standard’s development is as important as its content. Jorge Emanuel José Carlos Finally, the writing of this standard Reis Cajazeira, Barbieri, presents a tricky path. It is only through is Head of Professor of the innovation in the consensus mechanism competitiveness doctorate in that we have taken successful steps, as at Suzano Pulp ethical, health out of an infinite combination of stake- and Paper. He is and socio-envi- holders and country interests there can Chair of ISO/ ronmental only emerge a single document aligned TMB/WGSR affairs, at the to sustainable development. ISO consti- (working business tutes an ideal international platform to group on school Fundação meet this unique challenge. social responsi- Getúlio Vargas bility). (São Paulo), and a board member of several scientists’ committees and funding agencies in Brazil.

22 ISO Focus September 2007 Standards and the citizen

Unfortunately, product-related injuries continue to be a worldwide problem, particularly among the young and the elderly whose normal physiological and cognitive capabilities can differ from those of average adults. It is important for standard developers to take into account and apply the recommendations in the ISO/IEC Guide 50:2002, Safety aspects – Guide- lines for child safety, ISO/IEC Guide 51:1999 Safety aspects – Guide- © Pierre Granier lines for their inclusion in standards, and ISO/IEC Guide Potential and foreseeable 71:2001, Guidelines for stand- Creating product hazards ards developers to address the needs of a safer world for older persons and persons with disabil- Every aspect of our lives as con- ities, together with the concept of fore- consumers sumers is affected by standards, from seeable use. our children’s toys to our sports equipment and to the products we use to carry out a multitude of daily household tasks. When consumers purchase and by Dr. Elizabeth Nielsen, use products, they expect these to be Convenor of COPOLCO’s safe. Consumers have confidence in prod- working group on product safety ucts that meet and have been certified to safety standards. They rely on standard- and member of the Canadian ization, as a way to protect themselves Advisory Committee (CAC) and their families. to COPOLCO. Standards that address health and safety, whether they are for products onsumers, like producers, are an like bicycles, toys or for matter added essential component of the trade to products to change their properties, equation. For trade to be suc- like nanoparticles, can lead to a reduc- Source : Health Canada Web site and Media C Photo Gallery, Health Canada, http://www. cessful, the needs of all parties must be tion in the frequency and/or severity of hc-sc.gc.ca : Reproduced with the permission addressed and satisfied. While stand- injuries and diseases. The safety stand- of the Minister of Public Works and ardization benefits producers by elimi- ard for bicycle helmets developed by the Government Services Canada, 2007. nating technical barriers to trade, reduc- Canadian Standards Association (CSA) ing costs and increasing product inno- has contributed to a drop in the number vation, it also plays a significant role in of reported cycling-related head injuries Foreseeable use refers to the appli- protecting the health and safety of those in Canada from approximately 1 100 per cation of a product in a manner that a who buy and use the products and serv- year to below 500 per year. Similarly, the manufacturer may not have intended, but ices offered. development of child-resistant packag- that can be predicted and preventative ing safety standards has resulted in 72 actions taken against personal injury and/ percent fewer Canadian children being or property damage. The importance of 1) Health Canada and Canadian Institute of hospitalized for poisonings in 2000 than considering foreseeable use is obvious in Health Information, 2001. in 1983.1) this illustration of an infant playing with

ISO Focus September 2007 23 Main Focus a toy (see photo below). Child behav- very difficult at times to keep pace with ongoing priority for COPOLCO. It ioural studies have shown that a child the development of appropriate product has played a major role in the develop- of this age instinctively places objects safety standards. Formal standards do not ment of the ISO/IEC Guides 50, 51 and in his/her mouth. To ensure that this toy exist for many consumer products on the 71, which provide guidance on safety will not injure a child, the manufacturer market. For this reason, ISO’s Committee requirements for consumer products, must make the product too big to swal- on consumer policy (COPOLCO) devel- and specific requirements for children low, use non-toxic materials that do not oped a new work item proposal for the and seniors. Moreover, COPOLCO has leach out when in contact with saliva, and development of a guidance standard enti- established a working group to raise eliminate sharp edges that may result in tled Consumer product safety: A practi- awareness of consumer product safe- cuts or gashes. Developing safety stand- cal guide for suppliers. The purpose of ty issues among standards develop- ards that follow a holistic approach by this standard would be to assist suppliers and manufacturers; to establish a addressing all the potential and foresee- ers by providing them with the practi- mechanism for managing these in a pro- able product hazards, have a significant cal tools to identify, assess and eliminate active and horizontal manner ; to estab- role to play in protecting consumers and or reduce any risks associated with con- lish a forum that addresses gaps in safe- meeting their expectations. sumer products before these reach the ty standards for consumer products ; and market. By placing greater emphasis to improve the use and understanding on safety at the design stage and on the of Guides 50, 51 and 71 among prod- control of manufacturing and distribution uct designers, manufacturers and stand- processes, suppliers should expect less ard developers. injuries and fewer legal problems with Currently, the working group has dissatisfied customers and/or enforce- been asked to investigate a number of ment authorities. issues that impact or could potentially impact the health and safety of consumers globally. The purpose of this work “Health and safety is to identify the crux of the problems, standards can lead to a and the role for ISO standards in resolv- reduction in the frequency and/or severity of injuries About the author and diseases.” Dr. Elizabeth Nielsen has Another concern identified by been involved COPOLCO and ISO itself are the finan- in improving cial difficulties faced by consumer repre- the safety sentatives who wish to participate in the of products © Grace Nielsen standards development process. Stand- since the late ards development has been traditionally 1970s. As a based on the input from industry which Don’t wait until it’s too Canadian addresses standardization from the per- government late spective of suppliers. It is, therefore, scientist, regu- From a consumer perspective, necessary for national and internation- lator and policy analyst, she has been there are two main issues with the usual standards organizations to encourage responsible for testing consumer al standards development process: it is and support consumer participation in products and radiation emitting devices reactive in nature, and there is a lower standardization work, as illustrated by for compliance with safety regulations and level of direct involvement of consumer the ISO/IEC statement on Consumer standards, and for the development of such regulations, legislation and standards. representatives than other groups. participation in standardization work Recently retired from Health Canada, Instead of being proactive and (ISO/IEC/GEN 01:2001). Dr. Nielsen continues to contribute preventing unsafe products from being to the work of the Standards Council manufactured or sold, the development of Canada and the Canadian Standards of safety standards too often starts after Raising the voice Association (CSA). She is a member of a product has entered the market or after of consumers the Canadian Advisory Committee to the public has been harmed. The tradi- COPOLCO, the Canadian National Com- tional vertical-product sector approach COPOLCO was established to mittee of the International Electrotechnical to standards development is one of the ensure that the concerns of consumers Commission, Convenor of COPOLCO’s factors that contribute to this reactive sit- are expressed and heard in the devel- working group on product safety, and uation. With the rapid pace of change in opment of ISO standards. The role of the CSA consumer representative on product design, construction and mate- standardization in improving the safe- the Canadian Advisory Committee to rials, standards writing bodies find it ty of consumer products has been an ISO/TC 229 on nanotechnology.

24 ISO Focus September 2007 Standards and the citizen

ing them. Over the next year, the working group will : • revise a justification to make available rationales that explain why certain safety levels or test procedures were chosen and included in a consumer product standard ; • determine the need to revise ISO/ IEC Guide 51 and the changes to be made ; • investigate the role of standards in identifying and harmonizing the data elements required for product-related injury databases ; • investigate the ability of domestic water treatment devices in de-con- taminating drinking water ; • examine the development of standards for nanotechnology, the impact on consumers and the involvement of public representatives in the development process ; and • assess the adequacy of instructions for assembly, maintenance and use Protecting the public of consumer products. Symbols to help Warning people of hazards and world citizens how to avoid them is a vital task in The road to safety today’s health and safety conscious world. ISO/TC 145 welcomes propos- Improving the safety of consum- als from all fields of activity involving er products presents many challenges by Barry Gray, Chair of ISO/TC personal safety, and its experts spend a to consumers as well as to those who 145, Graphical symbols great deal of time and effort in ensuring develop or apply the standards. During that high standards of design and con- the standards development process, the n our ever-changing world, people tent are met. Background explanations safety needs, use patterns, and abilities and jobs are always on the move. The as to why the new safety signs are need- of consumers must be considered in universal language of good, stand- I ed, and what safety functions they pro- order to prevent unsafe consumer prod- ardized graphical symbols is therefore vide are an important part of the com- ucts from being marketed, and to ensure a strong potential boon for citizens eve- mittee’s considerations. This also helps that all potential product hazards are rywhere. to ensure that the signs are used correct- addressed. This is not an easy task due Symbols can already be easily, and will be of value when searching to the speed at which new products and ly seen on their own or as part of signs the ISO database that is currently being technologies are being developed. How- in all kinds of places – in the home or developed. ever, progress is being made, and were it office; in the car or on the beach ; in not for the existing system, and the work a factory or airport. In fact, we come of the volunteers who contribute their across graphical symbols in just about “Warning people time and expertise, the safety of con- every human activity. They are there to of hazards and how to sumers would be compromised. inform and guide, sometimes to warn, but avoid them is vital.” always constituting an aid for us, as we go about our daily business. ISO tech- ISO 7010, Graphical symbols – nical committee ISO/TC 145, Graphi- Safety colours and safety signs – Safe- cal symbols is at the forefront of a wide- ty signs used in workplaces and pub- ranging programme of graphical symbol lic areas, is the core standard contain- standardization. ing safety signs. It is regularly updat- ed, due to the strong demand from all sectors of the community for clear and helpful signs.

ISO Focus September 2007 25 A look at graphical Main Focus symbols

ISO/TC 145 is the horizontal com- fied by the World Tourism Organization. mittee responsible for the standards The publication of ISO/FDIS 20712-2, establishing the design principles for Water safety signs and beach safety flags graphical symbols and safety signs, and – Part 2 : Specifications for beach safety for the international standardization of flags – Colour, shape, meaning and per- the symbols and signs which meet the formance, should help bring a common relevant criteria. The committee has approach and save lives. very active working groups supported A comprehensive range of signs by experts from all over the world. Its has been developed for use on beaches and coordination role helps ensure good at other water areas, such as swimming design and avoid unnecessary prolif- pools and lakes, in the first part of the eration and duplication. ISO 20712 series of standards on water It is an exciting time for safety. For this purpose, the committee the committee, as new standards once more benefitted from the direct help Safety sign from ISO 7010: are being published and its work is Not drinking water (P005) of professionals involved in this area, as spreading into new fields. well as safety sign experts. The workload is handled Considerable advantages were through its three subcommittees gained from testing sign designs using (SC) : the procedures of ISO 9186-1:2007, Graphical symbols – Test methods – • SC 1, Public information symbols ; Part 1: Methods for testing comprehen- • SC 2, Safety identification, signs, sibility. This revised standard was pub- shapes, symbols and colours ; and lished earlier this year and will soon be • SC 3, Graphical symbols for use on equipment. Subcommittee SC 3 works closely with the International Elec- trotechnical Commission (IEC) IEC/ TC 3/SC 3, Graphical symbols for use on equipment, which shares the Safety sign from ISO 7010 : responsibility for equipment sym- Emergency exit (left hand) (E001) bols. A joint working group between the two organizations has been cre- As well as a standard on perform- ated for this purpose. Indeed, all the ance and durability (ISO 17398:2004, Safe- subcommittees of ISO/TC 145 work ty colours and safety signs – Classifica- together with industry and commer- tion, performance and durability of safety cial partners, whether in vast indus- Water safety sign from ISO 20712-1 : signs), there is one for safety way guid- tries like the automotive, or special- No diving (WSP005) ance systems [ISO 16069:2004, Graph- ized ones such as those involved ical symbols – Safety signs – Safety way with automatic teller machines or guidance systems (SWGS)] and work is defibrillators. The committee also progressing on ISO 23601, Safety identi- keeps close links with internation- Primary fication – Escape plan signs, which refers al organizations such as the World access to the plans displayed in hotels, factories, Tourism Organization. sign design and offices showing escape routes and the example location of fire equipment. from ISO 20712-3 (Annex A, Safety at the beach Figure 2A) In recent years, subcommittee SC 2 has been working closely with industry partners, such as lifesaving organizations, in the water safety area. This project has covered various types of symbols, such as beach safety flags. For a long time, differences have exist- ed in the flags used on beaches around the world, a dangerous problem identi-

26 ISO Focus September 2007 Standards and the citizen

joined by its companion, ISO 9186-2, Public which covers methods for testing per- information ceptual quality. symbol To help those needing to display from flags and signs, ISO 20712-3, Water ISO 7001 : safety signs and beach safety flags Viewpoint or – Part 3 : Guidance for the use of water Water safety sign from ISO 20712-1 : panorama safety signs and beach safety flags will Tsunami hazard zone (WSW014) (PI TC 001) be published soon giving helpful guidance for their use. signs in connection with the threat from tsunami. It has been a particularly chal- Targeting tsunamis lenging task to create suitable designs supported by a comprehensive informa- A recent exciting venture has tion package for places at risk. This effort seen ISO/TC 145 working closely with has shown how we can work with out- the Japanese Government and the United side agencies to achieve a result which This is being followed with new Nations Educational, Scientific and Cul- meets the needs of the proposing parties, work starting on ISO 28564-1, Public tural Organization (UNESCO) on safety without compromising essential design information guidance systems – Design and implementation principles. principles and requirements for elements – Part 1: Layout plans, which will form part of a suite of standards covering sig- Informing the public : nage and wayfinding issues, thus extend- New developments ing the scope of the committee’s work. Another standard about to be pub- ISO 7001 was revised with accessi- lished is the much awaited revision of bility issues in mind, and will be expand- ISO 7001, Graphical symbols – Public ed to take into account the increasing information symbols, which updates and demands for a clear and concise way expands the 1990 edition. It covers the of presenting information readily to the main requirements for images displayed widest possible public. Over 100 poten- in airports and other public areas, but it tial symbols have already been iden- was also produced with the expectation tified for future consideration in such that the graphical symbols would be used areas as sports, tourism, commerce and transport. Water safety sign from ISO 20712-1 : on maps and guides. Tsunami evacuation area (WSE002) “ A standard on safety About the author beach flags should bring a common approach and Barry Gray is Chair of ISO/ save lives.” TC 145, Graph- ical symbols, ISO 7001 and ISO 7010 use the having previ- Public information symbol from same graphical images for people and ously been ISO 7001 : Nursery or baby care objects, and are based on the premise Chair of ISO/ (PI PF 023) that a symbol should be readily asso- TC 145/SC 1, ciated with its intended meaning. This Public informa- ideal is not always possible and guid- tion symbols. ance is given as to when and how to use He is Convenor of two working groups in ISO/TC 145 supplementary text to assist with under- and a contributor to the work of other standing, or to give further information. TCs in ISO and the European Commit- Test data, when available, helps to guide tee for Standardization (CEN). He car- these decisions. Abstract symbols need to ries out similar roles for the British be learnt, and should therefore be avoid- Standards Institute (BSI). He has Public information symbol ed whenever possible. However, there chaired The Sign Design Society and from ISO 7001 : Cash are some messages which are incapa- was formerly Signing and Design Man- service or cash dispenser ble of direct representation and require ager for Network Rail. He is an honor- or ATM (automatic teller an abstract image, an example being the ary fellow of the University of Brighton. machine) (PI CF 005) biological hazard warning sign.

ISO Focus September 2007 27 Main Focus

• safety signs – the ISO 3864 series, Graphical symbols – Safety colours and safety signs ; • public information – ISO 22727, Graphical symbols – Creation and design of public information symbols Equipment symbol from ISO 7000 : – Requirements (to be published later Windscreen washer ; windshield washer this year) ; and (0088) • equipment – four standards in the ISO 80416 series on basic principles for graphical symbols for use on equip- Safety sign from ISO 7010 : ment, shared between ISO and IEC. Warning biological hazard (W009) Furthermore, the subcommittee Web sites include the application forms Rationale behind and templates for designers. the design The final group of symbols is Accessible, available and actually the largest, and involves those used by all for use on equipment covering a wide range of uses, including, for example, ISO/TC 145 has embraced the industrial machinery, motor vehicles potential of a searchable database as and household electrical products. The the way forward for our compilations of different ways in which these are used, Equipment symbol from ISO 7000 : actual symbols. The committee is there- means that abstract images are more Combine, restricted crop flow (2195) fore at the forefront of the development common. These are the graphical sym- work currently taking place for the ISO bols on equipment covered in ISO 7000 common platform software, which will and IEC 60417. allow the development of standardized This wide and disparate group of databases on standard related informa- graphical symbols still has to conform to tion such as terminology, symbols, and design rules, but in this case, the pure- biometric data. Among the first databases ly visual representation of the intended to be created under this project are ISO image is not always the main criterion. 7001 and ISO 7010, since the commit- There are many reasons for this, includ- tee’s goal is for symbols to be acces- ing the fact that the user groups are more sible, available and used by the wid- frequently part of a trained workforce, est possible audience, so that they can and that the graphical symbols have to improve both the speed and efficiency be reproduced in a much smaller size. of our work. Some will be familiar to all of us, for A final cautionary thought : graph- example, the windscreen (or windshield) ical symbols have to be used properly and washer symbol in our cars, but most are Equipment symbol from ISO 7000 : in the right context. Over-complication Disinfectant for hands (2786) restricted to very specific applications. and overuse can undermine their effec- An example is symbol 2195 Combine, tiveness while some multifaceted con- restricted crop flow (see image). The originally developed by IEC. The issue cepts may not be suitable for a graphi- whole basis of the work implies close of ISO 7000 published in 2004 was the cal symbol. Symbols cannot solve all cooperation with other technical com- final paper based version. ISO 7000 and problems ! mittees and industry bodies. IEC 60417 symbols are now published in Having said that, it is worth repeat- There is a range of conventions a joint ISO/IEC database, which is cur- ing that, through its three subcommit- for representing different functions and rently available by subscription. tees, its many working groups and its actions, such as movement and force. dedicated band of experts, ISO/TC 145 Although many symbols may appear ran- Thinking of a new is committed to continuing to supply dom, there is always a rationale behind these helpful tools for industry, com- the design. symbol? merce and, most importantly, the con- The subcommittee experts face a As well as publishing standard- sumer, providing standardized symbols challenging task to keep up with the con- ized symbols, the committee has devel- for the world citizen of today at work, tinuous flow of new requirements, and are oped a range of design principles to at home and at play. developing a system of electronic voting help those who wish to propose new with, at its heart, an evolving database, symbols for :

28 ISO Focus September 2007 Standards and the citizen

by the food industry and is clearly becoming a global standard to be reckoned with.

Tailor-made approach ISO 22000 has been designed with flexibility to enable a tailor-made approach to food safety for all seg- ments of the food chain. It does not take a one-size fits all approach, since the standards and procedures required for high risk areas in one food sector may not be appropriate in another. For this reason, unlike other schemes, the standard does not provide a checklist methodology. If a company seeks certification with ISO 22000, it needs to follow local and export markets laws, as well as implementing customer’s requests. ISO 22000 requires that industry targets each specific type of food product adequately according to its needs.

Effectiveness through communication Through the development of one system that crosses all branches and borders, food safety is strengthened by the harmonization of working procedures. This is one of the fundamental isms like salmonella and listeria have rationales behind the ISO 22000 stand- Is your food safe ? highlighted the risks of food contam- ard. If everyone uses the same methods ination. and language, the system’s effective- Unsafe food is a risk for all – ness improves, increasing food safe- consumers can become seriously ill, ty, reducing the risk of critical errors and the industry can face costly cor- and misunderstandings, and maximiz- by Jacob Færgemand, Bureau rective actions. The underlying belief ing the use of resources. Veritas Certification, Food that harmonization is possible across today’s global industry is not enough, “Food safety hazards director, BNR Region, and nor are sound food safety directives on Convenor of ISO/TC 34, Food their own. Communication and raising can be introduced products, WG 8, Food safety awareness of potential hazards through- at any stage of the food management systems out the entire food chain – and there- chain.” fore not restricted to one’s company or he safety of feed and food at any department – is crucial. Food safety is ISO 22000 can be applied to all point in the chain from produc- a joint responsibility for all of the par- types of organizations within the food T er to consumer is of worldwide ticipating parties. chain, ranging from feed producers, concern. Food safety hazards may be ISO 22000:2005, Food safety primary producers, food manufactur- introduced at any stage, therefore ade- management systems – Requirements ers, transport and storage operators and quate control throughout the produc- for any organization in the food chain, subcontractors to retail and food serv- tion chain is essential. Examples of aims to ensure that there are no weak ice outlets – together with inter-relat- outbreaks of highly contagious dis- links in the food supply chain. Since ed organizations such as producers of eases in livestock, such as foot and its publication in September 2005, equipment, packaging material, cleaning mouth disease, and of micro-organ- the standard has been well received agents, additives and ingredients.

ISO Focus September 2007 29 Main Focus

Making it safe to eat “ Unsafe food is ISO 22000 combines generally dangerous for all recognized key elements to ensure food safety along the food chain. citizens in the global village.” • Interactive communication Clear communication along the food chain is essential to ensure that all relevant food safety hazards are identified and adequately controlled at each step. This implies communication of an organization’s needs to organizations both upstream and downstream in the food chain. Communication with customers and suppliers, based on the information generated through systematic hazard analysis, will also assist in meeting customer and supplier’s requirements in terms of feasibility, need and impact on the end product.

• System management The most effective food safety systems are designed, operated and updat- ed within the framework of a structured management system and incor- porated into the overall management activities of the organization. This provides maximum benefit for the organization and interested parties. ISO 22000 is aligned with the requirements of ISO 9001:2000 in order to enhance the compatibility of the two standards, and to ease their integrated implementation. better planning, less post-process ver- • Hazard control • Food you can trust ification ; ISO 22000 combines the Hazard Anal- Other stakeholders will bene- ysis and Critical Control Point (HAC- • more efficient and dynamic control fit from : CP) principles and application steps of food safety hazards ; developed by the Codex Alimentarius, • confidence that the organizations with prerequisite programmes (PRP). • all control measures subjected to haz- implementing ISO 22000 have the It uses a hazard analysis to determine ard analysis ; ability to identify and control food safety hazards. the strategy for hazard control. • systematic management of prerequisite programmes ; The standard adds value • wide application because it is focused because it : Advantages for the food on end results ; • is an auditable standard with clear industry • valid basis for taking decisions ; requirements ; Organizations implementing the • increased due diligence ; • is internationally accepted; standard will benefit from : • control focused on what is necessary ; • integrates and harmonizes various organized and targeted communica- • and existing national and industry-based tion among trade partners ; certification schemes ; • saving resources by reducing over- • optimization of resources (internally lapping system audits. • addresses a desire for harmonization and along the food chain) ; from the food processing industries • improved documentation ; concerning food safety ;

30 ISO Focus September 2007 Standards and the citizen

• is aligned with ISO 9001:2000, Qual- A gastronomic family ner, the technical specification : ISO/TS ity management systems – Require- 22003, Food safety management sys- The following standards were ments, and ISO 14001:2004, Envi- tems – Requirements for bodies provid- developed to support the implementa- ronmental management systems ing audit and certification of food safe- tion of ISO 22000. – Requirements with guidance for ty management systems, was published use, and the Occupation Health and in 2007. It provides the necessary infor- Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) Audit and certification mation and confidence on how the certi- and can also incorporate retailers’ To increase the acceptance of ISO fication of an organization’s food safety standards ; 22000 and ensure that accredited certi- management system has been conducted. fication programmes are implemented This technical specification offers har- • contributes to a better understand- in a professional and trustworthy man- monized guidance for the accreditation ing and further development of HACCP.

“ ISO 22000 is clearly becoming a global standard to be reckoned with.”

About the author

Dr. Jacob Færgemand, a food engineer, graduated from the Aalborg Technical Uni- versity, Den- mark (MSc and Phd). Since 1994, he has worked with the Bureau Veritas Certification Denmark, as lead auditor for ISO 9001 and HAC- CP, and as inspector for the BRC (Brit- ish Retail Consortium) scheme. In 1996, he became Food Sector, Manager, and in 2002 Sales Director. He now has a position as Food Director Benelux and Nor- dic Region. Dr. Færgemand is responsible for the Bureau Veritas Certification activities worldwide on BRC inspection and ISO 22000 certification. In 2001, he launched the development of ISO 22000 into the ISO system. Dr. Færgemand chairs the Danish food safety standardization group S-378, and is the Convenor of ISO/TC 34, Food products, WG 8: Food safety management systems. He holds a seat on the food committee of Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). For more information, contact : [email protected]. com, or see : www.certification.bureauveritas.com

ISO Focus September 2007 31 Facts about ISO 22000 Main Focus of certification bodies, and defines the ISO 22000:2005, Food safety management systems – Requirements for applicable rules for the audit of a food any organization in the food chain safety management system compliant with ISO 22000. • ISO 22000 key elements • Involvement of the management team Applying food safety Food safety is not just something to be handled by the quality department. ISO/TS 22004:2205, Food safety It is a top-management issue. ISO 22000 puts focus on the involvement management systems – Guidance on the of the management team, who has to develop overall politics application of ISO 22000:2005, was published in 2005. It provides guidelines on • Communication implementing ISO 22000, with particu- As food safety hazards may be introduced at any stage of the food chain lar emphasis on good examples. interactive communication both upstream and downstream is essential. In 2007, ISO 22000, Food Safety But also internal communication is a key element to avoiding misunder- Management Systems – An easy-to-use standings and minimizing risks. A common vocabulary is a great help in checklist for small business – Are you this matter ready ? was published, to address how The HACCP (Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point) principles small and medium-sized enterprises can • use and implement ISO 22000. ISO 22000 combines the recognized HACCP principles with prerequisite programmes. The hazard analysis determines a strategy and the prerequi- Traceability for feed and food site programmes set up an action plan A new standard was published in • System management June 2007 on traceability : ISO 22005:2007, ISO 22000 relies on a structured management system based on relevant Traceability in the feed and food chain parts of ISO 9001. It is possible to integrate them into one management – General principles and basic require- system together with ISO 14001 ments for system design and implementa- • Developed by food safety experts from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Den- tion. It is nice- mark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, ly linked to Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, USA, Venezuela, Vietnam, ISO 22000, and liaison bodies such as the Confederation of Food and Drink Industries where “trace- of the EU (CIAA), etc. ability” is mentioned very briefly as an important component nies, authorities, and retailers. Some of food producing companies and interna- of food safety. the largest multinational food companies tional certification bodies, where a bridg- ISO 22005 is have been very positive about implementing process has been started. intended for organiza- ing the standard for themselves and their The driving forces for the future tions operating or cooper- suppliers. Authorities in some countries development of ISO 22000’s implemen- ating at any point in the feed plan to let certified companies benefit tation are, to a large extent, retailers, and food chain. The possibility from less frequent controls, and perhaps important food producers and national of certification is left to the user’s consider an outsourcing of public con- authorities. Future dialogue among them discretion. However, the standard requires trol. Retailers in Belgium and Denmark is needed. Authorities have to define that organizations carry out monitoring, are already certified to ISO 22000, but acceptable levels for hazards like sal- internal audit and reviews to assess the greater communication on the benefits monella, coli bacteria and campylo- effectiveness of the system. for retailers is still needed. bacter, and companies need to incorporate control measures that ensure these levels are met. Benefits of building food Driving forces for Another challenge for the food safety the future industry is to maneuver between authorities, clients and internal company Food producers in all parts of It is important to create a common demands on how to make safe foods. the food chain around the world have understanding of the benefits of building ISO 22000 provides guidance on this adopted ISO 22000 as a new global food a food safety management system based never-ending question. The citizen in safety standard. Still, many small and on ISO 22000, for both manufacturing the global village will certainly bene- medium-sized companies are waiting companies and retailers. This is being fit from this development. for the position of the three main mar- addressed by ISO/TC 34, Food products ket drivers : multinational food compa- and branch organizations’ for retailers,

32 ISO Focus September 2007 Standards and the citizen

Medicine without borders by Frans van Bommel, Convenor, ISO/TC 215, Health informatics, working group WG 5, Health cards, and Manager of the Standardization Department at Vektis BV 1)

You are suddenly taken ill in the middle of a country where you do not speak the language and you cannot explain your medical history. What do you do ? In a few years, assuming the standardization process proceeds smoothly, this will be a problem of the past : your healthcard with your medical history will help medical practitioners ascertain what is needed with a minimum of dialogue. Being able to carry a secure card that gives access to your medical tion (RFID), magnetic stripes, integrated on harmonizing the systems and inter- records is a powerful tool in improving circuit memory cards, integrated circuit operability in this fast-moving sector. patient care. By using smart cards, med- smart cards and optical memory cards. ISO/TC 215/WG 5’s brief is to pro- ical professionals are able to access the New horizons for healthcards duce standards in the field of healthcare patient data they need quickly and reli- have opened up, with more portals con- use of machine-readable cards including ably, saving valuable time and expense taining actual information which can be dimensions, defined in ISO/IEC 7810, – and time may be at a premium. secured or accessed by health or identity Identification cards – Physical character- Although there are some ethical cards. The need for large data storage on istics. WG 5 places special emphasis on and technical problems to be resolved, cards will decrease ; however, a minimal technology-independent data structures healthcare cards are almost certain to amount of data still needs to be stored on leading to interoperability and compati- become a part of our everyday lives while the cards as an electronic infrastructure bility, including data communication. offering tremendous improvements. will not be available everywhere. The emphasis is also on develop- This article surveys the bene- Interoperability between health- ing standards for the content of cards. fits of healthcards, focusing specifical- card systems (hardware and software) ly on one standard, ISO 21549, Health is the ability of one healthcard system informatics − Patient healthcard data, to read, use and/or update the data on The work ahead because patient healthcard data could healthcards issued by another health- soon have important applications. card system. ISO/TC 215 is working with CEN/ Many of the benefits of health- TC 251 on the development of healthcard cards derive from the convenience of standards under the Vienna Agreement. What is a healthcard ? using them across geographical and Many of the patient data card standards have already been formally approved, A healthcard contains computer- organizational boundaries; therefore, such as the ISO 21549 series of stand- readable data that is issued to a patient there is a need to develop interoperable ards, which consists of eight parts under or healthcare professional to facilitate healthcard systems. the general title, Health informatics – the provision of healthcare. Patient healthcard data. A variety of technologies can be With the growing use of data cards used to allow computer-readable data Healthcard for practical everyday healthcare deliv- to be stored on a healthcard, including interoperability ery, the need has arisen for a standard- bar codes, Radio Frequency Identifica- Within ISO technical committee ized data format for interchange. The ISO/TC 215, Health informatics, work- patient data carried by a card can be cat- 1) Information Centre of the Dutch Health ing group WG 5, Healthcards, 56 experts egorized in three broad types : identifica- insurers in Zeist, The Netherlands from 20 countries are currently working tion, administrative and clinical.

ISO Focus September 2007 33 Putting fears to rest – Overcoming reticence to Main Focus using healthcards

It is important to realize that a The use of personal health data is a delicate subject, especially due to healthcard has to contain device data concerns about the possibility of public revelation of health data. The risks (common objects) and identification data involved in healthcards are hard to assess. Those in favour of the cards underline and, in addition, may contain admin- their benefits: lower administrative costs and improved attention to the patient istrative, clinical, prescription (medi- because of fuller and more precise information. cation) and linkage data and these all But even this comes under fire as factual information alone can give rise to new problems, such as how to define areas of responsibility and which parts of the card doctors should be able to read in order to prescribe the correct medications. Other doubts have to do with emergencies and the use of biometric functions, for example, the difficulty in deciding whether an unconscious patient has their own card in their wallet or someone else’s. A study carried out by the European Com- mission (EUROCARDS action) has shown that in many European countries thinking of introducing the smart card in health systems, the card was not considered as an isolated object, but as a technology linked to a global communication system. Smart cards are a key element in medical telematics applications. Interoperability between systems of healthcards aims to allow administrative and emergency clinical information, stored in portals or separate healthcards, to be read by healthcare professionals using different computers and software.

eHealth : Healthcards in action About the author Where healthcards have been introduced, the approach must be secure, Frans van as trust in their confidentiality and effectiveness needs to be won. In Taiwan, Bommel studied for instance – a recent example of acceptance of a national card which includes informatics at health data – the IC healthcard rollout marked a major milestone in the techno- the Technical logical advancement of health services, and there are to be multiple stages in this Academy in project, such as ongoing infrastructure upgrades, public education and acceptance Utrecht. For of the new card system. many years he Europe introduced a roadmap for the electronic future : eHealth Action was project plan, eEurope Strategy and i2010. In 2006, the European Commission published leader for the Ministry of the reports ICT for Health and i2010 – Transforming the European landscape – Justice and the Towards a strategy for ICT for health (for more information, see http://ec.europa. Dutch Universities. Since 1989, he has eu/information_society/ehealth.) been the Manager of the Standardization Austria is currently introducing a national healthcard system (e-Card) and Department of the Dutch Health Insurers Germany is replacing its nationwide insurance memory card with a processor card (Vektis BV) in Zeist. From 1997 to with medical data included on it (eGesundheitskarte). Both countries are certain 2007, Mr. van Bommel was the chair of to apply the standard-to-be, ISO 21549. the Dutch mirror group of the NEN The European Health Insurance eye-readable Card (EHIC) will be replaced (Health Informatics) for CEN/TC 251 by an electronic solution in the coming years (e-EHIC). The NETC@RDS consor- and ISO/TC 215. Mr. van Bommel leads tium is preparing the future e-EHIC solution in order to supply the same service the Health Telematic Expert Group for for all European Union/European Free Trade Association (EFTA) citizens based the AIM (Association of International on different, but interoperable, national/regional IT infrastructures. At the moment, Mutuality). He is a member of ebXML national healthcards in Europe are often combined with the EHIC as the back side (UNcefact), EFMI, the eHealth stake- of the national card. The e-EHIC specifications will be developed in 2008 based holders group, the CEN WorkShop upon existing standards (e.g. ISO 21549 Part 5 and Part 6) in a CEN Workshop. eEHIC and eBES. In 2006 he was appointed Convenor of ISO/TC 215/ WG 5, Health cards.

34 ISO Focus September 2007 Standards and the citizen

have clearly defined criteria. For this reason, two recently published standards will help address these issues by specifying the card’s characteristics and the healthcare’s numbering system : ISO 20301:2006, Health Informat- ics – Health cards – General characteristics, and ISO 20302:2006, Health Informatics – Health cards – Number- ing system and registration procedure for issuer identifiers. Among the new ideas for future work items are : • 2006 : All types of cards were used in the US healthcare system (over 100 million) and the need for harmonizing these cards will focus on the identification aspect. The USA Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) will give recommendations for implementation in the future ;

• 2007 : Overview of national healthcare professional card projects (together with CEN/TC 251) ; 2)

• 2007/2008 : Support of the CEN Workshop on “Interoperability of the electronic European health Insur- ance Cards” (WS/eEHIC) ;

• 2008 : Study for the use of health information without a patient data card using universal ID-cards, citi- The benefit zen cards and/or the global system of safe machines for mobile communications (GSM). Common identity cards and mobile – From industry phones can also be used in order to get secure access to administrative to leisure and healthcare data stored in portals.

by Alfred Sutter, Chair of trend is the migration of machines intend- ISO/TC 199, Safety of machinery ed for professional use into the non-professional sector and vice versa. he increased use of machinery is However, while the intensity and one of the key stages in the devel- range of use may vary from country to opment of any country. And there country, and from industry to industry, 2) Note : a healthcare provider is not only T is now a wide spectrum of machine use, the risks of using individual machines are identified as a person but as a qualified person in the role of a specific healthcare from mature societies in the developed the same or at least similar. It is there- professional. world, to those in the emerging econo- fore logical to expect that it should be mies. Today, machines are used both pro- possible to develop a common approach fessionally in key sectors such as metal – a common philosophy and methodol- and wood working, plastics and paper, ogy – to reduce risks arising from the construction, agriculture and forestry, as use of machinery that could be applied well as non-professionally, in the home, anywhere in the world. garden and leisure. Indeed, a growing

ISO Focus September 2007 35 Building a common Main Focus approach

Standards are increasingly being used Risk perception and risk accept- by governments as technical support to The slogan “ do it once – do it ance are very much a question of culture help implement regulation and policy. right – do it internationally ” has in this and sociological context. A strictly tech- This can be seen at the national and instance to be complemented by “ do nical approach to safety of machinery will regional level and also where there is it right from the beginning ” – mean- not be sufficient to find global solutions. international regulatory activity. ISO’s ing that the concept of safety must be The work of the international experts is standards are highly suitable for use in integrated into machinery at the design also a process for better mutual under- this context as they apply to all these stage. It is the designer who knows his standing and validation of risks. levels and as they are fully compliant machine best. When he does everything Historically, national laws and with World Trade Organization (WTO) in his power to ensure that the user of regulations dealing with the safety of requirements, regulators avoid creating the machine can work safely within the machines have developed in parallel with technical barriers to trade. Some key boundaries of the normal anticipated the increased use of machines in response messages for anyone involved in shap- use of the machine, then he is integrat- to societies’ need to benefit from machines ing regulations and policy are that standing safety into the design. without the consequential costs from the ards from ISO : risks that they generate. Individual coun- • support the technical aspects of “ International standards tries have developed their own approach societal and environmental poli- to machinery safety legislation and many cies and contribute to sustainable provide high-level of these sometimes conflicting approach- development across the world; specifications for safe es have been seen as barriers to a truly global trade in machines. Manufacturers • offer the same level of consum- machinery.” still have to produce machines with dif- er protection whether applied in a ferent protective measures to gain access mature or an evolving economy; Safety relies also on the skill and behaviour of the operator. The designer to different markets. • allow products to be supplied and of the machinery must keep this in mind. Different safety requirements in used across different markets and Standards can be of help. They will give each country represent technical barriers to reflect the state of the art. trade, increasing the cost. By harmonizing guidance on how to describe the require- ISO and IEC are now publishing a ref- the safety requirements on a high level of ments of training and safe handling pro- erence document entitled Using and safety, the EU intended to eliminate the cedures for the user. In general, safe- referencing ISO and IEC standards for technical barriers to trade and to improve technical regulation. As well as giv- occupational health and safety. ing the reasons as to why ISO standards should be used, the document contains About the author The revision of the practical advice and examples to show how they can be used; there are prac- Alfred Sutter is European Machinery tical examples showing how regulato- Chair of ISO/ Safety Directive ry texts can be written to give a role to TC 199, Safety of machinery, The purpose of the revision of standards. The document is the first of its kind in ISO and will therefore and Convenor the Machinery Directive in Europe was of ISO/TC 199, to provide greater legal certainty with help member bodies and committees writing standards to have constructive working group relation to other directives, in particular 5, Risk Assess- dialogues with their governmental and the Low Voltage Directive and the Lift ment. He is also public authority stakeholders. Directive. As far as the essential health a member of the and safety requirements are concerned, CEN/Safety of there were no major changes applied. machinery sector Advisory Nucleus. Some requirements, on the other hand, Mr. Sutter worked for several years as of 2009. Some standards will have to be have been made more precise, such as Director of Health and Safety for Europe ergonomic principles and emissions. The revised under ISO lead. at Grace Industrial Chemicals, Inc., in scope has been modified by removing Lausanne (Switzerland), and now works certain types of machines from the list Interaction between man in the Health and Safety Department of of exclusions, e.g. bolt fasteners. the Swiss National Insurance Fund. He Due to the new Directive, the har- and machinery participated in and led various projects monized standards in the field of machin- Safety of machinery entails a for standardization, national legislation ery referring to the essential health and complex interaction – and reaction – and concepts of safety and health at the safety requirements must be adapted. between the individual, the machine work place, and was a member of the Most of the approximately 600 harmo- and the work environment. Not only is Swiss Federal Commission for Occupa- nized standards will require a modifica- this concept important for ensuring the tional Health and Safety for 12 years. tion in the annex ZA in order to make safety and health of employees, but it is With acknowledgment to those members them comply with the new machinery also the foundation of the standardiza- of EUROSHNET who contributed back- directive entering into force at the end tion process for machine safety. ground information.

36 ISO Focus September 2007 Standards and the citizen

ty standards give technical solutions. • contribute towards the achievement Impact on accidents But in the future, standards will have to of equal levels of safety in the vari- Recent data and studies show lay down requirements for training and ous countries for each safety aspect an increase in machine safety and a behaviour much more in order to grant dealt with in a standard ; reduction of accidents. For machines the safety of machinery. facilitate relations between manufac- in production and processing, for Machinery safety standards are • turers, users and bodies in charge of example, the share of accidents with not limited to professional use. The pri- technical inspection and testing ; respect to all occupational accidents vate do-it-yourself market has to com- dropped by 15 % in Switzerland and ply with the state of the art laid down promote the risk-based approach to • 28 % in France (1996-2004). The main in the ISO safety standards. While in machinery design. reasons that contributed to this devel- the professional sector the employ- opment were the legal framework and er has the responsibility for employee “ Market surveillance the application of international har- safety, each private user of machinery monized standards, new technolo- is free in his own activities. It is there- as well as testing and gies, technical progress, automation; fore a challenge for each manufactur- certification are needed to as well as the shift of activities to the er to describe the safe use of machines tertiary sector. in a way that is clear and easily under- enhance the application of stood by all users. international standards.” • Consumers profit from the safety standards applied to machines used also in leisure time. In order to get the standards being applied, market surveillance and conformity testing are required.

Benefits of a common philosophy and methodology The use of a common philosophy and methodology that can be used for any machine and for any risk or combination of risks will : • allow product standards to be developed within ISO and IEC that are based on an internationally accepted approach ; • stimulate the development of protective devices as technology devel- ops ; • promote a constructive dialogue between the developed and develop- This approach, as encapsulat- In a study by the German Berufs- ing countries ; ed in ISO 12100, Safety of machinery genossenschaft, the majority of testing – Basic concepts, general principles and certification in the foodstuff indus- • allow a wide range of interests such as for design – Part 1 : Basic terminolo- tries and catering trade is made on a vol- consumer groups and employee rep- gy, methodology, and Part 2 : Techni- untary basis. The manufacturers believe resentatives to take part in the future cal principles, gives special benefits that the testing procedure contributes to development of the philosophy and to small and medium-sized enterprises an improvement of their product. methodology ; (SMEs) that may not have the resourc- An Austrian investigation of es to develop their own approach to machine accidents showed that 71 per- • contribute towards the development many sophisticated areas of technol- cent of the investigated accidents were of an international machinery mar- ogy. They can also use the standards related to machines without CE-mark- ket through the abolition of techni- with the confidence that they are using ing, suggesting that market surveillance cal barriers to trade ; the methodology that has been devel- as well as testing and conformity assess- • reduce the risks of injury at home, oped by the world’s leading experts in ment are needed to enhance the applica- work and leisure ; the given technology. tion of International Standards.

ISO Focus September 2007 37 Main Focus

The thief stealing a laptop does not generally distinguish between a laptop of a business user and that of a consumer. A laptop is a laptop; it’s only information that is likely to be the big differentiating factor. Of course, the consumer market is quite large and diverse with varying degrees of awareness and understanding of the risks involved. Business users might have purchased a laptop as a consumer but this may contain personal information as well as work information, documents and files. So IT consumer protection covers a vast array of uses. Many standards, such as ISO/ IEC 27001 and ISO/IEC 27002, stress the importance of risk awareness as a key aspect of information security best practice. These standards also advo- cate users carrying out a risk and impact assessment.

article looks at some of the ways that con- Consumer concerns The role of sumers can protect their information and and best practice security information IT from being compromised. controls Consumers have a number of secu- security Risk awareness rity concerns when dealing with IT, but, unlike businesses, consumers may not nec- One of the major issues in infor- protecting the essarily see the connection to the risks. mation security is awareness of users, citi- Many people, for example, are concerned consumer’s use zens and consumers to the risks involved in about their privacy, their medical records, the use of IT. Even though an increasing of IT or the loss of money and other valuables. number of reports on information security It's only logical, therefore, that consum- are highlighted on the Internet and in others take care of the IT products they use er media, there is still a need to promote by applying a number of basic security awareness of the security risks in IT use. by Prof. Edward (Ted) controls to protect their information and For example, there is a risk with: Humphreys, Convenor, the IT itself against such risks. ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27 WG 1, • Using wireless networks; ISO/IEC 27002 (prior to 1 July 2007 this was numbered as ISO/IEC Requirements, security services • Online buying and selling; and guidelines 17799) is a code of practice for informa- • Issues related to phishing, adware and tion security management. This standard ver the last 10 or so years, there has spyware; provides over 130 best practice security been a massive growth in the con- • Online social engineering; controls users can select from to protect sumer market for IT: laptops, per- their information. The ordinary consum- O • Issues related to the theft of IT; sonal computers, and personal data assist- er however, would not need anywhere ants, and various mobile devices. Consum- • Issues related to sensitive and private near all of these controls. Of those that ers are spending their time – more than information; are worth considering are the following ever before – surfing the Internet, using controls from ISO/IEC 27002. • Identity theft. online banking, sending e-mails, booking trips and buying products on the Internet. All these risks can and do have an Consumers are of course the subject of IT impact on the consumer as much as they Passwords security problems, like any other user or do on the small, medium or large organ- In today’s world we are being asked organization. In a number of cases, the izations. The impact could be financial to supply passwords and personal identi- solution is a simple application of some (e.g. the cost of replacing a stolen laptop, fication numbers (PINs) for many of the common best practice based on ISO/IEC theft of credit card details) or it might be services, such as online booking, automat- standards to avoid security problems. This loss of private or personal data. ic teller machines (ATMs) for withdraw-

38 ISO Focus September 2007 Standards and the citizen

ing cash, supermarket checkouts, logging • Change passwords regularly or when- has been received, or do this check in onto our laptops and many other uses. ever there is an indication that there whenever you are suspicious that a An individual may have 10 or more pass- has been a compromise to the com- virus might have been received ; words to remember (unless they have the puter system ; • It is wise to do a virus check when same password for everything which is not • Change temporary passwords at the sharing information with others using advisable). There is always the risk that first log-on. CD, USB sticks or other portable someone nearby can look over the shoul- memory devices ; der and see you enter your password, if, for example, you are using your laptop • Be careful when downloading files in public. There is also the risk that pass- Backups from the Internet, as these may carry words can be stolen online. There are even If a consumer’s PC or laptop sud- viruses, so be suspicious of any file warnings regarding ATM PINs and a hid- denly freezes or crashes, then data that sent from an unknown source ; this also den camera fixed to the side of the ATM has not been saved will be lost. This could applies to the attachments to e-mails recording you entering your PIN. happen whilst using a word processing that might contain malicious piec- ISO/IEC 27002 (previously num- or spreadsheet application. Hence, the es of software. Never click on a file bered as ISO/IEC 17799) provides some user should from time to time save the you have received from an unknown sound best practice advice on man- data during the session unless there is source and be generally cautious of aging and protecting your passwords, automatic recovery capability built into any file which you might receive. including: the application. A consumer should always back Keep passwords confidential ; • up all the data files, information, pictures, Online shopping and • Never share your password ; and movies they store on their IT prod- transactions uct and of course this needs to be done • Use a password of at least 6-characters Another important aspect is the long with a combination of alphabeti- on a regular basis. Backing up this data can be done on CDs, DVDs, USB sticks awareness of security for online shop- cal letters and numbers and not based ping. Nothing is 100 % secure and nev- on anything somebody else could eas- and other removable memory sticks, or on a separate portable hard drive. er will be. Many businesses, however, ily guess or obtain using person-relat- have installed security software into their ed information, e.g. names, telephone online business applications, aimed at numbers, and dates of birth, etc. ; Virus protection protecting customer details from being passed across the Internet between the Laptops and PCs are all vulner- customer and the business. able to computer viruses, worms, Tro- About the author jan horses, and other malicious pieces of software. A laptop or PC may be infect- “ There is still a need to Prof. Ted Hum- ed by such pieces of software in many promote awareness of the phreys (ISMS different ways. One common way is via Research Internet connections, while another is with security risks in IT use.” Professor, Korea file sharing and transfering of infected University) has systems using portable memory devices This provides information securi- been leading the such as USB sticks or CDs. ty between the customer and the online United King- service they have selected to do business dom’s activities There are many anti-virus products on the market that can be used by with – from booking airline flights, hotels regarding the or renting cars, to buying books, software ISO/IEC 27000 consumers that can detect, prevent, and recover from such malicious piec- and other products, and even doing online family of Infor- banking. However this does not remove mation Security Management System es of software. Many laptops and PCs the threat of phishing, which is an attempt (ISMS) standards and the British stand- come installed with anti-virus software. to fraudulently acquire customer informa- ards BS7799 Parts 1 and 2 (which Some of the ISO/IEC 27002 best prac- tion, such as usernames, passwords and formed the basis for ISO/IEC 27001 and tice include : ISO/IEC 27002) since 1990. He is also credit card details, by masquerading as a Update the list of known viruses that responsible for many of the ISMS • trustworthy entity via the Internet. accreditation and certification activities is built in the software since new For example, the phishing attack as well as producing the standard EA types of virus and malicious pieces might be where a user gets an e-mail 7/03. He is an ISMS consultant provid- of code appear and can easily be done that appears to be from his/her bank ing advice to organizations around the online ; or an online service instructing them to click on a link and provide infor- world. He is also founder and Director • Switch off the automatically check/ mation to verify your account. In such of the ISMS International User Group, detect-virus function ; which promotes the global use of the cases, the e-mail did not come from ISO/IEC 27000 family for ISMS stand- • It is wise to do a weekly check on your the bank but from the phisher mas- ards. laptop or PC to see whether anything querading as the bank.

ISO Focus September 2007 39 Main Focus

What should consumers do ? Well, certainly they should be aware of such attacks, and be generally cautious of anything that looks suspicious. Also they might like to consider anti-phishing software, which attempts to identify phishing content contained in Web site and e-mail software. Other threats include those involving spyware (a piece of software that is installed surreptitiously on a PC and laptop to intercept or take partial control of the user’s interaction with the computer, without the user’s informed consent) and malware, which might interfere with the function of other software applications on the PC or laptop, in order to force users to visit a particular Web site. ISO/IEC 27002 provides many other best practice controls to protect IT, which consumers should consider such as : • Use of personal firewalls which helps Flood in Riga, Latvia (Photo : iStock) to stop unauthorized access to a PC or laptop when connected to the Inter- ments that traditionally were once sep- net ; Societal security – arate are becoming integrated : proce- • Use of encryption to protect files stored dures for peace and war merge, internal on PCs and laptops to avoid anyone ISO tackles a new and external security are interlocked, gaining unauthorized access reading field for standards and enhancing state security and provid- the content of consumers files ; ing citizen safety become blurred. These new elements bring about many implica- • Physical protection against the theft tions. Among them are the concepts and of IT, especially of mobile products by Dr. Stefan Tangen, Secretary tools that are needed to enhance securi- such as laptops, mobile phones and ty, citizen safety and crisis management personal data assistants, all of which of ISO/TC 223, Societal security capacity in an increasingly interdepend- become easy targets for thieves. any natural disasters, accidents ent and borderless world. These trans- There are many products on the and terrorist attacks in recent boundary challenges are not covered by market, which would support the imple- Myears have propelled the issue the traditional concept of national civ- mentation of this best practice advice. of crisis management to the top of the il defence. In summary, protecting consum- national agenda in many countries, such ers’ information and IT is a combina- as the recent flooding in England. In order tion of : to meet the demands of emergency man- Crisis management and agement, governments need to engage emergency services • Awareness of the risks involved ; civil society organizations and the pri- The first plenary meeting of ISO vate sector to better prepare, respond to • Doing something about these risks by technical committee ISO/TC 223 was held and recover from such crises. applying best practice as provided in in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2006, attend- The classical focus on nation- ISO/IEC 27001 (some examples of ed by 68 delegates from 30 countries.1) al security will continue to expand in which are given above) ; The meeting was chaired by Ambassa- the future to address a broader range of dor Krister Kumlin, Senior Adviser to • Using some of the products available concerns. This shift entails the ability the Swedish Emergency Management where they are necessary to support of government, business and civil soci- Agency. this best practice (not all best practice ety to function in a crisis, during which controls need to use technology). critical infrastructures must be sustained, the democratic ability to govern must 1) ISO/TC 223 was first initiated in 2001 under the title Civil defence. After a period be maintained, and certain basic values of non-activity, the secretariat was given to are upheld. It is difficult under the pres- the Swedish Standards Institute (SIS) at the sure of a severe crisis to maintain all of end of 2005 and its title changed to Societal these functions. Several security ele- security.

40 ISO Focus September 2007 Standards and the citizen

Chair of ISO/TC 223, Ambassador Krister Kumlin.

The 2nd plenary meeting of ISO/TC 223, held in Bangkok, November 22-24, 2006.

Delegates agreed to focus their work on increasing crisis and emergency management through technical, management and operational approaches, as well as interoperability of emergency services. The standards developed by ISO/TC 223 will help provide protection from and facilitate emergency respons- es to risks from natural disasters, acci- daily life, business operations and gov- WG 3 : Command and control, coor- dents and terrorist attacks that disrupt • ernment services. The committee uses dination and cooperation ; an all-hazards perspective covering the TG 2 : Preparedness and continuity. phases of emergency and crisis manage- • About the author ment before, during, and after a societal These groups are responsible for security incident. the development of several work items Dr. Stefan The technical committee has (the future ISO 22300 series) : Tangen is the continued to grow and more than 100 Secretary of delegates are expected to attend the 4th • Essential information and data require- ISO technical plenary meeting, which will be held in ments for command and control ; committee ISO/ The Hague, Netherlands, 14-16 Novem- • Inter/intra organizational warning pro- TC 223, Soci- ber 2007. cedures ; etal security, and a project • Principles for command, control, coor- manager at SIS, Control, coordination and dination and cooperation in resolving Swedish Stand- cooperation incidents ; ards Institute. • Framework for standards ; He has previously been the Secretary of At the moment, the committee ISO/TC 184/SC 2, Robots and robotic has 29 participating members and 22 • Vocabulary; observing members and is organized in devices, and has worked with numerous • Systems requirements for interoper- the following working groups (WG) and Swedish mirror committees. Before join- ability. ing standardization, he worked as a sen- task group (TG) : ior researcher at the Royal Institute of Many emergency situations take • WG 1 : Framework standard on soci- Technology in Stockholm. Dr. Tangen place in developing countries and their etal security management ; holds a PhD degree in production engi- participation is therefore essential in the neering. • WG 2 : Terminology ; work of ISO/TC 223. For this reason, the

ISO Focus September 2007 41 Main Focus Recovery

Before introduction/ Continuity implementation of IPOCM After introduction/ implementation of IPOCM Emergency response

Preparedness/ Operational level Prevention 100% INCIDENT

Reducing Shorten the period the impact of of disruption incident

Time

The concept of incident preparedness and operational continuity management.

committee established a developing coun- tution), HB 221, Business Continuity take appropriate action to help ensure try contact group in order to ensure that Management, of Standards Australia, the the organization’s continued viability. its work reflects the needs and experienc- standard from Standards Institution of ISO/PAS 22399 will enable the organ- es of developing countries. The concept Israel, INS 24001:2007, Security and ization to measure in a consistent and of twinning is also an important part of continuity management systems – Require- recognized manner its IPOCM incident the committee’s work, with the United ments and guidance for use, and the work preparedness and operational continui- Kingdom and Trinidad and Tobago shar- of the Japanese Industrial Standards ty management capability. ing the convenorship of WG 2. Similar Committee. Interested parties and stakehold- arrangements are under preparation in ers require that organizations proactively the other working groups. “ The committee covers prepare for potential incidents and disruptions, in order to avoid suspension the phases of crisis of critical operations and services or if Guidelines for management before, operations and services are disrupted that preparedness and during, and after a societal they resume operations and services as continuity rapidly as required by those who depend security incident.” on them. IPOCM is a holistic manage- The publication of ISO Publicly ment process that identifies potential Available Specification ISO/PAS 22399, The publication of ISO/PAS 22399 impacts that threaten an organization Societal security – Guidelines for inci- guidelines will establish the process, and provides a framework for minimiz- dent preparedness and operational con- principles and terminology of incident ing their effect. tinuity management,2) will be based on preparedness and operational continuity The work of ISO/TC 223 will five main contributions made to the ISO management (IPOCM) within the con- become increasingly important in the Workshop on Emergency Preparedness text of societal security. The purpose coming years to help organizations and held in Florence, Italy, in April 2006, will be to provide a basis for develop- communities deal with and recover from including parts of the US National Fire ing and implementing emergency prepar- emergencies. It will allow them to devel- Protection Association (NFPA) standard edness and operational continuity with- op procedures and systems, thus making NFPA 1600, Standard on Disaster Man- in an organization and to provide con- them feel more prepared and confident to agement and Business Continuity Pro- fidence during an emergency between handle crisis situations when they arise. grams, the British standard BS 25999-1, organizations, communities and busi- Preparedness and continuity are keys to Business Continuity Management Part 1: ness. The guidelines will provide a tool saving lives and helping affected com- Code of Practice (British Standards Insti- to allow public or private organizations munities rebound when disaster strikes, to consider their preparations to respond thus giving them more resilience than 2) ISO/PAS 22399 is being prepared for to disruptions to their operations in an those who are not prepared. publication and will be available in September emergency situation. It will enable them 2007. to manage and survive the incident and

42 ISO Focus September 2007 Standards and the citizen

Biometric technologies are also associated with the management of welfare, identification cards and loyal- ty programmes. Diverse environments such as amusement parks, banks, mobile devices, passports, driver’s licenses, college dormitories and school lunch applications are already using biometric technologies.

Deployment of standard-based biometric solutions As the marketplace for biometric-based solutions has widened significantly, their importance has dramatically increased. Homeland security is the highest priority for many countries, which are now seriously considering or have already approved new legislation calling for the investigation and use of biometric technologies. The prevention of ID theft will also become a significant market for biometrics in the future. Commercial applications are already using biometrics or are considering the role that it will play in current or future personal authentication systems. Photo : © NIST “The marketplace based solutions are able to provide for Worldwide impact confidential financial transactions and for biometric-based of biometric support personal data privacy. solutions has widened Using biometrics for identify- significantly.” standards ing human beings offers some unique advantages, as it is the only technology in personal that can really identify an individual. The deployment of standards- Other technologies such as tokens can based biometric technologies is expect- authentication be lost, stolen or left at home. Pass- ed to significantly raise levels of secu- applications words can be forgotten, shared, or seen rity for critical infrastructures, which by a third party. For decades, biomet- has not been possible to date with oth- ric technologies were primarily used er technologies. in law enforcement applications, but Deploying these systems requires by Fernando L. Podio, US over the past several years, the mar- a comprehensive set of international, National Institute of Standards ketplace for biometric-based solutions technically sound standards that meet and Technology, Chair of ISO/ has widened significantly. the customer’s needs. Biometric stand- IEC JTC 1/SC 37, Biometrics Currently, whether used alone ards promote the availability of mul- or together with other authentication tiple sources for comparable products iometric technologies can estab- technologies, biometrics are required in the marketplace. lish or verify the personal iden- in many public and private sector In addition to benefiting end- B tity of enrolled individuals. They applications worldwide to authenti- users, system developers and the IT are essential to support more secure cate a person’s identity, secure nation- industry, biometric standards also ben- personal authentication applications. In al borders and restrict access to secure efit customers such as the standards addition to assisting homeland securi- sites, including buildings and compu- bodies that are developing other per- ty and preventing ID fraud, biometric- ter networks. sonal authentication standards.

ISO Focus September 2007 43 Main Focus

Supporting Biometric data interchange format standards interoperability and data interchange • ISO/IEC 19794-1:2006, Information technology – Biometric data interchange formats – Part 1: Framework The development of international bio- • ISO/IEC 19794-2:2005, Information technology – Biometric data interchange metric standards is the responsibility of formats – Part 2: Finger minutiae data ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC 19794-3:2006, Information technology – Biometric data interchange JTC 1, Information technology, subcom- • formats – Part 3: Finger pattern spectral data mittee, SC 37, Biometrics. The subcommittee’s scope is the standardization of • ISO/IEC 19794-4:2005, Information technology – Biometric data interchange generic biometric technologies pertain- formats – Part 4: Finger image data ing to human beings to support interop- • ISO/IEC 19794-5:2005, Information technology – Biometric data interchange erability and data interchange among formats – Part 5: Face image data applications and systems. • ISO/IEC 19794-6:2005, Information technology – Biometric data interchange Generic human biometric standards formats – Part 6: Iris image data include : common file structures ; bio- • ISO/IEC 19794-7:2007, Information technology – Biometric data interchange metric application programming inter- formats – Part 7: Signature/sign time series data faces ; biometric data interchange for- • ISO/IEC 19794-8:2006, Information technology – Biometric data interchange mats; related biometric application pro- formats – Part 8: Finger pattern skeletal data files ; application of evaluation criteria • ISO/IEC 19794-9:2007, Information technology – Biometric data interchange to biometric technologies ; methodolo- formats – Part 9: Vascular image data gies for performance testing and report- • ISO/IEC 19794-10:2007, Information technology – Biometric data interchange ing, and cross jurisdictional and soci- formats – Part 10: Hand geometry silhouette data etal aspects. Excluded is the work of JTC 1/SC 17, Cards and personal identification, for application of biometric technologies to Biometric technical interface standards cards and personal identification, and the • ISO/IEC 19784-1: 2006, Information technology – Biometric Application Pro- work of JTC 1/SC 27, IT Security tech- gramming Interface – Part 1: BioAPI specification niques, for biometric data protection tech- • ISO/IEC 19784-2:2007, Information technology – Biometric Application Pro- niques, biometric security testing, evalua- gramming Interface – Part 2: Biometric archive function provider interface tion, and evaluation methodologies. • ISO/IEC 19785-1:2006, Information technology – Common Biometric Exchange Formats Framework – Part 1: Data element specification “ A number of international • ISO/IEC 19785-2:2006, Information technology – Common Biometric Exchange Formats Framework – Part 2: Procedures for the operation of the Biometric biometric standards Registration Authority are already being required by large organizations.” Biometric conformance testing methodology standards JTC1/SC 37 has recently com- • ISO/IEC 24709.1: 2007, Information technology – Conformance testing for pleted the first generation of interna- the biometric application programming interface (BioAPI) – Part 1: Methods tional biometric data interchange for- and procedures mats standards published under the gen- • ISO/IEC 24709.2: 2007, Information technology – Conformance testing for the eral title, ISO/IEC 19794, Information biometric application programming interface (BioAPI) – Part 2: Test asser- technology – Biometric data interchange tions for biometric service providers formats. The 10-part series applies to a number of biometric modalities, including finger minutiae data, finger pattern spectral and skeletal data, finger image Biometric performance testing and reporting standards data, face image data, iris image data, signature/sign time series data, vascu- • ISO/IEC 19795-1: 2006, Information technology – Biometric performance lar image data and hand geometry sil- testing and reporting – Part 1: Principles and framework houette data. • ISO/IEC 19795-2:2007, Information technology – Biometric performance In addition, a number of biomet- testing and reporting – Part 2: Testing methodologies for technology and ric interface standards were completed, scenario evaluation including the BioAPI-Biometric Appli- cation Programming Interface Specifi- Figure 1 – Published international biometric standards developed by JTC 1/SC 37.

44 ISO Focus September 2007 Standards and the citizen

cation, BioAPI Biometric Archive Func- ry), and fingerprint and iris technolo- by Member States. 3) The document relies tion Provider Interface, the Common gies (optional)]. on international standards – especially Biometric Exchange Formats Frame- The ICAO MRTD Report 1) refers to ISO/IEC standards and ICAO guidelines work (CBEFF) Data Element Specifi- parts of the ISO/IEC 19794 series of stan- on machine readable travel documents – cation and the CBEFF Procedures for dards for these biometric modalities and and includes specifications for biometric the Operation of the Biometrics Regis- requires states to conform to the specifi- face and fingerprint identifiers. A num- tration Authority. cations for the technologies used. ber of standards are referenced in this EU Finally, two parts of a biometric Another application of ISO/IEC bio- document, including an ICAO technical performance testing and reporting multi- metric standards is the Seafarers’ Iden- report 4) as well as ISO/IEC 19794-4:2005 part standard and two conformance testing tity Documents Convention, developed and ISO/IEC 19794-5:2005. methodology standards have been pub- by the International Labour Organiza- lished. As shown in Figure 1, 18 standards developed by JTC 1/SC 37 have been published to date.

Biometric standards for personal authentication A number of international biometric standards are already being required by large organizations. The Internation- al Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) guidelines on machine readable travel documents [MRTDs are published in ICAO Document 9303, which consid- ers only three biometric technologies: facial recognition (listed as mandato-

About the author

Fernando L. Podio is a member of the Computer Secu- rity Division of the Information Technology Laboratory at tion. The Seafarers’ Identity Document the U.S. National 1) Optimizing Security and Efficiency (SID) – enables port authority and bor- Institute of Through Enhanced ID Technology, ICAO Standards and der control officials to verify a seafar- MRTD Report – Volume 2 Number 1, 2007, International Civil Aviation Technology (NIST). Mr. Podio has ers’ identity by comparing his/her fin- Organization (ICAO). worked in different aspects of IT devel- gerprints to the biometric information opment, measurements and standards for on their SID. 2) Biometrics Deployment of EU- over 30 years. For the past nine years he The SID includes the use of two fin- Passports, the European Union password has been involved in biometrics research gerprint templates to be stored in a bar- specification working document (EN) – 28 June, 2006. and standardization. He is currently code as indicated by ICAO Document responsible for the NIST/ITL’s biomet- 9303. It also specifies the use of the fin- 3) Council Regulation (EC) No rics programme in support of the devel- ger minutiae data interchange format stan- 2252/2004 of 13 December 2004 on opment of critical biometric standards dard developed by JTC 1/SC 37. standards for security features and and associated conformity assessment biometrics in passports and travel At the European level, the Europe- documents issued by Member States. activities. He is the chair of ISO/IEC an Union (EU) password specification Official Journal of the European Union, JTC 1/SC 37, Biometrics. working document 2) describes solutions L 385/1. for chip-enabled passports, based on the 100 Bureau Drive, MS 8930 4) ICAO NTWG, Biometrics Deployment Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8930, USA EU’s Council Regulation on standards of Machine Readable Travel Documents, E-mail : [email protected] for security features and biometrics in Technical Report, Version 2.0, 05 May Tel. 1 301 975 2947 passports and travel documents issued 2004

ISO Focus September 2007 45 Main Focus

National programmes 1/SC 37 on biometric performance test- and the Common Biometric Exchange with international ing and reporting: Part 1 and 2 of ISO/ Formats Framework (CBEFF) standard. IEC 19795 published in 2007.7) These enhancements include BioAPI’s benefits The US National Institute of Stan- support for interchange for certificates At the national level, some JTC dards and Technology (NIST) used ISO/ and security assertions and other secu- 1/SC 37 members refer to a number of IEC 19795-2 for the “Minutiae Interop- rity aspects and the development of an International Standards developed by erability Exchange Test (MINEX)” tests. additional part of the CBEFF multi-part the subcommittee. This testing programme was established standard that will specify standard for- In Spain, for example, the coun- to determine the feasibility of using mats for the CBEFF security block. try’s electronic national identity card minutiae data (rather than image data) A joint work effort with Study (DNIe) and e-Passports store biometric as the interchange medium for finger- Group 17 of the International Tele- data using JTC 1/SC 37 standards. The print information between different fin- communications Union (standardiza- DNIe – which includes personal infor- gerprint matching systems.8) tion sector) Question 8 is also under- mation of the citizen, details of elec- International Standards devel- way. The focus of this joint effort is the tronic certificates and biometric infor- oped by JTC 1/SC 37 are also used by development of a BioAPI Interwork- mation – uses ISO/IEC 19794-5 and the Registered Traveler Interoperabil- ing Protocol. ICAO standards for storing the image ity Consortium (RTIC). As specified In addition, JTC 1/SC 37 contrib- of the face, and ISO/IEC 19794-2 for in its specification for the US Regis- utes to the development of related per- storing finger minutiae. The biometric tered Traveller 9), iris images selected sonal authentication standards in oth- data included in Spanish e-Passports use for enrollment shall conform to quality er JTC 1/SCs, such as JTC 1/SC 27, IT ISO/IEC 19794-5 stored in JPEG2000 recommendations of Annex A of ISO/ Security techniques. format (ISO/IEC 15444) 5). IEC 19794-6:2005 (Iris image capture). Furthermore, the document specifies “ Biometric solutions a format defined in this standard as a requirement for the Registered Travel- provide for confidential ler card data. financial transactions and 5) Communication from Dr. Angel L. Puebla, president of AEN CTN71/SC37 support personal data (Spanish subcommittee of biometric identification), Economic and Technical privacy.” Technology innovation Coordination Division of the Spanish In the USA, several organiza- and customer needs Main Directorate of the Police and the Civil Guard, July 2007 tions require selected biometric data JTC 1/SC 37 continues to focus interchange standards and use some of on an ambitious development portfolio 6) Biometric Sub-System Qualification the performance testing methodology Testing, Dept. of Homeland Security, of International Standards. Currently, the Transportation Security Administration standards developed by JTC 1/SC 37. work programme includes 14 projects (TSA) : http://www.tsa.gov/join/ Examples include applications and tests subdivided into 53 subprojects. JTC business/biometric_qualification.shtm performed by government organizations, 1/SC 37 standing document 1 (SD1), private industry and consortia. 7) Testing Facility for Initial TSA available from the subcommittee Web Qualified Product List (QPL) Testing 10) The Transportation Security site , provides detailed information on announcement, International Biometric Administration of the US Department its work programme and the status of Group, 30 January, 2007: http://www. of Homeland Security has issued guid- each of its standards projects. biometricgroup.com/press_releases/ ance for use of biometric technology in Responding to technology inno- pr_2007_QPL.html airport access control systems, and is vation and new customer needs, JTC 8) Minutiae Interoperability Exchange performing tests to establish a qualified 1/SC 37 has initiated the development Test (MINEX) : http://fingerprint.nist. products list of biometric technologies of the second generation of standards. gov/minex04/index.html which meet standards set forth in the This includes revision projects for the 9) Technical Interoperability aforementioned guidance. biometric data interchange formats to Specification, Version 1.2, 2 May, 2007, Products tested in the Transpor- complement and enhance functionality Registered Traveler Interoperability tation Security Administration Qualified of the existing standards, the develop- Consortium (RTIC). Product List Testing include enrollment ment of a number of conformance testing 10) JTC 1/SC 37 Web site : www.jtc1. stations and biometric sensors/readers methodology standards and new parts org, select SC 37 – Biometrics. that can be deployed at access points of the performance testing and report- to secure airport areas.6) The Interna- ing multi-part standard. tional Biometric Group is conducting JTC 1/SC 37 is also enhancing these tests on behalf of the Transporta- the capabilities of the technical inter- tion Security Administration. The test face standards by adding new parts to requirements reference two parts of the the Biometric Application Programming multi-part standard developed by JTC Interface standard (BioAPI specification)

46 ISO Focus September 2007 Standards and the citizen

The standards A standard is a document contain- ing a set of agreed upon rules or norms. ISO 14064 and ISO 14065 specify requirements for greenhouse gas quantification, reporting, verification and accreditation designed to be used in a multitude of situations. ISO 14064 has three stand alone Parts : ISO 14064-1:2006, Greenhouse gases – Part 1: Specification with guidance at the organization level for quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals. Part 1 of ISO 14064 details principles and require- A tonne of ments for designing, developing, managing and reporting organization or com- carbon pany-level greenhouse gas inventories. It includes requirements for determining organizational boundaries, greenhouse gas emission boundaries, quantifying is always a tonne an organization’s greenhouse gas emissions and removals and identifying spe- of carbon cific company actions or activities aimed at improving greenhouse gas management. It also includes requirements and guidance on inventory quality management, reporting, internal auditing and the by Kevin Boehmer, Secretary ISO’s goal in developing stand- organization’s responsibilities in verifi- of ISO/TC 207, Environmental ards for greenhouse gas accounting cation activities. and verification was to provide a set of management unambiguous, verifiable requirements “ ISO standards provide s the measurement, reporting and or specifications to support organiza- trading of greenhouse gases a murky tions and proponents of greenhouse gas guidelines for various business comprised of suspect (GHG) emission reduction projects in market-based schemes.” I using quantification, reporting and veri- projects, backroom brokers and image- conscious buyers ? Or is the greenhouse fication that ensures “ a tonne of carbon Part 1 of ISO 14064 will be of gas business based on international is always a tonne of carbon”. Objectives interest to organizations participating standards, transparent accounting and of ISO 14064 and ISO 14065 standards in voluntary greenhouse gas registries actual emissions reductions ? Although consist of the following : or regulatory allowance-based schemes the reality is no doubt somewhere in • develop flexible, regime-neutral tools or greenhouse gas scheme administrators between, several hundred internation- for use in voluntary or regulatory GHG designing such programmes or schemes. al experts from every continent on the schemes ; This part is consistent with best prac- globe recently completed an arduous tice established in the World Business three and a half year standardization • promote and harmonize best prac- Council for Sustainable Development process to add credibility, consisten- tice ; (WBCSD)/World Resources Institute’s cy and transparency to the greenhouse • support the environmental integrity (WRI) Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corpo- gas accounting world. of GHG assertions ; rate Accounting Standard. And who knows, perhaps in ISO 14064-2:2006 Greenhouse choosing from competing products, the • assist organizations to manage GHG- gases – Part 2: Specification with guid- market may find value in that arduous, related opportunities and risks ; and ance at the project level for quantifica- but ultimately rewarding, process used to • support the development of GHG pro- tion, monitoring and reporting of green- develop the new ISO International Stand- grammes and markets. house gas emission reductions or remov- ards for greenhouse gas quantification, al enhancements. Part 2 of ISO 14064 reporting, verification and accreditation focuses on greenhouse gas projects or – ISO 14064 and ISO 14065. project-based activities specifically

ISO Focus September 2007 47 Main Focus designed to reduce greenhouse gas emis- requirements for organizations that val- Law firms  May engage in sions or increase greenhouse gas remov- idate or verify resulting GHG emission contract law or providing services to als. It includes principles and require- assertions or claims. brokerages or greenhouse gas emission ments for determining project baseline The aim of GHG validation or veri- reduction project developers. scenarios and for monitoring, quantifying fication is to give confidence to parties that Accountants  May be involved and reporting project performance rela- rely upon a GHG assertion or claim, for in greenhouse gas verifications from tive to the baseline scenario and provides example regulators or investors, that the inventories or projects. the basis for greenhouse gas projects to bodies providing the declarations are com- be validated and verified. petent to do so, and have systems in place Institutional investors or pension Part 2 of ISO 14064 will be of to manage impartiality and to provide the funds  May encourage the disclo- interest to project proponents participating required level of assurance on a consistent sure of carbon risk for energy inten- in voluntary programmes or regulatory basis. ISO 14065 provides requirements for sive companies. credit-based schemes or greenhouse gas bodies that undertake GHG validation or Service professionals  May scheme administrators designing such pro- verification using ISO 14064 or other rel- provide greenhouse gas consultancy, grammes or schemes. This part requires evant standards or specifications. accounting or verification services. users to select or establish relevant good practice guidance in fulfilling many of Who should be its requirements to ensure compatibility with existing schemes like the Clean interested ? Need for a common Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Now that the standards have been framework ? Protocol or emerging practice. developed, who is going to use them ? The framework (programmes, reg- Being regime neutral, applicable across ulations, standards) for the management “ ISO/TC 207, sectors, and of use in quantification, ver- of greenhouse gases varies from jurisdic- Environmental ification and accreditation, ISO 14064 tion to jurisdiction. While most coun- and ISO 14065 should have widespread tries in the world are signatories to the Management is considering appeal to the following : UN Framework Convention on Climate further expanding its Governments  May reference Change (UNFCCC), not all have ratified climate change standards standards in regulations. the Kyoto Protocol. Some regions like the European Union and some American GHG Scheme Designers  May portfolio.” states, like California, have established reference or recognize in GHG regulatory regimes, while others rely on ISO 14064-3:2006, Greenhouse schemes or programmes “rules” base. voluntary initiatives. gases – Part 3: Specification with guid- Accreditation bodies  May use ance for the validation and verifica- as basis for recognizing validation or tion of greenhouse gas assertions. Part “ The use of standards verification bodies. 3 of ISO 14064 details principles and developed through ISO’s requirements for verifying greenhouse Large industry  May be subject gas inventories and validating or verify- to greenhouse gas reporting regulation recognized, consensus- ing greenhouse gas projects. It describes or for internal risk management. based process will build the process for greenhouse gas-related Small to medium-sized industry  trust.” validation or verification and specifies May be involved in the supply chain of components such as validation or verifi- The Kyoto Protocol and Euro- large emitters. cation planning, assessment procedures pean Union Directives specify rules for and the evaluation of organization or Banks and financial institutions  quantifying national/facility greenhouse project greenhouse gas assertions. May lend money to institutions or gas inventories or the measurement and Part 3 can be used by organiza- projects that will undertake green- monitoring of offsets, but there are no tions or independent parties to validate house gas emitting projects, therefore generally accepted standards for volun- or verify greenhouse gas assertions and interested in the risk profile of invest- tary programmes, including offset-based establishes new international best prac- ments. “carbon neutral” schemes. Several non- tice for the greenhouse gas validation or governmental organizations and business Brokers and exchanges  May be verification process. associations have developed independent interested in emerging carbon markets; ISO 14065: 2007, Greenhouse standards that are now defining green- standards are key components for gases – Requirements for greenhouse house gas emissions or reductions and ensuring credible commodities for gas validation and verification bodies are competing in the marketplace. How trading. for use in accreditation or other forms of countries, regulators, business or markets recognition. While ISO 14064 provides Insurance companies  May want determine which standards to use should requirements for organizations or per- to demonstrate good corporate leader- depend on the purpose, process and prod- sons to quantify and verify GHG emis- ship in order to encourage action from uct – in other words, the purpose of the sions, ISO 14065 specifies accreditation their customer base. intervention is consistent with the scope

48 ISO Focus September 2007 Standards and the citizen

of the standard, the process used to devel- experts, together with WBCSD/WRI staff, portfolio through the development of new op the standard is credible and transpar- recognized early on the complementary standards for i) quantifying GHG emis- ent, and the product of the standardization nature between a verifiable ISO require- sions from products, events or services, effort is technically appropriate. ments standard and the Greenhouse Gas and ii) GHG-related labelling. Work will Those designing or regulating Protocol which include “ how to” guid- commence shortly on ISO 14066, a new greenhouse gas schemes or participat- ance. Experts thus resolved to maintain standard that specifies competence criteria ing in voluntary greenhouse gas markets consistency between the ISO corporate for GHG validators and verifiers. will ultimately determine which stand- inventory standard (ISO 14064-1) and the ards to use. Those interested in identify- Greenhouse Gas Protocol. Although not ing a straightforward, balanced approach tightly aligned, ISO’s project quantifica- “ The aim of GHG to greenhouse gas quantification, report- tion standard can also be used side-by-side verification is to give ing, verification and accreditation, devel- the WBCSD/WRI Greenhouse Gas Pro- confidence to parties that oped through a bottom-up, internationally- tocol Project Accounting Module. accepted and sustainable process, should The ISO – WBCSD/WRI alignment rely upon a GHG assertion investigate ISO 14064 and ISO 14065. demonstrates that users are not always or claim.” forced to choose from among competing standards, but can realize value from using The former Acting Deputy Execu- Relationship with other the ISO 14064 standards and WBCSD/ tive Secretary of the United Nations Frame- WRI protocols “ side-by-side ”. initiatives work Convention on Climate Change, Mr. Recognizing the alignment ISO 14064 and ISO 14065 were Richard Kinley, noted : “ Like standards in between ISO and the WBCSD/WRI Green- developed in collaboration with many any other market these ISO standards will house Gas Protocol, it is anticipated that international organizations, including the provide frameworks for assessing and ver- voluntary climate risk disclosure initiatives WBCSD, WRI, UNFCCC, Intergovern- ifying greenhouse gases at different lev- – many already referencing the Protocol mental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) els. Applied broadly, they lessen the trans- – may also encourage the use of comple- and International Accreditation Forum action costs to companies. For example, mentary, verifiable ISO standards. Such (IAF). While some participants neces- for those operating in several countries, initiatives include the Carbon Disclosure the costs of understanding different rules sarily “observed” ISO proceedings, oth- Project, UNEP Financial Initiative, Glo- and regulations would vanish. The ISO ers played significant, participatory roles. bal Reporting Initiative and Ceres Inves- standards provide guidelines for various Users now have available standards prod- tor Network on Carbon Risk. ucts built to be used together on compa- market-based schemes and thereby con- ny inventory applications. tribute to the integration of greenhouse The WBCSD/WRI Greenhouse Gas Going Forward gas reduction into the decision making Protocol Corporate Accounting Module has of economic actors. They may also pro- Those developing ISO 14064 an extensive established user base. ISO vide a basis for facilitating connections and ISO 14065 recognized that volun- of different trading schemes by ensuring tary and mandatory climate change pro- that the commodity, in our case carbon, grammes have or are being developed is considered equivalent.”1) About the author in many jurisdictions and that there is ISO, and its underlying mem- a need for consistency in GHG quanti- ber bodies and experts, hope that ISO Kevin Boehmer fication, verification and accreditation 14064, ISO 14065, ISO 14066, and other is the Secretary approaches to reduce duplication, min- emerging GHG-related standards, become of ISO/TC 207, imize costs and provide for comparabil- the glue that binds together greenhouse Environmental ity. In response, they developed a set of management, gas inventory and project-based mech- standards that : and Secretary of anisms across jurisdictions, economies ISO working • are GHG policy neutral ; and greenhouse gas schemes. groups 5 (Cli- The use of standards developed • can be applied across organization mate Change) and project types, sizes and sectors ; through ISO’s recognized, consensus- and 6 (GHG based process will build trust in a mar- Validation/Veri- • satisfy an important market need ; ket beset by mistrust. The building of fication Bodies). He has represented ISO • involve a wide range of stakeholders ; such trust is essential not only for gov- at numerous international climate ernments, business and investors, but also change meetings. He works for the • act as a common “ building block” to for the planet, its climate and its people Canadian Standards Association (CSA). initiatives or GHG programmes ; moving forward. He has a Masters degree in environmen- • are auditable (i.e., validation/verifi- tal planning and has 20 years experience cation, accreditation). in the environmental sector (consultant, standards, and international develop- At present, ISO/TC 207, Environ- ment). mental management, is considering further 1) ISO Management Systems, September- expanding its climate change standards October 2006, p.5

ISO Focus September 2007 49 Main Focus

A government you can trust by Carlos Gadsden, IWA 4 International Secretary 1)

s an institution, ISO has become a symbol of one of society’s most Avaluable assets : reliability. The International Workshop Agreement 4 (IWA 4:2005, Quality management systems – Guidelines for the application of ISO 9001:2000 in local government) is an important example. This agreement 9 November, 2006, Mexico – From left , ISO Secretary–General, Alan Bryden ; IWA 4 Secretary, makes for the first time in the history Carlos Gadsden ; IWA 4 Vice-Chair, Deputy Carlos Madrazo at the IWA 4 in local governments of ISO a direct incursion in local and presentation to the Federal Deputies Commissions on Strengthening Federalism and Economy. international government management. IWA 4 provides local governments al, national and global governments 2), with guidelines for the voluntary appli- “ ISO has become a symbol and the entire system can become dem- cation of ISO 9001:2000, Quality man- ocratically stronger. This type of coher- of reliability.” agement systems – Requirements, with- ent approach will help build reliable and out adding, changing or modifying the consistent governments at all levels. IWA standard. Its aim is to help governments ISO 9001:2000 has gained wide- 4 is in this way opening a new paradigm spread acceptance as a good basis for achieve reliability, and as such constitutes in the field of political sociology. the establishment of quality manage- a tool of enormous importance. ment systems. Its effective implementation constitutes an excellent tool for Trust grows from below A call for quality local governments to reassure local citizens that their needs and expectations are One of the great challenges that Local governments worldwide are experiencing higher levels of demo- fully understood and met on a consistent societies face today is the need to develop basis and in a timely manner. and maintain their citizens’ confidence in cracy and pluralism. Although the needs and expectations of local citizens can IWA 4 has been developed to pro- their governments and institutions. Local vide local governments worldwide with governments have an important role to vary significantly around the world, this trend requires that governments increase a consistent approach to quality manage- play in creating sustainable communi- ment. One of it aims is to “ translate ” the ties where quality, cost-effective and their ability to carry out their mandates in an effective and transparent way. To technical language of ISO 9001:2000 consistent public services successfully into a more user-friendly language for achieve this, local governments need to promote sustainable economic prosper- people involved in local government. effectively manage the available resourc- ity and social justice. These goals can be The intent is to stimulate and facilitate es and processes, and work together as achieved by deploying and interacting their use of ISO 9001:2000 in an integral a system. with national and regional policies in a way. Although some local government With a quality management sys- consistent and compatible way. organizations may already have partial- tem, a local government can direct its It is also possible for local gov- ly implemented ISO 9001:2000 for spe- activities to satisfy the needs and expec- ernments to provide stability and promote cific services, the objective of IWA 4 is tations of the local community. Such a governance when these are lacking at a to promote its use throughout the whole system consists of an organizational regional or national level. A high qual- range of services they provide, including structure together with the planning, ity performance of the municipal gov- any contingency requirements. ernment can correct and improve public processes, resources and documenta- Certification is not necessary to policies originating at different govern- tion needed to achieve quality objec- achieve a local government’s objectives ment levels. Through local governance tives and provide continual improve- of reliability, responsiveness and trans- integrity we can build stronger region- ment of the products and services that parency, although this might be encour- are delivered. aged by regional or national government 1) The author, Carlos Gadsden, is the IWA 4 initiatives. Nor should conformity to ISO International Secretary. Some parts of this paper were published in the IWA 4 2) “ Through the local” refer to “ Desde lo 9001:2000 be regarded as a final objec- introduction with the invaluable help of Nigel Local ”, a “ bottom-up ” decentralization tive in itself – once a local government is Croft and in Política Digital (May 2007) approach which in México has become a delivering consistent, conforming serv- [email protected] national governmental program. ices to the local community, it should

50 ISO Focus September 2007 Standards and the citizen

look beyond conformance to performance. It can then, for instance, consider the application of ISO 9004:2000 and/ or other excellence models, such as the EXCELLENCE MODELS European Foundation for Quality Man- agement (EFQM), to improve its overall efficiency. ISO 9004: 2000 The relative stages in the implementation of a quality management system and the role of this document can be seen schematically in Figure 1 opposite. ISO 9001: 2000

Processes and outcomes Reliability line matter The innovation of IWA 4 is that ISO/IWA 4 it addresses : QUALITY LEVELS IN LOCAL GOVERENMENTS • the integral management of all the processes a local government should Reliable Efficient Excellent develop in order to be considered reli- Not reliable able by its citizens ; Figure 1 – Schematic diagram to show the positioning of this IWA 4 guidance. • the involvement and commitment of top local authorities (political and technical, under the lead of the may- • the need to define outcomes first, in Watch out for red order to establish and connect the pro- or) with the quality management proc- Annex B is the most relevant cesses required to achieve them ; and ess of the local government ; tool of the document. It is inspired by • the measurement and verification of the United Nations 21st Local Agenda, the 39 indicators of standard manage- and based on “ From the Local Agenda ” About the author ment which, according to experience – a document developed by the Mexi- and common sense, local governments can government through the National Carlos Gadsden “ cannot afford not to meet ”. Institute for Federalism and Municipal is the Secretary The annexes in IWA 4 provide : Development (INAFED) in cooperation of the team that with other actors. developed IWA 4. • examples of services and associated Director of the processes that local governments should Organización de strive to provide (annex A); and “ Today, one of the great Servicios Inter- a simple methodology to assess their disciplinarios • challenges is the need degree of effectiveness and maturity (OSI), a consult- to maintain citizens’ ant firm, he has (annex B). confidence in their over 20 years of experience in local governments and inter- governments.” governmental relations issues. As a quality Unanimous approval management and organizational develop- In Mexico, this methodology ment consultant since 1981, he has worked IWA 4 is the result of a carefully drafted proposal delivered by Mexico has been applied to over 300 municipal with more than 100 enterprises and insti- governments. It uses a traffic-light type tutions. He was General Director of the for an international workshop agree- graphic, based on 39 indicators that every National Institute for Federalism and ment, following long and thorough local entity should meet to be regarded Municipal Development (INAFED), an research based on experiences from as reliable (Figures 2 and 3, overleaf). institution which is in charge of the inter- the past 20 years. governmental relations between the feder- It is scored as follows : Eighty-two participants, from al and municipal governments in Mexico, • Green light = compliance ; 18 different countries, discussed and his native country. He was also president • Yellow light = halfway compliance ; of the Inter American Network of the unanimously approved the IWA doc- Highest Authorities in Decentralization ument for local governments in May • Red light = poor performance. and Local Governments (RIAD) of the 2005. It was published in October 2005, The latter exhibit those features Organization of American States (OAS). becoming the fourth international work- that prevent local governments from being shop agreement issued by ISO. E-mail [email protected] reliable. For example, in the case of sol- Web www.osimx.com id waste disposal, open-sky dumps will

ISO Focus September 2007 51 “Check-up” System for reliable local government Main Focus

Minimum acceptable Below the acceptable Unacceptable score red, but fenced and guarded open- practices level practices level practices level sky city dumps would be rated yellow. To achieve the green of reliability the minimum standards need to be met, in this 1. Institutional case, a controlled, fenced, and guarded development 2. Sustainable city dump complying with environment for good economic protection standards, and running a suf- government development ficiently efficient collection system. “ Through integrity in local governance we can build stronger regional, national and global governments.” On the other hand, in this example, waste separation is beyond mini- 4. Sustainable 3. Inclusive environmental social mum reliability and, although desirable, development development it is not required by the system. Annex B focuses solely on achieving minimal or basic reliability to create a strong base for further improvement. If this level Figure 2. is not reached, a local government will have difficulty implementing related initiatives. In this particular case, it would three more years of international expe- have a serious problem with waste sep- rience, since the instrument will be test- aration programs and repercussions for ed by several local governments in ISO the environment. member countries. The result will be a IWA 4 will be reviewed next year more polished document, meeting the (2008) to improve and adjust it to the requirements of an International Stand- needs of any local government, so that ard for local governments which choose its minimum principles can be met in to achieve reliability. any part of the world. This will create

Global application In addition to the original versions published by ISO in English and French, there is an official Spanish version, reviewed in 2005, and approved in 2006 by the Spanish Translation Task Group of ISO technical committee ISO/TC 176, Quality management and quality assurance. Italian and Ara- Figure 3 – “Check-up” system for reliable local government bic versions are waiting to be official- Local government at an acceptable level (using 39 indicators) ly approved.

52 ISO Focus September 2007 Standards and the citizen

A Reliable Government Interna- tional Recognition has been set up based on IWA 4, and supported by the World Council for Quality 3). It was granted to the local government of Irapuato, Mexi- co, in May 2007. This recognition will be promoted by national networks, together with different stakeholders involved, in order to work towards sustainable management systems. Among them, Microsoft for example, has developed a free Web site to enable local governments – through a digital access to the Internet – to carry out a self-assessment, verify this diagnosis with hard evidence, and develop a quality management plan. IWA 4 has been adopted in many countries 4), among them Spain, Mexico, Italy and Egypt, which have already published their own national norms or guidelines (UNE in Spain, and NMX in Mexi- co), or are in the process of doing so. BRC is starting to make a real impres- The application of IWA 4 is explic- Management sion in influencing the shape of legisla- itly promoted by an association of local tion in the United Kingdom. governments in Scotland, as well as by system standards At the European level, the Euro- the Instituto Latinoamericano de Aseg- can play greater pean Commission has launched a pro- uramiento de la Calidad (INLAC) in Lat- gramme to reduce the volume of Euro- in America. It would be useful for the role in better pean legislation and simplify that which IWA 4 Secretariat to learn about other remains. The Commission sees better existing experiences 5). regulation regulation as a key factor in business I quote here a reflection made by competitiveness, growth and employ- Francesc Martinez, city manager of the ment performance. municipality of San Fost de Campsen- by Lord Lindsay, Chairman As part of my work on the BRC, telles, Barcelona, regarding IWA 4 : I have encouraged greater considera- “ The assessment we have under- of the United Kingdom tion of the role standards and accred- taken – and we have informed this to the Accreditation Service ited conformity assessment can play in Spanish Federation of Municipalities support of lighter touch regulation or he desire for better regulation and Provinces’ Main Council – reveals even as a self-regulatory alternative to seems to be a common theme for the convenience of ‘riding the IWA 4 legislation. government these days. car’, since it is by far, with its perfect- T There are numerous examples In the United Kingdom, the Better ible aspect, the best or maybe the only where legislation is supported by accred- Regulation Commission (BRC – www. tool for the encouragement of continu- ited laboratory testing, such as for water brc.gov.uk) was formed early in 2006 ous improvement and reliability of local quality and food safety, and inspection, 6) to give independent advice to the British administrations” . such as surveying for asbestos. It is clear Government on action to reduce unnec- that accredited testing and inspection to essary regulatory and administrative bur- recognized standards play a key role in dens. The BRC continues the work of the a modern legislative framework. Better Regulation Task Force which had 3) www.inlac.org been carrying out a similar function for 4) IWA 4 is currently in use in several Latin a number of years. American countries, and in Egypt, Italy, The BRC has a high profile and Environmental field Scotland, Spain and Russia, among others. reports directly to the Prime Minister. But I believe that management 5) www.osimx.com and [email protected] Part of its work is to challenge depart- systems standards can contribute as ments and regulators to ensure that regu- well and this too has been part of our 6) See the extract of the evaluation document lation, and its enforcement, accord with by Fernando Monar, currently the Quality considerations. Probably the best cur- General Director of the Spanish Autonomic the five principles of good regulation – rent example is in the environmental Government of Balearics in www.calidad. proportionality, accountability, consist- field where environmental management org/public/articles/1138533997_monar.htm ency, transparency and targeting. The systems (EMS) are now recognized as

ISO Focus September 2007 53 Main Focus contributing towards regulatory com- “ More needs to be Regulatory recognition pliance as well as delivering improved But it also brings with it a respon- environmental performance. done to involve sibility to ensure that the standard and The United Kingdom Environ- government in standards, certification to it retains credibility in ment Agency’s pan-European “ remas” the market place and with the regu- study, which investigated the effective- certification lators. To reach the point where ISO ness of EMS in the context of regula- and accreditation 14001:2004 was given this degree of tion at over 320 sites across Europe, processes.” regulatory recognition in the United showed that there is good evidence to Kingdom, we had to give careful con- indicate that an EMS can lead to better sideration to the outcomes required and environmental controls and help achieve With climate change at the fore- how the certification process can ensure improvements that can be sustained over front of global attention, there is a real that they are delivered. a long period. opportunity for standards to make a business-friendly contribution at the inter- This was successfully achieved national level. through a cooperative consultation process “ EMS are now The recognition of ISO 14001:2004 involving the United Kingdom Accred- recognized as contributing in this way represents a valued return for itation Service (UKAS), British Gov- the work of the standards, certification ernment officials, certifiers and indus- towards regulatory and accreditation communities and is try associations. compliance.” very timely following the recent ce- But in my experience, this level of lebration of the 10th anniversary of its interest by government is rare. I believe adoption. more needs to be done to involve gov- The United Kingdom’s Department ernment in the standards making, certi- for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs fication and accreditation processes if has reinforced this message by public- management systems are to make a real ly endorsing the view that an EMS with contribution to better regulation. This is accredited certification to ISO 14001:2004 a challenge standardizers, certifiers and is the best aid to companies in the man- accreditors must address. agement of their environmental risks, About the author liabilities and legal compliance. Lord Lindsay Indeed, companies with accredit- is currently “ An International ed certification receive greater recogni- Chairman of the Standard offers huge tion under the Integrated Pollution Pre- United Kingdom vention and Control (IPPC) legislation, Accreditation potential-given making it easier for them to obtain the Service (UKAS the global nature of environmental permits required. Ltd.), a member They also receive credit under the of the United the food industry.” Operator and Pollution Risk Appraisal Kingdom’s Bet- (OPRA) scheme. OPRA determines the ter Regulation Food safety fees and charges levied on IPPC-regulat- Commission ed sites so businesses with a robust and (BRC), Vice Chairman of SAC Ltd. and What of the future ? I am hopeful effective EMS can benefit from reduced a Non-Executive Director of British that similar regulatory credit can be giv- costs. Similar recognition is also being Polythene Industries plc (BPI) and en for compliance with ISO 22000:2005, given under the Climate Change Agree- Scottish Resources Group (SRG). the new standard for food safety man- ments. His career has included a number of agement systems. We have already seen senior British Government posts and the effective use of national standards appointments, and from 1995 to 1997 he in this sector, such as the British Retail Many countries was Under Secretary of State for Scotland Consortium scheme, but the availability of an international standard offers huge Of course, the provision of reg- with responsibilities for agriculture, the potential-given the global nature of the ulatory relief for the use of EMS is not environment, rural affairs, sustainable development and forestry. food industry. unique to the United Kingdom. Many Beyond that, I would like to countries across Europe, including Den- Lord Lindsay has in the past also explore the possibilities of using occu- mark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Nether- chaired or served on the boards of a pational health and safety management lands, Norway, Portugal and Spain, now number of commercial companies, systems in a similar way. But that’s run similar schemes. The US Environ- including UA Group plc, ABM Ltd. another story ! mental Protection Agency has its National (an accredited certification body) and Genesis Quality Assurance Ltd. Environmental Performance Track programme and other governments are tak- E-mail : [email protected] ing a similar approach. Web www.ukas.com

54 ISO Focus September 2007 Developments and Initiatives sumption patterns. ISO/COPOLCO’s ISO/COPOLCO’s patterns. con sumption sustainable about concerns ing grow with tandem in decade, past the over dramatically risen has services and products marketed and produced fair issues. trade discuss to (ABNT), Normas Técnicas de Brasileira Body, Associação Standards National Bra the zilian by hosted Bahia, Salva de in dor 2007 May in organiza met tions trade fair and NGOs T & Public Interest Network BSI British Standards Consumerby Arnold Pindar, Member, Salvador de Bahia. de Salvador h dmn fr ethically- for demand The COPOLCO), consumers, consumers, (ISO/ COPOLCO), policy on sumer n o c Committee ISO he on fair trade claimstrade fair on ? Can consumersCanrely

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2007 55 - - -

Photo : Pascal Krieger, 2006 Developments and The fair trade Initiatives movement

The fair trade movement traces its Benefits of fair trade origins back to post-war Europe. It need to take global warming more seri- for producers is principally organized in two inte- ously. Sixty percent of consumers want grated modes : companies to provide more information Dr. Michael Conroy, Board Mem- at the point of sale about the effects of ber of TransFair USA and Co-founder of • Vendors led by the International their products on climate change. Over Colibri Consulting, talked about the fact Fair Trade Association (IFAT), a half of consumers believe governments that in fair trade, benefits are returned to global fair trade network of near- should be forcing businesses to phase producers, giving them additional income ly 300 organizations ; out products that contribute to global received from higher prices. Fair trade • Vendors where a certified/labelled warming. Seventy percent of consum- provides greater access to credit for the fair trade product is sold among ers want climate change claims made by expansion of production, given the rel- conventional products (led by businesses to be proven by independent ative stability of the financial relation- the Fair Trade Labelling Organ- third parties. ships, and therefore greater economic ization International (FLO), an and social stability for farmers because association of three producer of this financial stability. It also provides networks and 20 national label- greater access to training and enhanced ling initiatives that promote and ability to improve products and the devel- market the fair trade certification opment of new and beneficial networks mark in their countries. It regu- of contacts among producers. Training larly inspects and certifies pro- and marketing opportunities for family ducer organizations in more than members to develop alternative income 50 countries in Africa, Asia and sources lead to : Latin America, encompassing • enhanced family stability ; approximately one million families of farmers and workers). • contributions to cultural revival ; • increase in organizational credibility ; Fair trade encompasses more than a million farm workers, plus From left : Mr. Alan Bryden, ISO Secretary- • access to a broader range of govern- workers in other industries, and is General ; Ms. Jai Ok Kim, COPOLCO ment support programs. driven by producer organizations, Chairperson, and Mr. Pedro Buzato Costa, faith-based groups, student associ- President, ABNT. ations, and dozens of NGOs. “ Tru- ly a global social movement,” stated Ms. Lazzarini said, “ Consumers Dr. Michael Conroy. Growth in fair are more and more aware of the impact trade is currently 30 % per year when of trade on the environment and socie- related to sales and 10 % per year ty ”. However, it is difficult for consum- related to farmer/producers. ers to compare one product with another. Ethical products may be referred to Fair trade’s unique selling by differing names such as “ eco-friend- proposition is that it is a market- ly ”, “ fair trade ”, etc., that tend to con- driven development tool that is trans- fuse. United Kingdom consumers are forming global trade through ethical the largest purchasers of fair trade prod- consumption. The most important ucts. This has resulted in major brand driver is business-to-business quali- supermarkets stocking these products. If ty assurance on the social origins of supermarkets can supply, say, 20 % fair products, rather than being consum- trade products, we may reach a tipping Ms. Kim thanked the host and welcomed er-driven. The fair trade movement point whereby consumers ask – why not participants in her opening address. recognizes that more consumer input all products ? could be of benefit, and has been con- She added that the responsible sidering how to achieve this. The consumer’s choice should be the easy choice – the outcome whereby consumers gain con- perspective fidence in the information on which they Ms. Marilena Lazzarini of Con- base their decisions, and the confidence sumers International provided a perspec- that these decisions will not backfire tive on consumers and social responsi- on them. She called for transparency of bility. claims and illustrated this by reference Two thirds of consumers agree to the Consumers International study, that everyone needs to take more respon- From Bean to Cup (www.consumers- sibility for their personal contribution to international.org/coffee), on how con- global warming and that corporations sumer choice impacts coffee producers

56 ISO Focus September 2007 Ms. Golodner also looked at • fair operating practices ; these issues in relation to ISO’s work • consumer issues ; on social responsibility and how the nar- rower focus of fair trade in offering bet- • community involvement/society devel- ter trading conditions and securing rights opment. of marginalized producers and workers Ms. Golodner explained the dif- related to social responsibilities’ head- ferences between the following terms, line priorities of : which are often used in the context of • environment ; referring to fair trade and sustainable development. • human rights ; • Sustainable consumption – making • labour practices ; and/or using a product with concern • organizational governance ; about environmental impact. The Workshop took place in conjunction with the COPOLCO plenary meeting and a national seminar, “ Tourism and consumers’ rights ”. and the environment. In concluding, she called for common definitions of ethical and fair trade and for ISO/COPOLCO to explore further the need for a standard to assist in mainstreaming fair trade.

Defining fair trade Linda Golodner, President and CEO, National Consumer’s League, ANSI, USA, considered the differences between ethical trade, fair trade, sustainable consumption, and social responsibility from a consumer perspective. It rapidly became evident that there was con- Ms. Jai Ok Kim, COPOLCO Chair (at centre), welcomes participants. Ms. Marilena Lazzarini, siderable confusion about the meaning President of Consumers International, is next to her at right. and application of these terms.

• Ethical trading – fair labour and socially responsible practices reaching throughout the supply chain. • Social responsibility – being account- able for actions and decisions on others and the natural environment. • Fair trade – greater equity in international trade by offering better trading conditions and securing rights for marginalized producers and workers.

Associations and alliances An overview of the achievements and increasing governmental recognition of the fair trade movement was Front row, from left : Ms. Linda Golodner, President of the National Consumers’ League (ANSI, given by Karin Kreider, Deputy Direc- USA) ; Ms. Irma Keijzer, Senior Policy Advisor, Dutch Ministry of the Economy ; Ms. Barbara tor, Rainforest Alliance and President Fliess, Senior Policy Analyst, Trade and Agricultural Directorate, OECD ; Mr. Carlos Amorim, of the International Social and Envi- Director of International Relations, ABNT ; and Mr. Ricardo Fragoso, General Director, ABNT. ronmental Labelling Alliance (ISEAL).

ISO Focus September 2007 57 Photo : Pascal Krieger, Zarzis, Tunisia, 2005 Developments and Initiatives 58 58 ISO

Focus September

2007 facing the fair trade movement were were movement trade fair the facing communication Improve behaviour. consumer and practices business tices, prac land-use transforming by them, on depend that wildlife and people the and ecosystems protect to tourism and ture agricul forestry, in working is Alliance Rainforest the how of examples vided pro and mission the described Ms. Kreider systems. multiple to access pro ducer facilitating and systems between overlaps reducing of aim the with rate ISEAL. of member one is Alliance Rainforest issues. social and tal on environmen focus that organizations conformity-assessment and ards-setting stand international voluntary of leading association an is Alliance ISEAL The south fair trade. They see fair trade as as trade fair see south/ They trade. fair promote south to forgetting not but importance great of as trade north/south recognizing market, national the on focus is Their inclusion”. social and ity equal promoting Brazil, in soli trade and dary fair of out carrying and tion construc the to favourable environment an of creation the “fomenting as mission their described Brazil, do Faces retary, system trade fair Brazilian The trade fair movement. the within developed been already have that procedures and ards stand existing of duplication and ers, produc on imposed costs certification extra for potential participation, holder stake adequate alia: inter trade, fair of standardization with concerns shared markets. final to gin ori from products, of traceability and producers of auditing strict processes, standard-setting participatory on effec tively more communicate to need the mentioned further He produc workers. to and ers benefits the and trade about fair consumers and businesses both with trade better fair communicate to the movement for need a recognized He Conroy. Michael Dr. by explained Communications challenges challenges Communications collabo members addition, In Fabiola Zerbini, Executive Sec Executive Zerbini, Fabiola widely- some expressed also He ------development of tourism in Brazil, in part through national standards. To this end, it is working in close partnership with the Brazilian government and with ABNT on standardization and certification activity in the areas of sustainable tourism, adventure tourism and personnel. This case study usefully illustrated how standards could help support sustainable development of tourism, an important economic sector for Brazil.

The role of standards in fair trade Ms. Fatma Bensalem, Project Manager at AFNOR, ISO member for France, elaborated on what an international fair trade standard might look From left : Dr. Michael E. Conroy, Board Member, TransFair USA ; Ms. Fatma Bensalem, Project like for fair trade standardization. She Manager, AFNOR ; Ms. Karen Kreider, Deputy Director, Rainforest Alliance ; Ms. Jai Ok Kim, and Ms. Irma Keijzer. At the lectern : Ms. Barbara Fliess. presented the French experience on the development of a national convention on fair trade, followed by a survey to a social construction process within a • Rules – principles and criteria (guar- political framework leading to social anteeing a national identity to the transformation. Recent developments concept) ; have culminated in a Brazilian fair trade Recognition System – self-evalua- system law and the establishment of a • tion, participative guarantee systems, Fair Trade Commission. third party certification and buyers’ Ms. Zerbini outlined the com- recognition ; ponents of the Brazilian fair trade system : • Social Control – producers and consumers controlling and improving the system ; About the author • The benefits – an action plan of fair and “ solidary ” trade. Arnold Pindar, independent con- Ms. Zerbini explained that the sultant and mem- Faces do Brazil concept of fair trade ber of the BSI is strictly related to empowering small British Standards producers ; the main principle being the Consumer & democracy and the transparency in the Public Interest productive group’s management proc- Network, was There were many opportunities to ask formerly Head of ess. “Experience in Brazil had con- questions : above : Ms. Zerbini, Executive Consumer firmed the need for fair trade to be Secretary, FACES do Brasil, responds to a Affairs at the recognized by governments to devel- participant. British Standards Institution, where his op and progress the system.” However, work covered consumer, societal and edu- fair trade is a grass-roots development the members of COPOLCO and other cational interests in standardization. where traders and producers have built stakeholders in fair trade. Ms. Bensalem For five years Mr. Pindar was Chair of a “soul of fair trade”. suggested that standardization of the ISO/COPOLCO’s working group, Another Brazilian speaker, Mr. terms and definitions of fair trade and Priorities from the consumer’s point of Leonardo Persi, described success in a definition of basic principles would view. He also chaired the coordination the standardization of tourism-related be useful. She further mentioned the group of The European Association services in Brazil. His organization, importance of effective consumer infor- for the Coordination of Consumer Instituto de hospitalidade, is a Brazil- mation about fair trade production and Representation in Standardization ian NGO which is concentrating on distribution processes, and traceability (ANEC) for seven years. developing solutions for sustainable issues linked to fair trade claims.

ISO Focus September 2007 59 Developments and Initiatives were disparities in their response to to response their in disparities there were that to but production, attesting labels responsible in interested gener ally were consumers that dem onstrated also It sectors. four these report in ing and labelling ethical by erage cov of degrees varying showed study The (clothing). textiles flowers, and cut cosmetics, dif fisheries, four sectors: in ferent reporting corporate labelling and examined study prehensive 1 Parts 2, & 47 No. Paper (OECD Working Trade production global of ditions con environmental and social about ers consum Informing : trade and sibility respon social corporate study OECD an of results of describing Economy, Ministry the Dutch Keijzer, and Irma Ms. (OECD) Development and Co-oper ation Economic for Fliess, Organization Barbara Ms. by detail more in addressed was to labelling, reference cial 60 60 http://oecd.org/tad ISO Consumer information, with spe with information, Consumer

Focus September

2007 ). Their com Their ). ------

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- Coming up

Developments and Initiatives

Faster, easier and more accurate emission calculations International concern for carbon emissions and climate change has drawn attention to the combustion of fossil fuels – in particular, specific coals and their carbon content. Evaluation of the impact of carbon dioxide emissions from coal combustion will require the accurate determination of carbon in coal. A subcommittee within ISO/TC 27, Solid mineral fuels, is developing an instrumental method for the determination of carbon as well as hydrogen and nitrogen – that will be less time-consum- ing and labour intensive than current methods. Results from an interlaboratory study have demonstrated that this future

Main Focus

Trade and transport giving best practices to tighten their security, including electronic seals and Today the world economy has become tracking, and their role in helping to globalized. The economic system is increase trade. The issue will present changing from one with distinct local new developments in security of the and national markets, separated by trade global supply chain, with special barriers, distance, time and culture, to attention given to the ISO 28000 series, one that is increasingly converging and as well as to transport packaging for integrating into a global economy. dangerous goods and radio-frequency These increased levels of world trade identification (RFID). It will also cov- require International Standards for er the truck-loading efficiency of pal- transport and the coordinated actions of lets, the performance of air cargo unit governments, intergovernmental organi- load devices and the transportation of zations and industry. goods through pipes, known as pipeline Trade and transport facilitation is transport. increasingly relevant for countries that In an exclusive interview in the October need access to fast, reliable and frequent 2007 issue, Michel Danet explains the transport services to serve their foreign purpose of the World Commerce Organ- trade, while, at the same time, seeking ization (WCO) Framework of Standards to comply with new and more stringent to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade security requirements. and the role and benefits of ISO stand- The October 2007 ISO Focus issue will ards. Mr. Danet believes ISO is making look at International Standards for the an important contribution to the securi- standard will improve the accuracy and transport industry and their contribution ty of world trade. “ These ISO standards reduce the variability of the rapid to a more efficient environment for contribute directly to the security of instrumental methods for the determina- international trade and transport for the containers and therefore to the security tion of carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen benefit of governments, traders, transport of world trade when seen against the in coal in the same laboratory and service providers and other stakeholders. fact that at least 80 % of goods being transported internationally are done so between different laboratories. This With international trade largely depend- as containerized cargo,” he states. method will also provide more reliable ent on freight containers, the issue will calculations of carbon dioxide emis- highlight a selection of ISO standards sions from coal combustion.

ISO Focus September 2007 61 ISO Standards collection on CD-ROM

ISO 14000 environmental management

4 and NEW 1406 ! ISO greenhouse 14065 for ISO gas accounting, veriﬁcationtrading and emissions

Available from ISO national member institutes (listed with contact details on the ISO Web site at www.iso.org) and the ISO Central Secretariat Web store at www.iso.org or by e-mail to [email protected].

environmental integrity social equity economic growth ISO standards for sustainable development