ISO Focus, November 2007.Pdf

ISO Focus The Magazine of the International Organization for Standardization VolumeVolume 4, No.No. 1111, November 2007, ISSN 1729-8709

• ISO Award for Higher Education • 30th ISO General Assembly Contents

1 Comment Ziva Patir, ISO Vice-President (technical management) 2 World Scene Highlights of events from around the world 3 ISO Scene Highlights of news and developments from ISO members 4 Guest View Winner of the ISO Award for Higher Education ISO Focus is published 11 times a year (single issue : July-August). in Standardization : Prof. Song Mingshun from It is available in English. China Jiliang University Annual subscription 158 Swiss Francs Individual copies 16 Swiss Francs 8 Main Focus

Publisher ISO Central Secretariat (International Organization for Education for all Standardization) • ISO Award selection committee 1, ch. de la Voie-Creuse • Five out of the six ISO Award finalists : CH-1211 Genève 20 Egypt, France, Japan, Republic of Korea, and The Netherlands 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 Pierre Granier ISO Update : Dominique Chevaux

Subscription enquiries : Sonia Rosas Friot ISO Central Secretariat • Standardization goes East Telephone + 41 22 749 03 36 • Lessons from Asia Fax + 41 22 749 09 47 • Improved guidelines on implementing ISO 9001 in the E-mail [email protected] education sector • The learning curve – How quality shapes e-learning environments © ISO, 2007. All rights reserved. • International Standards turn to education services The contents of ISO Focus are copyright and may not, whether in whole or in • Standards as databases and the development of knowledge part, be reproduced, stored in a retrieval • ISO e-learning completed ! – A convenient, practical and fun system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, way to become a standardization expert photocopying or otherwise, without th written permission of the Editor. 44 ISO 30 General Assembly The articles in ISO Focus express the views • ISO’s positive contribution to sustainable development of the author, and do not necessarily reflect • International Standards in support of public policies the views of ISO or of any of its members. • Engaging developing countries ISSN 1729-8709 58 New on the shelf Printed in Switzerland Cover photo : iStock. 61 Coming up ISO Focus November 2007 Comment How to get top marks in the global marketplace

hat are the key challenges for standards on training services or to sup- that allows scientists and technician to standardization in education in port the development of e-learning. Per- collaborate, as well as buyers and sellers Wthe 21st century ? Education, I haps one day this could be applied to the around the world to trade. Logically, we believe, is a special type of service. One educational system as a whole. should expect students of all subjects, not that will have a major impact on the future just engineering and science, to be fluent of society, from its basic roots to the most “ Standardization can upon graduation. Yet, rarely are courses sophisticated technological aspects. Edu- on fundamental standards in the global cation has to anticipate the needs of future contribute to our goals of marketplace, such as ISO 9001 and oth- generations, years in advance ! sustainable development.” er management system standards, part of Today’s fast paced, changing world a regular university curriculum. Is it not demands lifelong learning, and thus pos- Teaching standardization and rais- our aim to prepare students for the real es a challenge for defining educational ing awareness in the academic world on world ? The views contained in this issue needs, values, curricula and operational the benefits and use of standards, on the of the ISO award selection committee on issues. From conventional schooling to other hand, is already part of ISO’s strat- the benefits of standards, provide food continual innovation, from a results-ori- egy. Although key in the global economy for thought on the urgency for education. ented approach to an emphasis on teach- for industry, trade and services, a great Making the connection between education ing methods, from the traditional deliv- proportion of the world’s workforce, and standardization is one of the key fac- ery of courses to an increasing use of including post-secondary graduates, has tors for sustainability in the global econ- technology and e-learning – educational little or no exposure to and understanding omy, and can contribute to our goals of concerns are multiple and varied. of standards. Students complete degrees sustainable development. It is up to all of us who represent the standards com- As citizens of a global village – an in engineering and business management without ever learning who develops munity to promote and translate these intertwined economic and social system into actions: whether this involves pro- with worldwide movement of goods and standards and how, their importance and application and their key role in technol- moting quality management in the edu- people – we are all consumers and hence cation system, developing standards on customers of education. Is there then a ogy and international trade. This is why ISO established the ISO Award for Higher professional qualifications, teaching the need and demand, as with any other glo- principles of standardization within this bally consumed product or service, for Education in Standardization, presented for the first time this year at the General system, or using standards as part of the standardization in education ? ISO must course curriculum and learning material. reflect on these questions to understand Assembly in September. In this issue of ISO Focus, we will learn of the universi- In the context of globalization, this pos- what issues lie within its scope, and es an enormous challenge, but one that which should be dealt with elsewhere. ties and institutions which are leading the way in standardization education, shap- we must take, as a way to ensure the free What do we mean by associating stand- movement of goods and people between ardization to education, and what kind of ing the next generation of professionals to be better equipped to face the global countries enabling a sustainable develop- role can ISO play ? We can interpret it in ment, for generations to come. three different ways : to promote quality marketplace. management in education and standards Standardization education should relating to qualifications worldwide ; to begin in early childhood. Several ISO teach standardization within the education- members are already developing educa- al system ; or to include courses on specif- tional tools, such as the British Stand- ic standards within educational curricula. ards Institute (BSI) Web site for chil- Promoting quality management and inter- dren (www.bsieducation.org) and we national standards on qualifications would also support the international deploy- be a huge leap forward towards the crea- ment of the ISO 14000 Kids Programme tion of a truly global society. Although initiated in Japan. I encourage others to standardizing teaching methods and mate- do the same, in order to create a more rials, for instance, could prove a daunting intelligent marketplace, where all play- task, ISO’s experience in creating con- ers – manufacturers, suppliers, distribu- sensus among stakeholders from around tors, consumers and government – under- the world provides a unique platform stand one of the basic rules of the game. to meet this challenge. ISO has already An overwhelming majority of universities introduced the concept of harmonized are also failing to include key standards ZivaZiva PPatiratir international requirements in education in their course curriculum. International through standardized personnel qualifi- Standards are a form of communication, ISO Vice-President cation requirements. And we have ISO an agreed-upon international language (technical management)

ISO Focus November 2007 1 World Scene

ASEAN Consultative ing take-up of ISO standards for Development, the French Committee for Standards in the region, associated with Minister for sustainable devel- and Quality various regional training and opment, the African Water awareness-raising events sup- Association, the National Water The ASEAN Consultative ported by ISO. and Sewerage Corporation of Committee for Standards and Uganda, the French NGO Pro- In conjunction with the meet- Quality (ACCSQ) met for its gramme Solidarité Eau, the th ing, the ISO Secretary-Gener- 13 session in August 2007, national body for water of al visited the Asian Develop- in Manila, Philippines. With Morocco and the Water and ment Bank (ADB), where he the recent admission of the Sanitation Programme. Department of Intellectual met with its Director General, Property, Standardization and Mr. Rajat Nag. This gave an This workshop is one of a series Metrology (DISM) of the Lao opportunity to review and of meetings on water service People’s Democratic Repub- promote the interest of ADB governance. The first was held lic, all ACCSQ members are in supporting the quality for a francophone audience in now members of ISO. infrastructures in the region. Rabat, earlier this year. At the Kampala session, Rabat partici- The meeting reviewed the Governance of water pants shared their experiences – mechanism to monitor the and sanitation services some had begun to establish implementation of the in Africa committees to conduct testing that has been submitted to “ASEAN Policy Guideline on activities – and planned a road ISO member bodies. Many Standards and Conformance”, Building African water stake- map. The standards will be test- UN RSC members present which, inter alia, encourages holders’ capacities was the ed in 10 African sites, for a felt that an appropriate pro- the use of International Stand- goal of the workshop held in period of three years. gramme in this area could ards. It adopted the “Guide on July 2007, in Kampala, Ugan- help fill a gap in their activities, da. The meeting, attended by basic rules for the ASEAN Working together for and expressed a keen interest conformity mark” and 30 regional participants, in the future of this initiative. reviewed cooperation in vari- aimed to organize test pro- road safety ous sectors, such as cosmet- grammes for three ISO The 7th UN Road Safety For further information, ics, pharmaceuticals, medical standards on activities relat- Collaboration (UN RSC) meet- contact François Abram at devices, rubber and wood- ing to drinking water and ing, held in October 2007 in [email protected] or visit the based products, foodstuff, wastewater services devel- Geneva, Switzerland, showed WHO Web site : www.who. and automotive and electrical oped by ISO/TC 224. that road safety issues are int/violence_injury_prevention/ appliances. The standards provide guide- high on the world agenda. publications/road_traffic/ lines for the assessment and The meeting provided an world_report/en/index.html A regional workshop on opportunity to discuss progress and www.who.int/roadsafety/ social responsibility was improvement of the service to users ; the management of and next steps in preparation news/19_10_2007/en/index.html organized by the Bureau of for the UN General Assembly Product Standards of the Phil- waste-water utilities and assessment of wastewater in March 2008. Led by the The fully networked car ippines Department of Trade World Health Organization, and Industry, sponsored by services ; and the management is back of drinking water utilities and the UN RSC comprises eight ISO to address progress of UN organizations and 29 other ISO, IEC and ITU are organ- ISO 26000. ISO Secretary- assessment of drinking water izing for the third consecutive services. international agencies working General Alan Bryden wel- on road safety, including ISO. year “ the fully networked comed the increased involve- The meeting was supported car ” – an event focusing on ment of ASEAN countries in by the World Bank Institute, Progress was given on the pro- information and communication ISO activities and the grow- InWent, the French Agency vision of technical support, pol- technologies (ICT) in motor icy development, advocacy ini- vehicles. tiatives, regional meetings, data Taking place at one of the collection and research and world’s leading automotive financial support. Manuals, rec- events – the Geneva Interna- ommendations and events have tional Motor Show – in March been prepared on a variety of 2008, the event will comprise a road safety issues, in particular workshop with demonstrations, a document on “ World Road and feature a keynote speech Traffic Injury Prevention ” and from Max Mosley, president of other initiatives covering hel- the Fédération Internationale de met use, drinking and driving, l’Auto- mobile and organizer of use of seat belts, safer road the Formula One world cham- infrastructure and much more. pionship. During the meeting, ISO updat- A new topic area for 2008 is ed UN RSC members of a ICT and the environment. proposal for the establishment ISO Secretary-General Alan Bryden (6 th from left), Rajat Nag, Director-General of a project committee to Authors wishing to present of the ADB (4 th from left) and Jesus Motoomull, ISO Regional Liaison Officer prepare management systems papers should contact : for East and South-East Asia (4 th from right) together with ADB management. standards on road-traffic safety [email protected]

2 ISO Focus November 2007 ISO Scene

Managing terminology India welcomes plastics and language resources committee ISO/TC 37, Terminology and Asia is showing an increasing other language and content interest in the work of ISO/ resources, held its annual TC 61, Plastics. It is no sur- meeting in August 2007, in prise then that the last four Utah, USA. The future of the annual meetings of the com- technical committee’s Interna- mittee have been held in Asia. tional Standards and the meth- This year, for the first time, ods for their development, in the ISO/TC 61 annual meet- particular for terminology, ing took place in India (Goa). was among the overarching The meeting was held in Sep- topics of the event. tember 2007 and hosted by H.E. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, (right) the Bureau of Indian Stand- President of the Philippines, with ISO discussed the development of ards, the ISO member for Secretary-General Alan Bryden. the future ISO standard, India, and the Indian plastics including the issues to be industry. About 250 delegates Promoting ISO standards resolved at the next SR work- attended, including over 50 in the Philippines ing group meeting in Novem- from both India and Japan. ber 2007. In conjunction with the 13th The technical committee was ASEAN Consultative Com- Recommendations were made pleased to award Mr. Laverne mittee for Standards and on the length/density of the Dalgleish (Canada) and Mr. Quality Meeting (see World standard, language use, appli- Huub Omloo (the Netherlands) Scene), ISO Secretary-General cability to all organizations, with this year’s ISO/TC 61 ISO/TC 37 is one of the hori- Alan Bryden visited the ISO definition agreements, certifi- Outstanding Service Award zontal committees whose work member for the Philippines, cation, implementation, opti- (photo below). impacts on all other ISO techni- the Bureau of Product mization of cal committees and beyond. Its Standards (BPS). national mirror aim is to develop standards committees and A meeting with H.E. Gloria reference to on the principles and methods Macapagal Arroyo, President for the management of terminol- other relevant of the Republic, in the instruments. ogy and language resources, presence of Mr. Peter Favila, including all structured content Secretary for Trade and A concern resources representing concepts. Industry, gave the opportunity raised was the Its standards are fundamen- to promote the use of ISO capability of tal for achieving real semantic standards in the country at the Asian coun- interoperability in almost all highest level and to review tries, composed information communication their contribution to current mainly of small technology related applications. national needs, such as those and medium- sized enterpris- ISO/TC 37 experts are related to food safety, envi- es (SMEs), to involved in the development ronmental management, comply with the standard. Mr. Laverne Dalgleish (centre left) of standards as databases financial services, tourism or Participants suggested that a and Mr. Huub Omloo (centre right) and ISO’s concept database, the building sector. mechanism to encourage SME recipients of this year’s ISO/TC 61 which will revolutionize the Mr. Bryden met key executives involvement in the develop- Outstanding Service Award, with way standards are developed from industry and public author- ment process be found. The (see article by Reinhard the presenters of the awards, Dr. ities, as well as the media. workshop also drew attention Weissenger on page 36). Sam Eldin (Chair, SC 5), (left) and to how the standard could Dr. Bob MacFarlane (Chair, SC 9), The committee’s best-known address global diversity across (right). and most widely used standards Addressing social national boundaries, geogra- include the ISO 639 series on responsibility in Asia phy and national legislation. Furthermore, during the meet- language codes, ISO 704 on ing, Mr. Omloo conducted an A workshop on the future ISO The workshop was organized by terminology work principles extremely successful training standard on social responsibili- ISO, the Japanese Industrial and methods, and ISO 10241 session for working group ty was held for the first time Standards Committee and the on terminological entries in convenors. Drawing on his in Asia, in August 2007. Japanese Standards Association, standards. first-hand experience as con- The workshop, held in and hosted by the Bureau of venor of several working The next meeting of this Manila, the Philippines, was Product Standards of the Phil- groups (SC 5/WG 11, SC 9/ rapidly expanding committee attended by representatives of ippines. Thirty-nine represent- WG 8 and SC 9/WG 26), his will take place on 11-15 industry, government and non- atives from nine ASEAN mem- goal was to help them effec- August, 2008, in Russia. governmental organizations, as ber countries, Fiji, Japan and the tively advance their work pro- Republic of Korea participated. For more information, see : well as consumer, labour, grammes using IT tools devel- www.iso.org/tc37 and service, research and national For more information, contact : oped by the ISO Central Sec- www.infoterm.info standards bodies. Participants [email protected] retariat.

ISO Focus November 2007 3 Guest View Prof. Song Mingshun

rofessor Song Mingshun is the science, physics, mechanical engineer- Dean of the College of Eco- ing, electronics, measurement and elec- Pnomics and Management at trotechnology, among others. They must China Jiliang University and the also study economics and management Chief Director of the programme on sciences, including macro- and micro- standardization. He is a member economics, international trade and man- of the national technical committee agement theory, marketing and financial for certification and accreditation management. In addition, they must take (SAC/TC 261), and of the national the courses listed in Figure 1. technical committee for quality management in China (SAC/TC 151). ISO Focus : Standards are vehicles He is also a scientific consultant for the transfer of knowledge, tech- of the China National Institute of Standardization and an economic nology and good business prac- consultant of the People’s tices. How does China Jiliang Government of Zhejiang University see the promotion Province. Previously, of International Standards Prof. Song obtained a in education ? What is the Masters degree at Zhejiang relationship between the University, and was a University’s programme and visiting scholar at the the Chinese industry ? Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (national Prof. Song Mingshun : As metrology institute) in Germany. “ There are more than mentioned above, students must follow Currently, he teaches courses a course on international standardization on standardization principles, 30 universities in China and practice their skills on the ILIAS international standardization, engaged in standardization e-learning platform. Students in sen- quality management, international ior classes are encouraged to take the trade theory and the ILIAS e-learning education which look to “ internal auditor of ISO 9001” exami- platform (a Web-based learning China Jiliang University to nations. More than 70 % of graduates management system). lead the way.” have obtained the internal auditor license based on ISO 9001:2000. To control and guarantee the quality of this pro-

ISO Focus : Firstly, our sincere con- Figure 1 – Main courses related to standardization. gratulations, Prof. Song, on receiving the ISO Award for Higher Education in Standardization. To familiarize our Curriculum Course Study hours readers, could you please describe the Standardization principles 36 undergraduate programme in standard- International standardization 36 ization at China Jiliang University ? WTO/Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) – Sanitary and 36 Prof. Song Mingshun : The undergraduate Phytosanitary (SPS) programme on standardization at China ISO 9000 family of standards and quality certification 54 Jiliang University is based on business Quality management 54 discipline. The students are required to Standardization ILIAS e-learning platform 16 study and practice engineering and technology, including mathematics, computer

4 ISO Focus November 2007 China Jiliang University, People’s Republic of China. gramme, a teaching quality manage- ISO Focus : Capacity building of edu- ry semester, we offer a standardization ment system based on ISO 9001:2000 cation professionals is an essential fac- course for students from eight universi- has been set up. The system operates tor of success. What can be done to ties in Hangzhou. with high efficiency and is certified to raise awareness of the importance of China Quality Daily, China Edu- ISO 9001:2000 (photo below). international standardization among cation Daily, Zhejiang Daily, and six current and future teachers for technol- other newspapers have reported on our ogy, business and legal curricula ? Do standardization education programme on you have initiatives or plans to network numerous occasions since 2000. In April with other Chinese universities ? 2007, I was invited to the studio of China Education Television to share our experience in higher education for standard- Prof. Song Mingshun : We have written ization to the whole country! and published a series of books related to At present, there are more than 30 standardization that have been adopted universities in China engaged in stand- as textbooks by more than 20 universi- ardization education which look to Chi- The teaching quality management system is ties in China (See photo overleaf). Eve- na Jiliang University to lead the way. ISO 9001:2000 certified.

We have established contact with Figure 2 – Percentage of graduated students working in standardization jobs. numerous organizations, including stand- 100% ardization bodies and business, that offer 90% 94 % 96 % 96 % 95 % standardization internships which stu- 80% dents in our programme must complete 70% (photo, page 6, top right). Moreover, 60% their officers or managers are often invit- 50% ed to give lectures on standardization at 40% our university. More than 800 students 30% have graduated from the undergraduate 20% programme since 2000. About 95 % of 10% them are working in the field of stand- 0% ards in business, standardization organi- 2003 2004 2005 2006 zations, and others. (Figure 2).

ISO Focus November 2007 5 Guest View

We are planning to organize a national seminar that will serve as a platform for mutual communication among universities involved in standardization education. The seminar to be held annually will promote the rapid development of standardization education and international standardization in China.

Students learn about standardization during an internship in a Chinese company.

“ Many of our graduates Prof. Song Mingshun : Our university has formulated a development strategy are now pursuing careers for standardization education (from 2005 where they work in the to 2010). In this strategy, we put forward the following objectives: Published books on standardization. adoption of International Standards by business.” • to improve the degree of internationalization of higher education in stand- ISO Focus : In view of China’s expand- ardization; ing role in the global economy, what is ISO Focus : How do you see the evolution of the undergraduate programme • to improve the standardization curric- the importance of International Stand- ulum and promote it widely to other in standardization at China Jiliang ards for China in accessing world mar- domestic universities; kets and facilitating global trade? To University, both nationally and inter- • to actively develop the graduate pro- what extent can the Jiliang University nationally? What advice, based on your gramme in standardization. programme encourage and support the experience, would you like to give edu- use of International Standards by Chi- cational establishments in other coun- Based on our experience, we real- na? tries? ize that it is very important to offer under-

Prof. Song Mingshun : In China, Inter- national Standards play a crucial role. They are key for Chinese goods to enter the international market. Standards constitute an important tool for eliminating technical barriers to trade. Finally, small and medium-sized enterprises will benefit from their role as disseminators of technological progress, and promoters of improved product quality. Many of our graduates are now pursuing careers where they work in the adoption of International Standards by business. More than 1 200 professionals have been trained on the adoption of International Standards for standardization organizations and companies. We have held three international forums and three national conferences on standardization. More than 50 foreign experts and 400 Chinese professionals have visited our university to discuss standardization issues (photo at right). Mr. Liu Pingjun, Administrator of SAC, gives a speech on standardization strategy at Jiliang University.

6 ISO Focus November 2007 Chinese university wins inaugural ISO Award for Higher Education in Standardization

The China Jiliang University, People's Republic of China, is the first winner of the ISO Award for Higher Education in Standardization. The inaugural award was presented at the 30th ISO General Assembly. Prof. Song Mingshun (centre) received the first ISO Award for Higher Education in Prof. Song Mingshun, Dean of the Standardization on behalf of the China Jiliang University, People’s Republic of China. On his left is Dr. George Arnold, ISO Vice-President (policy) and Chair of the selection committee, College of Management, received and on his right, ISO President Håkan Murby. the award on behalf of the university for its undergraduate • the objectives and breadth of the The award comprises a certificate programme on standardization. programme ; of appreciation and a cash prize Making the presentation, • the efficiency and the diversity of of 15 000 Swiss francs. It is Dr. George Arnold, ISO Vice- the pedagogical tools developed co-sponsored by ISO and the President (policy) and Chair of and used in the programme ; Japanese Industrial Standards the selection committee which Committee (JISC), the ISO member had unanimously designated the • the follow-up of the students for Japan. China Jiliang University as the and the fact that they have taken winner, said that the committee up positions in very diverse was particularly impressed by : organizations and industries.

graduate courses on standard principles, international standardization, quality certification, and quality management. It is also important to set up internships with standardization bodies and business for practical experience.

Students from the China Jiliang University undergraduate programme on standardization enjoy ISO’s chocolates, on the occasion of the organization’s 60th anniversary.

ISO Focus November 2007 7 Main Focus

ISO Award for Higher Education in Standardization

The first step...

ISO announced the creation of ed to standardization as a tool to access the award in 2006 to encourage and rec- world markets, transfer technology and ognize successful programmes in higher promote good business practice and sus- education on standardization. The ISO tainable development. Award aims to raise awareness of the The award selection committee importance of standardization worldwide consisted of eminent international per- by supporting institutions of higher edu- sonalities from academia, the economic cation that have developed and imple- sphere and the media. mented successful programmes relat-

Chair, Dr. George Arnold, ISO Vice-President (policy) ; Deputy Director, Technology Services , US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) ;

Mr. Guillaume Chenevière, Director, Media and Society Foundation ; Chairman, World Radio and Television Council ;

Dr. Barbara Ischinger, Director, Directorate for Education, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ;

Mr. Guy Sebban, Secretary-General, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ;

Prof. Masami Tanaka, Director General, Japan Chemical Industry Association (JCIA) ; Vice-President, Japanese Industrial Standards Committee (JISC). Why International Standards are important – Members of the award selection committee share their views on the

8 ISO Focus November 2007 following two pages. Mr. Guillaume Chenevière Dr. George Arnold Director, Media and Society Foundation; Chairman, World Radio ISO Vice-President (policy) ; and Television Council Deputy Director, Technology Services, ISO Award for US National Institute of Standards Dr. Barbara Ischinger and Technology (NIST) Director, Directorate for Education, Organisation for Economic Co-opera- Higher Education in tion and Development (OECD) Standardization

lobalization gives a new dimen- Gsion to International Standards. he promotion and use of Interna- Not only do they increase their scope Ttional Standards is a thread that runs tandards provide the “ invisible in the field of services, but they are the throughout much of the OECD’s work Sfabric ” that allow modern privileged instrument of global gover- on education. Being able to fairly society to function. They provide the nance. The World Summit on the compare the performance of education technical and management underpin- Information Society taught us that new systems is a cornerstone of our work nings to facilitate safety and health, technological developments are creat- and standardized international reporting and they provide industry with the ing a world in which governments of data education is vital for that. The means to cost-effectively produce alone are unable to steer a sensible success of the OECD’s Programme for quality products and services that can course of action. An improved gover- International Student Assessment interoperate with one another. The nance of the Internet will not be possi- (PISA) is a clear demonstration of the community of people around the ble without industry and civil society benefits that can be gained. world who create and ensure conform- cooperating in the elaboration of ance to standards are part of a highly related International Standards. The But the benefits of International skilled, interdisciplinary profession. right to trustworthy, factual informa- Standards go far beyond making statis- In most cases today, the unique skills tion – a basic human right in the infor- tical comparisons. Like most sectors required to work in this profession is mation society – means universally nowadays, education operates globally, learned through professional practice recognized International Standards for a prime example being the increase in after graduating from university rath- the media, a perspective which may cross-border provision of higher edu- er than as part of a university educa- seem revolutionary today, but will cation. These changes offer great tion. This makes it difficult for become evident tomorrow. The bene- opportunities for students, the higher employers in industry and government fits of standardization in most fields of education community and societies but to train enough qualified experts to human activity need to be widely they also bring challenges for Interna- meet the needs of a growing and taught by the institutions of higher tional Standards in systems of quality ever-more-complex society. All of the education and the new ISO award is a assurance, accreditation and recogni- nominees for the ISO Award for good way to light up the path in that tion of qualifications. The publication Higher Education provide an out- direction. in 2005 of our Guidelines for Quality standing example of the contribution Provision in Cross-border Higher that universities around the world can Education is evidence of our commit- make to meeting society’s growing ment to help address this particular need for professionals in our field. challenge.

ISO Focus November 2007 9 Main Focus

Mr. Guy Sebban Prof. Masami Tanaka Secretary-General, International Director General, Japan Chemical Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Industry Association (JCIA) ; Vice-President, Japanese Industrial Standards Committee (JISC)

In the next few pages, five out of the six finalists of the ISO Award describe the origin, aims, content, achievements and The International Chamber of perspectives of the TCommerce (ICC) congratulates ISO verybody understands the for the establishment of its Award for programmes coming Ebenefits of International Standards Higher Education in Standardization. which facilitate world trade by from Egypt, France, With this award, ISO is making an increasing efficiency and promoting Japan, Republic invaluable contribution to raising quality. Throughout the economic awareness of international standardi- of Korea, and development process after World War zation as an integral part of the II, Japanese industries learned of The Netherlands. curriculum of higher education. these benefits by trial and error as The need for International Standards well as on-the-job training in real increases as globalization advances. business practices. Standardization facilitates international Programmes on higher education in trade, and facilitating international standardization give students consist- trade is the core mission of ICC, a ent and comprehensive knowledge of global business body that speaks with standards and their related benefits to authority on behalf of thousands of development processes, business member companies from all sectors applications and international trade. and in more than 130 countries. Knowledge of standards gives insight Another advantage of standardization and understanding in business trans- is that it reduces the need for additional actions and proves useful in today’s regulation. ICC strongly believes that global world. I expect that ISO avoiding over-regulation through standards will contribute to progress striking voluntary agreements, such as by providing answers to many of standards, is a better way forward the world’s challenges. for business. Disseminating the importance of Furthermore, standardization promotes International Standards among the innovation. It also stimulates the creation world’s educational institutions and of new technologies. And it is through raising awareness of their benefits is the diffusion of new technologies that the main goal of the ISO Award. we will help bridge the gap between The academic community should take developed and developing countries, advantage of this opportunity to share one of the major challenges of our time. best practices on curriculum and pedagogical methods.

10 ISO Focus November 2007 Good business practice and An Arab sustainable development Institute : Our educational programmes are enhanced according to the needs of stand- Promoting ardization and quality management issues quality and the demands of future academic professional experts. We strive to increase tech- with nology transfers to firms and other institutions by ensuring that our educational pro- standards grammes respond appropriately to social, industrial and technological needs. Our goal is ultimately to enable future graduates to by Dr. Sharif El-Araby, access world markets, transfer technology, Dean of the and promote good business practice and Productivity and sustainable development. Quality Institute and PQI aims to consolidate and broad- Vice-President for en international cooperation in the devel- quality assurance at opment of educational programmes, based on strategic alliances with international Arab Academy for organizations. In addition, we focus on Science, Technology improving the academic staff’s aware- and Maritime ness and understanding of standardiza- Transport tion educational programmes to achieve quality and continuously increase pro- fessionalism.

he goal of the Productivity and About the author Quality Institute (PQI), estab- T lished in 1995, of the Arab Acad- Dr. Sharif El- emy for Science, Technology and Mar- Araby started itime Transport (AASTMT) is to increase his professional awareness of quality issues and of stand- career in 1981, ards and their applications, in Egypt when he joined and other Arab countries. the Arab Acade- my for Science PQI offers: & Technology • training on up-to-date topics and Maritime in quality, standards and other Transport managerial issues; (AASTMT) as a junior lecturer in the Maritime Engineer- • Diploma, Master’s and PhD The Productivity and Quality Institute in Alexandria. ing Department, after graduating from degrees in quality management; the faculty of engineering at Alexandria and University in 1979. Dr. El-Araby has a Leader in the Arab world • consultation for organizations diploma in quality engineering and a PQI’s programmes for post-gradu- PhD in quality management from the desiring certification to ISO standards. ate degrees aim to provide graduates with University of Paisley in Scotland. expanded analytical skills to : He was also a senior lecturer for PQI is developing links with oth- quality-related subjects at the college of • address technical and managerial engineering, AASTMT. In 1995, er Arab and international institutions to issues in quality management, and broaden the educational programmes on Dr. El-Araby was named Assistant Dean • understand the role of standardization for the Quality and Productivity Institute standardization in Arab countries and promote its economic benefits. The insti- for technology, business and sustain- at AASTMT, supervising and leading able development. the institute's activities. In 1997, he was tute works enthusiastically to increase promoted as Dean of the institute. the number of graduates, while ensur- We offer internationally registered In 2005, he became the Arab Academy's ing that course content and teaching training courses on quality and its appli- Vice-president for quality assurance, in load are compatible with the prerequi- cation, such as the International Register addition to his post as the Dean for the sites of economic, environmental and of Certificated Auditors (IRCA) certi- Productivity and Quality Institute. social development. fied lead auditor training courses for ISO

ISO Focus November 2007 11 Main Focus

9001:2000, Quality management systems In response to the global con- and privatizing initiatives. Our pre-qual- – Requirements, and ISO 14001:2004, cern for the environment, PQI estab- ification in this domain contains a long Environmental management systems – lished an environmental management list of companies in Egypt and the Arab Requirements with guidance for use. systems (EMS) programme whereby world, in various sectors of manufactur- The PQI team is proud to be the students can learn about the purpose, ing and service industries. first in the Arab world to introduce Lead benefits and operational mechanisms Auditor courses, as an innovative solu- of an EMS and the ISO 14000 family of tion to the requirements of the Arab com- standards on environmental management, The sky is our limit munity. The Chartered Quality Institute as well as understand the role of audi- The PQI team has ambitious ide- (CQI) registered courses offer students an tors. Through an advanced and practical as, which it is working on together to understanding of business systems man- implementation of the ISO 14000 sys- implement. Among them, PQI is certify- agement. This will allow them to specify, tems programme, the institute enhancing other lead auditor courses for Food define and improve the performance of es awareness of environmental issues in Safety Management Systems and the business processes and identify a range the African continent. Occupational Health and Safety Assess- of potential root causes. ment Series OHSAS 18001. The institute “ Our goal is to enable is also negotiating with IRCA to acquire graduates to access its agency as a certifying body in Egypt and the Arab region. markets, transfer We are in the phase of establish- technology, promote good ing an agreement between Kuwait and Egypt in the field of standardization, business practice and where the “ quality laboratories depart- sustainable development.” ments of public authority for industry ” in Kuwait can exchange information with We have also launched a series of PQI. We are also inaugurating a project training courses on conformity assess- resulting from three years of collaborative ment to meet the needs of conformity partnership between the National Qual- assessment bodies in the Arab region. ity Institute (NQI), PQI and CQI in the The first Arab Conference on Total Quality and Moreover, we are developing an occu- UK. The project, funded by the Egyptian Industry Modernization in March 2003. pational diploma programme for “ con- Industrial Modernization Centre (IMC), sultants in designing, establishing and aims to create a business plan for NQI, documenting quality management sys- as the national institute in Egypt respon- tems according to the requirements of sible for the deployment of quality con- ISO standards ”. PQI also organizes concepts and initiatives. ferences on quality and standardization PQI is enthusiastically finaliz- with the aim to promote a rapid devel- ing the launching of the CQI registered opment of the region. Diploma in Quality Assurance and Man- agement in Egypt and the Arab region. PQI is also deploying the Quality Infra- The future of business structure Expert Certificate that will en- Due to its high profile and excel- able participants from different fields and The Academy’s video conference equipment. lent image, PQI has formal profession- diverse career objectives to benefit from al relations with international entities, the latest information on the four pillars including CQI, Det Norske Veritas (DNV), of quality : quality management, metrol- the European Organization for Quali- ogy, standardization and testing. ty (EOQ), IRCA, Quality Management The PQI team has taken the Institute (QMI), and others. Academi- responsibility of building awareness on cally, the institute has links with inter- quality and standardization issues in the national universities such as the Univer- Arab region, with excellence as our ever- sity of West of England, the University evolving target. of Strathclyde, the University of Central Florida, and others. PQI offers consultancy services to organizations seeking to establish and implement quality, environmental, and A cooperation agreement was signed between health and safety systems. Moreover, the the Egyptian Organization for Standardization Institute undertakes productivity improve- and the Arab Academy. ment projects, and manages downsizing

12 ISO Focus November 2007 n line with the scale developed by the A French European harmonization of higher University : I education, which introduced standards for Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doc- Encouraging torate degrees (see Box overleaf), the Uni- versity of Technology of Compiègne hands-on (UTC) in France established a Master’s degree in quality management (MQ), as experience an option of its Master’s of Sciences and Technology. Since 1992, the Master’s programme NQCE (Normalisation, qualité, certification et essais), on standardization, quality, by Jean-Pierre certification and testing, trains professionals Caliste and Gilbert seeking to learn and develop competencies Farges, Professors to become standardization and/or quality and researchers managers within companies, healthcare at the University or public services organizations. of Technology The Master’s programme NQCE of Compiègne has been periodically accredited since its inception by the Conférence des Grandes Ecoles (a conference of the most prestig- ious higher education institutions), up to the end of 2007. It is one of the two accredited Master’s of UTC.

About the authors

Jean-Pierre Gilbert Farges, Caliste, after who holds a more than 25 PhD in engi- years of activi- neering, is a ties in metrolo- professor and gy organization researcher at (Bureau UTC specializ- National de ing in biomedi- Métrologie), cal processes testing labora- (biomedical tory (Labora- sensors and toire National d’Essais), management equipments, quality and safety of the The University of Technology of Compiègne (UTC). of the national quality policy (Ministry medical dispositive, pre-standardization of industry, Mouvement Français pour researches and standardization). Prof. The purpose of a Master’s MQ, as la Qualité), is currently a professor Farges is responsible for training in with Master’s NQCE, is to teach students and researcher at the University of biomedical technology and quality to become specialists capable of apply- Technology of Compiègne (UTC), management for researchers, hospital ing standardization management and/or where he is responsible for the Master managers, biomedical technicians and quality management for improving the NQCE and co-responsible for the engineers. He is co-responsible for the performance of organizations. Master MQ. Prof. Caliste conducts Master MQ and collaborates with the expertise and researches about quality UMR*) 6600 laboratory for biomechanics approaches for services, more specifi- and biomedical engineering. Since cally for public administrations, 2000, Prof. Farges manages quality Two different paths for research laboratories, training approaches and networks for research standardization Master’s organizations and healthcare activities. and training activities These two programmes are avail- (http://www.utc.fr/qualite-recherche). able in French and open to foreign students with a good command of English and a satisfactory level of French. A *) UMR : “ Unité Mixte de Recherche ”, joint large part of the courses are translated CNRS and University laboratory. into English.

ISO Focus November 2007 13 Main Focus

The programmes are organ- edge, aptitudes, and skills. Based ized in teaching units (TU). Each TU on these, all students can make self- is equal to five credits in the Europe- assessments before, during and after an Credit Transfer and Accumulation the delivery of the course. After System (ECTS), and consists of lec- the completion of a TU, a general tures/courses, and group and individ- evaluation between the TU teach- ual projects and evaluations. er and student permits them to ana- The Master’s NQCE takes 12 lyse strengths and weaknesses, and months to complete, and includes take corrective action if necessary. six months of professional work Students’ suggestions are always experience. The Master’s MQ lasts requested and implemented when- nine months, with four months of ever possible. hands-on experience working for a company. During the 2005-2006 aca- International demic year, we piloted an e-learn- cooperation ing version of the Master’s NQCE. Based on the current pro- Following positive results, we are gramme which is adapted to health- now repeating the session, start- care activities, cooperation has been ing 2007. established with the University of Mon- Practical experience treal. A joint diploma will be awarded Students of the Master’s MQ and upon successful completion to candidates European higher Master’s NQCE are required to work for taking this option (QUEOPS). education a limited period within a company (four We have trained 200 students and six months respectively), during which since 1992. More than 90 % have suc- Under the new European harmonization they can put into practice what they have cessfully obtained a diploma, and more system launched in 1998 by France, learnt. This applies in particular to tech- than 85 % are employed 1). A large inter- Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, nology processes, manufacturing main- national participation reinforces intercul- higher education will be organized in tenance, and improvement of sustain- tural exchanges. Among the countries able development performance in differ- represented are : Algeria ; Brazil ; China ; semesters and study modules ent sectors of activities. In 2007, we were Côte-d’Ivoire ; Gabon ; Madagascar ; recognized throughout Europe. in contact with more than 150 French and Morocco ; Lebanon ; Russia ; Senegal ; The system gives higher education a European companies, contributing to a Syria ; Tunisia ; United Kingdom. clear structure : a Bachelor’s degree on fruitful partnership for the education of completion of three years’ study, professionals. 1) According to available information. a Master’s at the end of five years and a Doctorate after eight years. Using technology as This European Higher Education Area an advantage Courses (Master’s NQCE and Master’s MQ) : is due to be completed by 2010. A Web site (internet and extranet), Already successful trials in France have http//www.utc.fr/Mastermq, gives stu- • Performance and improvement resulted in lowered drop-out rates and dents, administrative bodies and professors management increased successful entries. up-to-date information about the monitor- Standardization, metrology, testing and ing process of completed training. Work • international trade by students is evaluated and stored on the same Web site. Students can also access • Structures and functions of metrological According to the French law information from graduates of previous services on the validation of experience (Val- years to compare and share experiences. Management, organizations and systems idation des Acquis de l’Expérience – According to the schedule of each TU, the • VAE), it is possible for an applicant to courses are uploaded online in PDF ver- • Risk management within organizations obtain the diploma of Master’s MQ or sion. WIFI access allows students to fol- • Information system management Master’s NQCE based on their work low courses and take notes directly on their experience. computers. All evaluations are uploaded • Case study The courses cover a diversity of on the site immediately after the comple- • Other management systems subjects including quality, statistics and tion of each TU. Access is always main- Statistics metrology. In box (at right) are the dif- tained for the former students. • ferent courses included within the NQCE Objectives are defined for each • Quality management system and MQ Masters’ programmes. TU and transformed into targeted knowl-

14 ISO Focus November 2007 information officers. The programmes A Japanese pay particular attention to business standing and technology, and to busi- university : ness risk and reward. Thus, the gradu- Educating ates will be able to forecast/hedge technological risks quantitatively, adapting standard- scientific and management knowledge ization to attain rewards. strategists Management in business of technology Figure 1 shows an MOT programme, “ Strategic management of by Yuji Furukawa, industrial standardization and intellec- Dean and Professor tual property”. The basics and applications of industrial standardization, of the Professional including ISO activities, related policy Graduate School and strategy with respect to their risk of Technology and reward, are composed of the fol- Management lowing subjects. Photo : P. KriegerPhoto: P.

trategic standardization is a key About the author issue for manufacturers. Incor- S rect information on de-facto or Professor Yuji de-jure issues, for example, could result Furukawa, now in the collapse of a business. Profes- the Dean and sionals who specialize in strategic stand- Professor of the ardization are often trained on the job. Graduate They usually begin working with in- School of house company standards, and progres- Technology sively deal with ISO standards. After Management, some time and experience, and once Main building of the Faculty of Agriculture. Tokyo University they have become members of the com- of Agriculture pany’s board, they can take charge of and Technology, standard policy decisions. Standardization policy and and the Professor Emeritus of Tokyo Engineering schools already teach strategy area Metropolitan University, is a well-known a variety of courses on standardization. Standardization strategy, leader of both Japanese academic and In Japan and perhaps in other countries, • governmental society. He is a member by Prof. T. Yamamoto however, there are no academic pro- of Science Council of Japan, Policy grammes to systematically train profes- • Industrial standards, Assessment Member of the Council for sionals on strategic industrial standard- by Prof. M. Tsutsumi Science and Technology Policy, Japanese ization, despite there being a demand Head of IMS (Intelligent Manufacturing • Standardization policy, from business. Systems) International Program, by Prof. M. Takagi Chairman of the Industrial Cluster Taking these trends into account, the Tokyo University of Agriculture and (TAMA, Greater Tokyo Initiative), and a Specific technology area member of the Industrial Structure Technology (TUAT) opened the Profes- Committee of METI (Ministry of sional Graduate School of Technology • Manufacturing systems standardi- Economics, Trade & Industry). Management (MOT) in 2005. Its main zation, by Prof. Y. Furukawa He was the former Chairman of the goal is to train experienced engineers • Products life cycle standards, Industrial Automation Standardization on the latest technological and manage- by Prof. Y. Furukawa Committee of METI and contributed ment strategies (see Figure 1 overleaf), much to propose and utilize ISO leading them on a path to become future • Total Quality Management and ISO standardization. chief executives or technology and/or 9000, by Prof. R. Kaneko

ISO Focus November 2007 15 Main Focus

• Environmental standards policy, Educating the world by Prof. H. Kameyama through the Web • Environment and ISO 14000, One of the interesting features by Prof. N. Kudo Cherry blossoms at the engineering campus. of TUAT/MOT is the thorough use of • Safety and security standards, e-learning and technology. As shown in by Prof. M. Nakamura Figure 2, all of the required materials and information are listed and stored in Company’s practices of strategic a computer programme named JENZA- standardization VER. Both professors and registered students can access and extract infor- • Prof. T. Kato (Former President of mation. Lectures are given at either the Fuji Electric Co.) and Prof. K. Isaya- main urban campus or the downtown ma (Former Vice President of Nissan campus, both connected by real time TV. Motor Car Co.) give their practices Professors and students can therefore dis- and experiences. cuss together even if they are physically Students must complete a min- apart. In addition, all lectures are par- Mission Oriented Research and Education, the tially uploaded two or three days later, imum of 46 credits during two years school motto : “ for a beautiful Planet Earth ”. (divided into four semesters), and spe- to enable students who could not attend cific projects (field and case study, and the class to learn via the Web anywhere For example, one of our graduates business plan) are considered as required in the world. who came from Citizen Watch Co. took subjects. the strategic management of industrial Students interested in the “Strate- “ The programmes pay standardization and intellectual property gic management of industrial standard- programme. He completed his business particular attention to ization” programme can select several plan on “Wearable watch development subjects from the list above. In addition, business standing and for health diagnosis”, and proposed a they have to take more than 10 subjects concept, its technological feasibility, the technology, and to business from the programme outlined in Figure 1. required amount of investment, its fea- Upon successful completion of the MOT risk and reward.” sible market size, the related intellectu- programme, candidates are awarded a al property rights strategy, and a de-fac- All the lectures are currently giv- Master of Management of Technology, to/de-jure standard trend and policy to en in Japanese. In the near future, how- which receives approval by the Minis- be used for building alliances with stra- ever, we expect to have them available in try of Education of Japan. tegic partners. As a case study, he sur- English. The lectures could then be deliv- veyed Seiko and Casio – strong com- ered worldwide through internet educa- Real business situations petitors of Citizen Watch Co. As a field tion systems. As there is a high demand study, he carefully checked the trend of for education on industrial standardiza- Three years after its establishment, standardization for radio communication tion strategy in Asian countries, we are the TUAT/MOT programme has received systems and related patents. The exam- planning to put this plan into practice. very positive evaluations from renowned ple shows that the programme can suc- TUAT/MOT has recently agreed on a Japanese manufacturing companies. The cessfully train experienced engineers to programme exchange with Shanghai programme accepts some 50 students per learn, exercise and practice how to take Traffic University. We look forward to year, of which one-fifth are interested in advantage of standardization in a busi- this first trial. strategic standardization. ness environment.

Financing and accounting Marketing Urban campus Downtown campus

Human organization Plan and implementation of Law and regulation Students can join either of the campuses Business Administration Alliance M & A CSR E-learning Business Video lectures view Technology are provided for Leading-edge view Environmental TV lecture Post lecture students who could technology strategy not attend the class Plan and implementation of Learning support systems Research & development Technology management Procurement Business process Manufacturing Professors • Application of Internet Students • Web of teaching materials Proposed • Syllabi • Preparation and review • Preparation and review Intellectual property Standardization • Teaching materials • Q & A programme • Evaluation • Web discussion

Figure 1 – MOT programmes of the TUAT Graduate School. Figure 2 – E-learning system of the graduate school TUAT.

16 ISO Focus November 2007 To create a multidisciplinary Universities programme, the committee and KSA networked with standards experts from in the various fields in the Republic of Korea, Republic encouraging them to participate as lecturers and to develop a curriculum with of Korea : textbooks and educational materials. The government of the Republic Training of Korea financially supports UEPS under the “National Standards Master Plans.” the next With the involvement of universities, generation expert groups, and KSA, UEPS represents a valuable example of government of and private sector cooperation. professionals Teaching methodology UEPS is a regular one-semester by Gye-Hyung Lee, class, accounting for two or three cred- Chair and Chief its. The programme deals with general Executive Officer, aspects of standards at business and at Korean Standards national and international levels, as well Stock i Association as with their increasing importance in the world economy. Photo:

s a result of intensified global practitioners, but should also be avail- competition, rapid technological able to typical university students, the A innovation and the continuous next generation of professionals. creation of market demand in today’s world, the role of standards and our “ Some universities understanding of the concept have want the programme changed. The traditional advantages of standardization are shifting in line with to be compulsory for emerging knowledge-based industries. students majoring in Furthermore, knowledge of the value and impact of standardization should engineering.” not be limited to technical engineering In recognition of the increasingly important role of standardization, the government of the Republic of Korea estab- Field trip to the 85th precision About the author lished two “ Five-year National Standards standard maintenance depot of ROK AF, Master Plans ” in 2001 and 2006 to devel- May 2005. Gye-Hyung op an advanced standardization system. Lee is the Chair Nurturing standards experts is a major agenda item under these plans. Lectures are based on a sin- and Chief Exec- gle unified textbook and a team-teach- utive Officer of ing methodology, according to which the Korean a multiplicity of experts give lectures Standards Asso- A multidisciplinary on their field of specialization. In addi- ciation. He has programme been an expert tion, experts from business, testing lab- in the field of The Korean Standards Associa- oratories, government departments, and trade policy and tion (KSA) is in charge of the overall standards developing organizations with WTO for more operation of the University Education diverse experience in standardization are than 28 years, and has worked for the Programme on Standardization (UEPS), invited as guest speakers. Furthermore, Ministry of Commerce, Industry and from its development to its implementa- KSA provides a standards experts pool Energy of the Republic of Korea. tion. For this purpose, KSA established to universities, giving each university He leads the Standards Education Devel- the Standards Education Development guidelines on the curriculum best suit- opment Committee as Chair, and is in Committee in 2004, composed of par- ed to the needs of its students and edu- charge of the overall operation of UEPS. ticipating professors and lecturers. cation objectives.

ISO Focus November 2007 17 Main Focus

In addition to academic work, stu- nology-based standards education at the dents appreciate field trips to research graduate school level. centres and companies (Photo on previous page). They are enthusiastic to see for themselves how standards are actually used. Future development Sharing education materials online The universe of will contribute to the creation of Web- based e-learning. With the contents of standardization in one Cover of Future Society and Standards. the Future Society and Standards text- textbook book, e-learning, combining video lec- PART 1 : Introduction to standardization UEPS is designed to expose stu- tures and online classes, will be devel- dents to various standardization top- Ch1. Standardization overview oped to enable standards education at ics, covering basic concepts to in-depth PART 2 : Standardization activities any time, regardless of location. knowledge. KSA, in cooperation with Ch2. International standardization Using UEPS as a base, cooperation and development methodology for the Standards Education Development Ch3. Standardization in Korea Committee, has developed an overall standards education is currently being Ch4. Company and standards curriculum structure for the programme, discussed with other countries. The Asia- and started to define the contents at the PART 3 : Standards Pacific Economic Cooperation Sub-Com- kick-off meeting in March 2004. Ch5. Measurement standards mittee on Standards Conformance (APEC A unified textbook entitled Future Ch6. Conformity assessment SCSC) standards education project gath- Society and Standards is distributed to ers opinions from member countries and enrolled students free of charge. The book, PART 4 : Standards and their application discusses cooperation methods focused co-authored and revised by 29 experts in Ch7. Standards and IPR on establishing an education model and different fields, is composed of eight major Ch8. Standardization in future society developing its contents. chapters (Cover photo above). Furthermore, educational materi- 4000 als (PowerPoint presentations) based on 3399 3353 this textbook are available online free of 3500 3282 charge to lecturers and universities, so 3000 2639 that students can study the contents in 2500 2194 advance or review them at a later date. 2000 Based on these materials, lecturers can 1500 create their own teaching tools and share 1000 982 them online. Universities already post examples of exercises for mid-term and 500 final examinations on the “ Examination 0 04 Spring 05 Spring 05 Fall 06 Spring 06 Fall 07 Spring Bank” section of the Web site. Figure 2 – Number of students enrolled in UEPS per semester.

In addition, a standards education Semester 04 Fall 05 Spring 05 Fall 06 Spring 06 Fall 07 Spring system that can be shared internationally No. of will be developed through a cooperative universities 11 (11) 29 (34) 27 (30) 39 (46) 38 (41) 38 (44) system with the International Commit- (classes) tee for Education about Standardization (ICES). The Republic of Korea, China Figure 1 – Number of participating universities and Japan have agreed to cooperate on in the Republic of Korea per semester. tion Board for Engineering Education of this area through the Northeast Standard Korea) certified programme, and make Cooperation Forum (S-Dialogue). it compulsory for students majoring in The Republic of Korea will Major achievements engineering. enhance positive awareness on the ben- Since UEPS was first introduced UEPS has given students and efits of standards for the next generation at 11 universities, the number of partic- professors an opportunity to renew their through education on their importance ipating schools and students has been awareness of standards, and develop a and diversity. Based on its experience, growing steadily (see Figure 1). Over- common understanding on standards the Republic of Korea hopes to explore all, around 16 000 undergraduate students education. Consequently, it has been ways to develop standards education, have now begun to recognize the impor- proposed that standards education be together with other countries and stand- tance of standardization (Figure 2). Some extended to students majoring in the ards-related organizations, and establish participating universities are trying to social sciences such as management consensus on this area. adopt UEPS as an ABEEK (Accredita- and law. There is also a need for tech-

18 ISO Focus November 2007 strategy for an organization or group of A Dutch organizations. Students learn about standardiza- university : tion through self-study of the manage- Providing a ment book on standardization developed by the school, as well as presentations and competitive in-class discussions. Research topics differ per group. Past theses have included advantage themes as varied as mass customization of jeans, professional soccer licensing, and product quality of cannabis (see Box, overleaf, for more examples). by Dr. Henk J. de Vries, Associate Professor “ Past theses have in Standardization at included themes RSM Erasmus as varied as mass University customization of jeans and professional soccer licensing.” Granier Photo : P. Photo: P.

he Rotterdam School of Manage- ter’s (MA) and executive education ment (RSM) of the Erasmus Uni- (MBA) programmes, it is one of the T versity in The Netherlands is an world’s largest business schools in the internationally top-ranked business number of both students and research school focussed on developing leaders faculty. In order to achieve and main- for global, sustainable business. Offer- tain its top rank, the school benchmarks ing an array of Bachelor’s (BA), Mas- both its educational and research activities against other major business schools. Ultimately, the objective of the RSM Erasmus University is not only to be About the author active in the more “common” aspects The Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) of business, but to distinguish itself by of the Erasmus University. Henk J. de addressing business issues not consid- Vries has been The research groups have to review ered by other schools. Standardization an Associate relevant scientific and professional lit- management is one of these issues. Professor in erature, and most will have to interview Standardization practitioners. Some groups use addition- at the RSM Bachelor’s students’ A to al research and statistical methods for Erasmus Uni- gathering data, such as street interviews versity since Z for strategic research with consumers or internet surveys. The 2003. From RSM Erasmus University offers findings are then presented to a jury con- 1994 to 2003, several elective courses with standardi- sisting of an RSM Erasmus University he worked as zation management as the main or one researcher, as well as the General Direc- Assistant Professor at Erasmus University and simultaneously had a position at of the topics addressed. In their third tor and the Head of New Business Devel- the Netherlands Standardization Institute year, students write a Bachelor the- opment of NEN, the ISO member body (NEN). He wrote his dissertation on sis in groups of three. The objective for The Netherlands (The Netherlands national standards bodies (Henk J. de is for students to learn how to design, Standardization Institute). Some students Vries, 1999. Standardization – A Busi- conduct and report a research project. have managed to get their results pub- ness Approach to the Role of National Each year, 24 students devote their lished in professional journals, and one Standardization Organizations. Boston/ thesis to “standardization strategy”, so group wrote their thesis as a scientific Dordrecht/London : Kluwer Academic as to obtain a general overview of the paper which was accepted for a scientif- Publishers). He is the author of more subject and the necessary knowledge ic conference of the European Academy than 200 publications on standardization. and skills to develop a standardization for Standardization (EURAS).

ISO Focus November 2007 19 Jeans, soccer and Main Focus cannabis The following are examples of standardization thesis topics cho- NEN’s support has enabled the Masters in the classroom sen by students at the RSM Erasmus Chair to get involved in the advance- Standardization is also part of University : ment of standardization education out- the courses within the Master electives • Consumer preferences related side RSM Erasmus University. These on “Business Process Excellence” and to mass customization – activities include developing teaching “ Innovation in Services”. As of 2008, The case of jeans materials (books, teaching cases, e-learn- RSM Erasmus University intends to offer ing modules), coordinating an academic a new elective on standardization man- • Process standardization in the network of standardization researchers agement. The Master electives are giv- manufacturing of cars in The Netherlands, and actively par- en in English and are also open to stu- • Application of RFID (Radio ticipating in the International Commit- dents from 61 partner business schools Frequency Identification) in tee for Education about Standardization all over the world. (medical) emergency treatment (ICES) (See the article on page 25) and • Professional soccer – UEFA in the Asia Link project on Standardi- “ At the RSM Erasmus licensing system zation in Companies and Markets (See the article on page 21). University, research and • Biometric identification cards – At RSM Erasmus University, Benchmarking study Malaysia education are interrelated, research and education are interrelated, – Netherlands and developed in and developed in cooperation with indus- • Factors for standards domi- try. Current research includes the super- cooperation with industry.” nance – A literature review vision of four PhD projects on standard- • Standards for geothermic ization. These and other research activi- In 2006, 22 students devoted energy ties have resulted in more than 200 pub- their Master’s thesis to standardization. lications, including several books. In most cases, the thesis project was • Product quality of cannabis – combined with an internship in a com- Standardization in a semi- pany or other organization. Thesis top- criminal environment ics included : • Performance standards for • Effects of job standardization on sales development agencies For more information, force turnover – The case of Nike • Marks of conformity – see : Europe Added value of certification • http://www. • Impact of ISO 9001:2000 on product and accreditation – The case of rsm.nl/standardization innovation food product logos • http://www.rsm.nl/hdevries • Implementing a standardized distri- • Standards for public procurement bution model for multinational com- of road construction Publications on the school’s activ- panies – The case of General Electric • Stakeholder involvement in ities in standardization education Plastics the development of standards – include: • Standards for outsourcing of business Cases on International Finan- • Vries, Dr. Henk J. de, 2003. services cial Reporting Standards and Learning by example – European standards for a possible curriculum model Dominant design or multiple designs ? • protective clothing for standardization education. – A case study on factors contribut- ISO Bulletin, 34, 7, July 2003, ing to multiple designs in the Flash 25-30. Memory Card Industry • Vries, Henk J. de, 2005. • Implementing the Hazard Analysis Standardization Education. and Critical Control Point (HACCP) In: Manfred J. Holler & Esko food safety standard in a small com- ISO Member for The Netherlands paves Niskanen (Eds.) EURAS pany Yearbook of Standardization, the way Vol. 5. Special issue of Homo Numerous articles based on Mas- The RSM Erasmus Universi- Oecunomicus, 22, 1, 71-91. ter’s theses have been published in pro- ty’s Chair in Standardization within the fessional and scientific journals. Some department of Management of Technol- students have received first and second ogy and Innovation has been made possi- places in national thesis awards on serv- ble by NEN. Currently there is a vacancy ice and quality management. for a Professor in Standardization, previously held by Prof.dr.ir. C.A.J. Simons (1994-2000) and Prof.dr. A.J. Feilzer (2001-2006).

20 ISO Focus November 2007 of the overall world trade. The Euro- pean Union has become the third most important trading partner 1). Even though standardization is addressed under the WTO and the ASEAN programme with regard to trade and quality 2), the knowledge corpus on international and Euro- pean standardization in Asia needs to be constantly enhanced. International Standardization and specifically European standardization issues therefore need to enter both goes East academic and non-academic teaching as well as further education. In order the European- to expose researchers and professionals in Asian countries to all the differ- Asian academic ent approaches to standards setting (i.e. to make sure that the specific Europe- network an approach is adequately represented), and to support bilateral or multi-lateral International (EU-Asian partner countries) barrier-free trade, tertiary-level education and train- and multimedia- ing in European standardization is essential. A knowledge transfer via academic based teaching and education in that respect needs to be expanded, especially since Europe plays an economically increasing role in the Asian region.

The educational dimension and standardization : Crossing academic by Prof.-Dr. Ing. Wilfried the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellec- disciplines Hesser, and Wenke Siedersleben, tual Property Rights (TRIPS), has con- verged under the World Trade Organiza- Historically, the subject of stand- M.Sc., M.A tion (WTO) since 1994. The WTO has ardization was interlinked, firstly, with taken on the task of constantly foster- national industrial development, sec- ing and reinforcing the multilateral glo- ondly, with internationalization, and Introduction : bal world trade system. The function of thirdly, connected to engineering scienc- the WTO is to trigger trade liberaliza- es. During industrialization, the efforts of Standardization and company standardization at the national globalization tion by new rule-making in an economically globalized world. This process is level were directed towards the develop- he term globalization refers to the based on the basic principles of trading ment of safety standards in engineering. ever increasing interdependence systems, which are a) non-discrimina- Rationalization in industrial production of economic, social, technologi- tion, b) reciprocity, c) transparency, d) became the focus of standardization as T industrialization progressed. cal, cultural and political spheres in binding and enforceable commitments, th today’s world. Economically, globaliza- and e) fair competition. An important In the 20 century, with the imple- tion refers to the global or trans-nation- contribution to this is the Agreement mentation of computer-aided design and al convergence of goods and services, on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), computer-integrated manufacturing labour, capital and technology – the vir- which was passed in 1995. The TBT concepts, there was need for standardi- tually international and globally distrib- Agreement distinguishes between tech- zation and interoperability. Nowadays, uted value chain. nical trade barriers arising from differing debates concentrate mainly on standards and their implications for competitive The continuing work on contracts, legal requirements, different standards such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and discrepancies in testing and certifi- and Trade (GATT), focussing on goods cation procedures worldwide. and investment, or the General Agree- The European-Asian overall trade 1) p.11, EU Strategy Paper on Asia 2005-2006. ment on Trade in Services (GATS) and accounts for EUR 230 Billion, up to 30 % 2) p.15 EU Strategy Paper on Asia 2005-2006.

ISO Focus November 2007 21 Main Focus

policy, international trade and company how standardization permeates a wide with Henk de Vries and Albert Feilzer of strategies. Standardization is an instru- range of subjects. Prof. Dr. Ing. Wil- Erasmus University Rotterdam, Nether- ment of strategic corporate management fried Hesser, Helmut Schmidt Universi- lands. With an overall budget of 400 000, and increasingly attracts the attention of ty, University of Federal Armed Forces it has been coordinated and managed by company executives. Hamburg, undertook the first initiative, Wenke Siedersleben in Hamburg since Additionally, standards have which combined all different academ- January 2004. become a topic for teaching and research ic disciplines, creating a lectures series This project represents, for the in international, European and national and content ranging from engineering first time, a Web-based lecture series law. Standards play a prominent role in and law to business. using e-learning and focussing on stand- the legal sphere: one example of this is ardization in Companies and Markets. the essential requirements of the Europe- The lecture series has been developed an Union. These specify basic demands The project : by an international team of academics in the fields of consumer and environ- Standardization in from universities in China, Germany, Indonesia, The Netherlands, Sri Lanka mental protection and industrial prod- companies and markets uct safety that are allowed to be offered and Vietnam. for sale in the European Union. Product The European Union EU-Asia Link The results are twofold: firstly, liability, quality issues and non-compli- programme took on the task of strength- the textbook “ Standardization in compa- ance to standards are particularly rele- ening European-Asian university cooper- nies and markets”, comprising approxi- vant for international companies operat- ation. During the first application round mately 800 pages and published in Eng- ing in global markets. Thus, standardi- in 2002, applications were submitted lish, and secondly, an e-learning-based zation represents an important steering to the European Commission, External lecture series on the Internet. The e-lec- instrument for economic policy based Relations, in Brussels, Belgium. tures have a modular structure and are on European law, with implications for One of those selected was the e- based on the contents of the textbook. the engineering and business sector and learning project called “Standardization The lectures series, however, offers a vice versa. in companies and markets” from Wil- number of additional features, including Educational priority lies therefore fried Hesser, Professor for Standardi- multiple-choice tests, frequently asked in providing engineers, business managers zation at Helmut Schmidt University, questions (FAQs), keywords, exercises and economists with some insights into Hamburg, Germany, managed jointly and a glossary. The Asian partner uni-

22 ISO Focus November 2007 versities offer the entire curriculum as almost 30 %, combining almost all fac- part of a Master’s degree course for ulties at the university. Curriculum of “ Standardization engineering and business students. The The e-learning modules have a in companies and markets” technological basis for this lecture series multimedia-based interactive design is the open-source e-learning platform covering all the latest topics in the field 01 Fundamentals of standards of Helmut Schmidt University in Ham- of standardization. The lecture series, and standardization burg, Germany. with its total of 22 online units, can be 02 History of standards and E-learning has the potential to accessed via the e-learning platform standardization – an Introduc- deliver benefits for innovative teaching of the Helmut Schmidt University via tion and learning It does this by increasing www.asia-link-standardisation.de and the speed and degree of disseminating www.pro-norm.de. University teach- 03 Economic aspects of stan- knowledge, by facilitating knowledge ers and students, as well as learners and dardization and skills, by providing flexible learning instructors from industry and commerce, 04 Development of standards opportunities for students and learning- can organize their own individual online 05 Product development and on-demand, and by creating new collab- courses, matching their study interests design orative learning opportunities. and learning concept. 06 Standardization inside a company – a strategic “ Standardization The textbook perspective is an instrument of The textbook contains chapters 07 External standardization as strategic corporate on European and international stand- a company strategy management.” ardization, including the history and 08 Standardization and principles of standardization. It is the innovation The open source e-learning plat- first interdisciplinary book on stand- 09 International standardization form ILIAS is a Web-based learning ardization in companies and markets management system (LMS) that is avail- and also the most comprehensive. 10 Standardization and able as Open Source. It brings together Designed as a textbook, the work international law tools for learning, authoring, informa- includes numerous illustrations and is 11 The European standardization pooling and cooperative teaching written in a style that is easily under- tion regulatory framework and learning and course administration. stood by all. Among the topics dealt 12 The European Union and its E-learning at Helmut Schmidt Univer- with are economic strategies of stand- standardization policy sity has been implemented for about ardization, the role of standards in cor- five years. The overall participation is porate management, the importance of 13 Standardization and Law in the Federal Republic of Germany 14 The EU and its New Approach About the authors 15 Conformity assessment Wilfried Hesser Wenke 16 Standardization issues is Professor of Siedersleben in developing countries and Standardization graduated from countries in transition and currently the University holds the Chair of Oxford and 17 Metrological measurement of Standardiza- the Humboldt 18 Case: Information and tion and Techni- University, communication technology (ICT) cal Drawing at Berlin, in soci- standardization the Helmut ology, political Schmidt Univer- science and 19 Case: mobile telecommuni- sity, Hamburg. educational cations in Indonesia He has authored many research reports studies, and started working in January 20 Quality management and and scientific articles, including his 2004 as EU-Asia Link project manager. ISO 9001:2001 development most recent publication : Final report for She published papers on the European the European Union. The advantage of Union’s education policy, the G8/G7 21 ISO 14000: 2004 standardization as a management instru- Summit and Global Governance, implementation ment in companies. International and Intercultural Project- 22 Standardization in E-mail: management. agriculture [email protected]. E-mail: [email protected]. Web site: Web site: www.asia-link-standardisation.de. www.asia-link-standardization.de.

ISO Focus November 2007 23 Main Focus standardization for international eco- project’s e-learning concept should not sponded exactly with the original project nomic relations in a global world, imple- replace face-to-face academic teaching design. Based on the experience of the mentation issues concerning European and learning, but rather enhance current project, there are now different ideas and national law, as well as technical academic teaching and learning. for further cooperation and a two-fold applications and case studies. objective may be pursued here via : “ Standardization 1 Academic exchange The curriculum represents an important 2 Knowledge transfer in the field of standardization. These lectures realized as teaching steering instrument for units cover different business sectors, dif- economic policy.” ferent forms of standardization (company “ E-learning has standardization, formal standardization the potential to deliver at the national, regional and global level, standardization by industrial consor- The tenders benefits for innovative tia), different scientific approaches (e.g. Product 1: Standardization in teaching and learning.” economics, history, law, business stud- companies and markets. Course for self- ies), different business issues (e.g. how qualification, consisting of 22 teaching Future initatives could be : to meet requirements in standards, how units. This course comprises lectures, to balance “standard” with variety, ben- images, FAQs, multiple choice (MC) Level 1 : Summer school and/or exchange efits and costs of standardization, man- tests, exercises and discussion forum. It programme agement of standardization), and typical is available online for download. The idea is to bring together stu- characteristics of the two regions, Europe Product 2: Blended learning dents who are studying the option of and Asia. For a list of curriculum topics model. Blended learning is a combined “standardization within companies and see Box on page 23. teaching/study concept that represents markets” as part of a summer school, The teaching units were conduct- a didactically meaningful synthesis of where they will be taught by Asian and ed in the following form : campus-based events such as workshops European professors. • Teaching units presented in and virtual teaching and study based on chapters ; a modern e-learning management sys- Level 2: PhD students tem, ILIAS. Workshops are conducted The aim is to initiate a research • Volume of text: approximately by highly qualified experts. network in collaboration with the Asian 20-30 pages ; Product 3: Consultant and lec- professors. The focus is on supporting a • Figures, graphics: 20-30 per unit ; turer network. Lecturers and independ- Euro-Asian exchange of knowledge on • Frequently asked questions : ent consultants have access to the entire standardization. The subject of standard- 10-15 per unit ; contents of the lectures. Texts, Power- ization within companies and markets in Point images, original files for FAQs, the context of a global world is to occupy • Multiple-choice test, exercises, as well as MC tests are avail- the central position of the research work. 10-15 questions ; able online for download. Each PhD student will receive academic • Exercises ; Product 4: Franchising system. support in his or her research work from two professors on the basis of a project • Glossaries. Here you can start your own enterprise. We set up your own e-teaching and study management plan. management system. You have your own Sustainability of corporate identity to implement your Level 3: Professors and academics the project personal business. You can set up your In order to establish and consoli- worldwide training business to be inde- date a network of knowledge and research, Given the widespread availabil- pendent of time and place. Certified cli- it will be essential for an exchange of aca- ity of modern information technolo- ents can also operate as franchisees. demics and professors to take place. gies, costs will nevertheless occur for maintaining and updating the textbook The basics are already in place. and e-content at a non-profit level. Both The outlook However, the network and the personal projects results have been available since contacts made in the course of this project The Asia Link projects working the beginning of 2007 via the following should now be further developed. Web sites : www.pro-norm.de and www. relations have been fruitful and based asia-link-standardisation.de. on mutual trust. They form the basis for The standardization in companies further cooperation within this Europe- and markets curriculum can be concep- an-Asian academic network on stand- tualized as blended-learning, thus mix- ardization. The working atmosphere was ing/blending Web-based and face-to- cooperative and productive. Events and face teaching and learning phases. This workshop results and the budget corre-

24 ISO Focus November 2007 Standardization activities are car- ried out by people who may need specific knowledge and/or skills to do their job. Most participants in standardization committees have had very little, if any, training. They are usually not aware that they can take advantage of training and education. At the management level, knowledge about standardization is needed, in particular, on the relevance of stand- Lessons ards for business. John Hill, Standards Manager of Sun Microsystems and ini- from Asia tiator of ICES, argues that “ Compa- nies as well as standards bodies need Bridging well-educated standardization experts. Standardization processes should keep the gap between up with the times. Who will progress the theory and practice of standardiza- theory and tion ? Will universities provide us with practice such people ? ” The workshop participants identified an enormous gap between latent and manifest needs for standardization education. Countries like the Republic of Korea and Thailand show that to bridge this gap a national strategy is needed, as well as cooperation among government, industry, the national standards body, academia and educational institutions.

cademics, business experts and Keeping up with people from standards bodies the times A from Asia, Europe and the Amer- icas met in February 2007 in Delft, The In 2006, 46 universities in the Netherlands, to share experiences on Republic of Korea offered courses on standardization education. The work- standardization, while in other coun- shop was an initiative of the Interna- tries the number of universities offer- tional Committee for Education about ing these was very limited. In the USA, Standardization (ICES), and was organ- only three universities offer a separate ized by Tineke Egyedi (Delft Univer- standardization course. In Europe, the sity of Technology) and Henk de Vries number of universities with courses on (Erasmus University Rotterdam). Some offering ranges from 10 to 30. The major findings of this workshop are present- share of academic education on stand- ed below.1) ardization can be found in Asia : mainly in Another lesson learnt during the China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, workshop is that it is easier to talk about but also in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thai- educational content (i.e. in terms of there land and Vietnam. being a need for …) than identifying the Non-academic teaching is offered source of educational needs (i.e. why 1) Source for this contribution : in many countries, mainly in the form of should one have knowledge of standardi- “ Education about Standardization – courses for technicians about specific zation ?). Nevertheless, the latter should Recent Findings ” (Henk J. de Vries & Tineke standards. Though some courses attract be the starting point of standardization M. Egyedi, International Journal for IT Standards & Standardization Research, many participants, the supply of education education. It determines which audience Vol. 5, Nr. 2, July – December 2007, is very restricted compared to the number should be targeted and what should be pp. 1-26). of people involved in standardization. taught (learning objectives).

ISO Focus November 2007 25 Main Focus

Audiences and learning cation at the lower, intermediate or high- objectives er vocational level. However, in the long run, this knowledge will not suffice as Education in the Republic of new standards emerge and existing stand- Korea started off by targeting engineer- ards are changed or withdrawn. ing students. However, there are many So, once people really get involved target groups for standardization educa- inin ddevelopingeveloping oorr aapplyingpplying sstandardstandards iinn tion. In a brainstorm session, the work- theirtheir professionalprofessional life,life, theythey willwill needneed shop came up with a list of potential continuouscontinuous eeducation,ducation, ee.g..g. bbyy mmeanseans users who would benefit from standard- ofof a ccourseourse oofferedffered bbyy a nnationalational sstand-tand- ization education, i.e. : ardsards bbody.ody. TThehe ccourseourse ccontentontent sshouldhould • from audiences in the regular educa- thenthen meetmeet a setset ofof interrelatedinterrelated learninglearning tional system (e.g. primary school, objectivesobjectives aaboutbout tthehe rrequiredequired aattitude,ttitude, secondary school, vocational training, skillsskills andand knowledge.knowledge. WorkshopWorkshop par-par- university students including MBA ticipants mentioned examples of such students, PhD students and post-docs, learning objectives. teachers and university professors) to job training (e.g. for standards developers, implementers, corporate manag- Contents of an academic ers, managers of functional units such curriculum asas ppurchasingurchasing departments,departments, research-research- Standardization courses differ in ers,ers, ppolicyolicy mmakers,akers, ppublicublic aadministra-dministra- the topics they address. Most curricula tion,tion, lobbyistslobbyists forfor anan industryindustry sector,sector, seem to be composed in a rather pragmatic andand mmediaedia ppeople),eople), aandnd eeducationducation fforor way, strongly depending on the specific the wider public ; knowledge of the designer. In academic • withinwithin regularregular education,education, fromfrom aaudi-udi- education on standardization, there is a encesences thatthat requirerequire generalgeneral educationeducation choice between developing a separate (e.g.(e.g. cross-academiccross-academic courses)courses) toto thosethose course on standardization and integrat- whowho nneedeed sspecificpecific educationeducation (e.g.(e.g. stu-stu- ing the subject in another course. dentsdents iinn eengineering,ngineering, bbusiness,usiness, mmedi-edi- The interdisciplinary nature of cine and law) ; standardization and the amount of relevant topics would seem to make a sepa- from those who will make a full-time • raterate ccourseourse wworthwhile.orthwhile. IInn a tthree-hourhree-hour career out of standardization (which interactiveinteractive workshopworkshop session,session, usingusing thethe is an exception) to those who end up groupgroup decisiondecision roomroom facilitiesfacilities ofof “ groupgroup in this area at a later stage of their decisiondecision ssupportupport ssoftwareoftware ” aandnd 3300 iinter-nter- career. connectedconnected computers,computers, workshopworkshop partici-partici- pantspants managedmanaged toto achieveachieve roughrough consen-consen- sussus aboutabout thethe mainmain elementselements ofof suchsuch anan academicacademic ccourse.ourse.

Available teaching materials For those who would like to set up standardization education, a fair amount of books, e-learning environments, digitally available lectures and Internet courses, bibliographies and other educational material are available. The vast majority, however, is written in Chi- People usually come into contact nese, Dutch, Japanese, Korean, Turkish, with standards via their profession (e.g. etc., and, as such, is not easily accessi- in a specific technical area). They may ble. Only a small proportion is availa- sometimes already be acquainted with ble in English. specific standards, such as standards for Moreover, the workshop partici- technical drawing, or for safety of low pants emphasized the need and possibil- voltage installations through regular edu- ity to present course content in a more

26 ISO Focus November 2007 “ fun ” and “ sexy ” way. For example, case studies are fun and very useful to illus- trate standardization issues, and invited speakers, in particular from industry, may liven up courses. Unfortunately, overall teaching cases are lacking which involve role playing and help students “ experience ” standardization. “ It is easier to talk about educational content than identify the source of educational needs.”

A notable exception is the e-learning course developed by ISO (see article by ISO Strategic Advisor, Dr. Dan- iele Gerundino, on page 39) which uses a teaching case, a simulation, for educating standardizers. Courses like these would also be useful for academic teaching and vice versa, with teaching material developed for academic teaching applicable in other educational settings.

Conclusions and future developments An enormous gap exists between manifest and latent needs for standardization education. A main lesson to be learnt from some of the Asian countries A conventional view would is that the gap can be bridged, first with Improved describe education as the mere trans- a strong national policy which may be mission of knowledge. But that con- part of a regional policy, and second- guidelines on cept is changing rapidly, as it must. ly by cooperation among government, implementing A more appropriate 21st century cre- industry, the national standards body, do would be: “ Education is the con- academia and other educational insti- ISO 9001 in the struction of sustainable integration tutions. New initiatives can build upon processes based on individual needs experiences in other countries and the education sector and capacities.” material already developed. Failing to meet this need for a The increasing number of ini- new mindset regarding education could tiatives and activities that have taken make our communities unlivable within place in the last three years indicates a generation, as vast sectors of the pop- that there is a momentum for educa- by Rafael A. de Arrascaeta ulation find themselves excluded from tion on standardization. The National Farrando, Member of the group full participation in civil society. Institute of Standards and Technology of experts which developed and The alternative could be a future (Gaithersburg, MD, USA) is seizing this edited IWA 2:2007 gravely undermined by failure to invest momentum and is organizing the next in the best available education. Police ICES workshop which is scheduled for n May 2007, ISO published updat- and fences will not be enough to pro- 21-22 February 2008. ed guidelines to facilitate the imple- tect us if our societies lack shared Imentation of quality management ethics built upon universal education. systems in educational organizations : Effective implementation of ISO 9001 For more information about ICES, IWA 2:2007, Quality management sys- quality standards by educational insti- see : tems – Guidelines for the application of tutions can play a key role in address- http://www.standards-education.org ISO 9001:2000 in education. ing this challenge.

ISO Focus November 2007 27 What is an IWA? Main Focus An International Workshop Agreement (IWA) is one of several ISO alternatives to International The past as guide ness dealings and has earned a world- Standards for cases where swift wide reputation as a “generic manage- As long ago as the late 19th cen- development and publication ment system standard”. tury, integration of immigrants into the takes priority. Compared to the educational system was the cornerstone Generic means that the same usual ISO process of developing of broader social assimilation. Today’s standards can be applied to any organi- needs are not substantially changed. We International Standards through zation and any product. In this context, must now undertake to employ educa- its technical committee structure, the term “ product ” may include serv- tion as a central tool in the integration IWAs are developed in open ices in any sector, business enterprises, of a new kind of immigrants : “ the peo- workshops and organized by public administration, or governmental ple of cultural poverty”. a national standards institute. entity. No matter what the organization Expressed in somewhat crass The documents are approved by is or does, the ISO 9000 family spells out essential features of a quality man- terms, the message to actors in the edu- consensus among participants in cational marketplace might be : if social agement system. these workshops. responsibility or quality principles are Management system refers to a not reason enough to improve your pro- systematic approach to managing processes, then do it out of fear. This apparent paradox is possible cesses and/or activities, people, resourc- because improving individual elements es and infrastructure. Good news and bad does not guarantee a programme’s success Quality management refers to if corresponding synergies are absent. activities aimed at meeting custom- Most educational organizations Implementation of a quality manage- er demands and applicable regulatory take their responsibilities seriously ment system (QMS) for the education- requirements, as well as efforts to con- as they pursue competent educators, al organization can create the required tinually improve the organization’s per- appropriate planning and curricula, the synergies. formance. Included here are steps tak- best available methodologies and pro- en to minimize the effects of product cesses, and outstanding materials and Why adopt deficiencies and to continually improve infrastructure. product performance. Nonetheless, educational organi- ISO 9001:2000? zations often fail to provide an adequate The ISO 9000 family is an inter- ISO 9001:2000 defines minimum educational experience, or ultimately do national reference for quality manage- requirements for a QMS. The standard not satisfy “ learner expectations ”. ment requirements in business-to-busi- specifies activities that need to be con-

ISO 9001:2000 QMS, Process Model for a University*

Develop and provide Educational Plan, manage academic support model and evaluate improvement organization results Develop and provide Manage material academic support and financial resources

Development and Manage Develop and provide academic support management of human information, capital and competences knowledge and educational Link intelligence Develop and provide with the academic support community

GOVERNANCE OPERATIONAL SUPPORT STRATEGIC PLATFORMS PLATFORMS PLATFORMS PROGRAMMES

* Example of QMS Level 1 Process Model developed by author by using the IWA 2:2007 guide. The QMS Project Team takes advantage of IWA 2: Principles, Recommendations & Annex B to develop their Process Model, Measurement and Records Example of an ISO 9001:2000 process model for a university, developed by the author using IWA 2:2007 as a guide.

28 ISO Focus November 2007 sidered during implementation of the system. The requirements are applicable to all organizations. Continual improvement of the organization’s quality management system is a further requirement of the standard.

Why do we need IWA 2 ? ISO 9001:2000 the best option for any organization – including educational institutions – seeking to establish a QMS that provides confidence in the conformity of a product or service to specified requirements. But as a generic standard, the Product Realization section of ISO 9001 must be tailored to meet specific operational needs. Some educational organizations have run into difficulties adapting ISO 9001 requirements to their needs, and IWA 2 has been developed to address these issues. The guidelines contained in IWA 2:2007 do not add, change or otherwise modify the requirements of ISO 9001:2000, and are not intended for use in contracts for conformity assessment nor for certification. als. It uses terminology broadly accept- Each corresponding chapter of ed in the sector, including: education- IWA 2:2007 contains practical recom- Added value from al organization, educational services, mendations for its application in an edu- IWA 2:2007 education provider, learner, education cational organization. design, education delivery, assessment IWA 2:2007 adds value to a QMS IWA 2:2007 includes two prac- of learning, and more. tical annexes : based on ISO 9001:2000 for education- The eight quality management Annex A is a self-assessment for edu- al institutions in several ways. principles listed in ISO 9000:2005 are • cational organizations, with instruc- IWA 2 was written by educa- described using education sector lan- tions for application, scoring and tion experts for educational profession- guage. results interpretation. Four additional principles are suggested to sustain success in educa- • Annex B contains examples of most common educational processes, About the author tional organizations : • creating learner value ; suggested measures for educational processes, educational organization Rafael A. de • focusing on social value ; Arrascaeta records, frequent applicable tools for Farrando is • agility ; analysis, and improvement of the educational processes. General Director • autonomy. and Founder The first IWA 2 document was The requirement chapters of ISO Partner of Alli- approved at a workshop held in Acapul- 9001:2000 are amended using educa- ance Vision and co, Mexico, in October 2002; the current tional sector language : Sinergis IWA 2:2007 (revision to IWA 2:2003) Consultants • quality management system in the was approved at a workshop held in S.C., Mexico, educational organization ; Busan, Republic of Korea, in Novem- and a member ber 2006. of INLAC (Latin American Institute for • management responsibility ; The main changes were to make Quality Assurance). He was a member • resource management ; it a more friendly and useful document of the group of experts which developed to people working in the education sec- and edited IWA 2:2007. • realization ; tor, as described above. E-mail : • measurement, analysis and improve- [email protected] ment.

ISO Focus November 2007 29 Main Focus

curve ing rn The l ea How quality shapes e-learning environments

by Bruce Peoples, Chair of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 36, Information technology for learning, education and training

ver the last 10 or so years, there has been a massive growth in the Oconsumer market for IT : laptops, personal computers, personal data assist- ants, and various mobile devices. Con- sumers are spending their time – more than ever before – surfing the Internet, using online banking, sending e-mails, booking trips and buying products on the Internet. In the domain of learning, education, and training, e-learning requires a wide variety of standards to effectively create, maintain, and dynamically adapt inexpensive laptops will enable student successful implementations in today’s functional e-learning environments to users to experience e-learning in adap- and tomorrow’s marketplace, is the qual- meet individual user needs. With the tive and collaborative environments on ity of the environment created and the advent of the 100 USD laptop devel- a global scale. quality of the content used. oped by The Massachusetts Institute of Standards for such areas as user In a growing learning, educa- Technology (MIT), the widespread use of preferences, competency models, acces- tion and training marketplace, with a distributed e-learning is rapidly becom- sibility needs, intelligent teaching agents, trillion USD invested annually, ensuring a reality. learning resource metadata, and privacy, ing quality of these e-learning environ- The number of these inexpensive are necessary for the creation and main- ments is of paramount importance to and powerful computers is increasing tainability of adaptive e-learning envi- governments, industry, academia and and deployment – especially to remote ronments. These, in turn, are needed for more importantly users. A har monized and underdeveloped educational infra- e-learning implementation. conception of quality is a prerequisite structure regions – are allowing edu- Although there are several com- for properly functioning e-learning cators to reach out to millions and ponents involved in creating and main- products and ser vices. soon hundreds of millions of learners. taining adaptive e-learning environ- Advanced network capabilities of these ments, the overarching key in creating

30 ISO Focus November 2007 Creating e-learning ent existing standards and to harmonize holders. It will not enforce any partic- quality these standards and approaches towards ular implementa tions, but instead, will a common quality model. focus on their intended results. With a membership of 31 nation- The standard consists of four sec- Based on the framework defined al standards bodies and 20 liaison organi- tions and seven annexes defining: in part 1, ISO/IEC 19796-2 focuses on zations, ISO/IEC Joint technical com- • Section 1 – scope; the development of a concurrent har- mittee JTC 1, Information technolo gy, monized quality model developed as subcommittee SC 36, Information tech- • Section 2 – terms and definitions a quality standard for information and nology for learning, education and train- needed for conceptualization of the communication technologies – ICT-sup- ing, develops standards for the compo- framework and quality; ported learning, education and training. nents used in an adaptive e-learning envi- • Section 3 – the process model used; This model will consist of basic require- ronment. One of the current focuses of ments and recommendations for quali- Section 4 – conformance to the stand- SC 36 is on quality with working group • ty systems intended to be used in har- ard. WG 5, Quality assurance and descriptive monizing existing quality approaches. frameworks, spearheading this work by For a better understanding of the It is also intended to be extensible for producing standards for quality. standard, seven annexes show samples of the requirements of specific e-learning These are the standards needed its usage. An annex on Reference Quality environments based on user communities, to ensure successful implementation of Criteria (RQC) is also included, which contexts, and stakeholder’s needs. cost-effective adaptive e-learning envi- serves to analyse and evaluate learning ronments. With Dr. Christian Stracke resources and scenarios. It is a frame- “ The widespread as its Convenor, WG 5 is producing work to compare different quality assur- ISO/IEC 19796, Infor mation technolo- ance and quality assessment approaches use of distributed gy – Learn ing, education and training (see Figure 1). e-learning is rapidly – Quality management, assurance and metrics, a four-part standard focusing becoming a reality.” on the definition and harmonization of Harmonizing existing The harmonized quality model for the international conception of e-learn- quality approaches learning, education and training combines ing quality. The standard represents the ISO/IEC 19796-2, Infor mation both process and product orientation and harmonized international know-how on technology – Learn ing, education and takes into account quality models exist- quality for e-learning. training – Quality management, assur- ing in the current marketplace. The mod- ISO/IEC 19796-1 is intended to ance and metrics – Part 2: Quality model will allow products and services to be reduce the cost and complexity of adopt- el, is intended to harmonize the aspects analysed as an aggregate whole, taking ing quality approaches and, at the same of quality systems and their relations production and the organizational con- time, bring new or improved products and to provide orientation for all stake- texts into consideration. and servic es to the market. This will have the effect of enhancing the lev el of innovation, diversity of supply and procurement intel ligence in the learning, edu- Reference Framework for the Description Reference Quality Criteria (RQC) cation and training markets. of Quality Approaches (RFDQ)

Description Describing quality Comparison Analysis approaches ISO/IEC 19796-1:2005, Infor- Quality Management ISO 9000 EFQM ... mation technology – Learning, educa- approaches tion and training – Quality management, assurance and metrics – Part 1: General approach, provides a Reference Quality European Assurance DE ECTS Qol ... Framework for the Description of Qual- approaches guidelines Benchmarks ity Approaches (RFDQ). It is a frame- Description/Comparison/Analysis work to describe, compare, and analyse Author guide DIN criteria Specific quality management and quality assur- standards/ criteria ance approaches. These approaches can ISO 9241 ASTD criteria be mapped to the RFDQ. The framework is not a quality management or quality Accessibility Organization’s assurance model – it is a framework for guidelines criteria the description of quality approaches. The framework serves to compare differ- Figure 1 – Levels of quality approaches.

ISO Focus November 2007 31 Main Focus

Managing and Best practice guidelines The emerging Part 4 is intended to provide implementation guidance for ensuring quality in ISO/IEC 19796-4, Infor mation ISO/IEC 19796-1. IT will provide har- technology – Learn ing, education and different contexts monized criteria for the identification of training – Quality management, assur- ISO/IEC 19796-3, Infor mation best practice, guidelines for the adapta- ance and metrics – Part 4: Best practice technology – Learn ing, education and tion, implementation, and will contain a and implementation guide, provides a training – Quality management, assur- rich set of examples. In the current draft description format and a process frame- ance and metrics – Part 3: Reference document, best practices examples cur- work for the description and develop- methods and metrics, is intended to har- rently include : ment of quality approaches. The current monize formats for describing meth ods framework is only the base for quality • Quality assurance guideline for e- and metrics for quality management and development. It does not provide sup- learning service operation, from the assurance. The standard will provide a port for the implementation and adap- ISO member for the Republic of Korea collection of reference methods that can tation to the needs of an organization or (KATS) ; be used to manage and ensure quality in within a specific context. WG 5 experts different contexts. This part will fur ther • Quality assurance elements for e- believe it necessary to provide guidelines provide a collection of reference metrics learning – Quality framework defini- to implement and adapt the framework and indi cators that can be used to meas- tion, from the ISO member for Japan and the reference methods and metrics ure quality in processes, products, com- (JISC) ; in differing contexts. ponents and services. • French code of practice in e-learn- Part 3 also provides reference ing, from the ISO member for France methods and metrics used in lifecycle “ A har monized conception (AFNOR Z 76-001) ; processes with the reference models in ISO/IEC 19796-1, and ISO/IEC 19796- of quality is a prerequisite • Learning, education and training focus- 2. In addition, this standard provides col- for properly functioning ing on e-Learning – Part X : Applica- lections of methods and metrics which tion scenarios and guidelines, from are generically described and can be used e-learning products and the ISO member for Germany (DIN for specific contexts. This set of meth- ser vices.” PAS 1032-X). ods and metrics can be used during the It is envisioned that other exam- development and definition of an indi- ples will be added in the final docu- vidual quality approach based on certain ment. quality objectives.

About the author

Bruce Peoples, a systems engineer at Raythe on, is Chair of ISO/ IEC JTC 1/SC 36. He has over 17 years of experience in the inte grated design, development and implementation of complex training, per formance, decision, and production sup port systems. He currently leads research projects in the field of advanced intelligent multilingual systems. Mr. Peoples received a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree from Clar ion University of Pennsylvania in Com munication Systems, specializing in Instructional Systems Design.

32 ISO Focus November 2007 International Standards turn to education services by Dr. Thomas Rau, Chair ISO takes on education education for adults and has vocational education and training in its sights. of ISO/TC 232, Learning A turn towards education has also In March 2007, 34 experts from services for non-formal education been witnessed within ISO. Until now, Europe, the USA, Asia and Austral- and training standardization activities were always ia met for the first meeting of ISO/TC embedded into the scope of the respec- 232 in Berlin, Germany. In the course ithin the past few years, the topic tive committees. This is why in February of the meeting, the committee renamed of quality and quality assurance 2006 DIN, Deutsches Institut für Normung itself to Learning services for non-for- Whas gained momentum in many – the ISO member for Germany – applied mal education and training in order to countries. Quite a number of international for the establishment of a technical com- better meet the differences in conceptu- organizations like the United Nations Edu- mittee for education services. Following a ality within the various countries, and cational, Scientific and Cultural Organi- surprisingly positive response from stand- also to better respond to requirements zation (UNESCO) and the Organisation ardization organizations all over the world, of life-long learning. for Economic Co-operation and Devel- ISO established technical committee ISO/ opment (OECD) have turned to quality TC 232, Educational services. assurance in the area of education in the Need for non-formal context of their mandate. “ Knowledge is becoming education standards The World Trade Organization a key factor in A new economic activity is created (WTO) also considers education as a by the provision of for-profit educational main area in international services in successful corporate services. These economic opportunities its General Agreement on Trade in Serv- management all over and benefits are testimony to the growing ices (GATS). In connection to this, the economic importance of education in the necessity of transparency and compa- the world.” global knowledge society. Knowledge is rable international standards has been Now a technical committee is becoming a key factor in successful cor- stressed repeatedly. The European Union geared exclusively to education servic- porate management all over the world. has intensified its engagement for quality es, it puts the educational process and Education is increasingly being regarded in education. The enumeration could be the assurance of education quality into as a business-oriented service. Quality continued for further international and the centre of its activities. The committee assurance is a crucial issue in non-for- regional organizations. concentrates its attention on non-formal mal educational services.

ISO Focus November 2007 33 Main Focus

Programme of work of the planned standardization Results of the training or Standards for quality testing educational measures

Tools, methods and criteria for monitoring Curriculum requirements of training or education (methodological teaching concept)

Methods, tools and criteria by which to measure Requirements relating to teachers and instructors customer satisfaction (i.e. individuals receiving Programme of work education or training and companies) (subject) Monitoring (internal testing of individuals Knowledge acquisition and communication and companies providing educational services, methods and techniques quality testing by external prices)

Classification of quality levels in specific Curriculum requirements knowledge areas (e.g. for language certificates) (methodological teaching concept)

A number of factors determine The importance of the proposed What is the new technical the quality of continuing education and standardization results from the posi- committee setting out to training : tive impact quality standards have on the communication of knowledge, skills achieve? • the extent to which it builds on knowl- and competence on the one side, and the edge an employee already possesses ; The purpose of the committee is advancement of knowledge as a key to to create a suitable framework for pre- • the degree to which it is geared to his/ successful corporate management, on paring standards in the field of learn- her field of activity ; the other. ing services for non-formal educational • the degree to which it is tailored to Against the backdrop of the and training. It is also open to standards company needs and practice ; increasing need to get recognition of proposals relating to other areas of edu- foreign or private qualifications, quite cation that share the common concern • the successful transfer of the acquired a lot of non-formal education standards of encouraging cooperation in quality knowledge or skills to the place of have been developed in different coun- work. tries during the past years. The quality Thus, quality assurance requires systems have different approaches and maximum cooperation between educa- are not at all comparable. System plural- About the author tional establishments and companies or ism and external certification have been students. Standards ensure this inter- established permanently. An incalcul- Dr. Thomas action. able number of standards have arisen in Rau, Chair of Europe alone in individual countries. For ISO/TC 232, users of education services, it is almost holds a diploma “ Education impossible to compare effectively. in political sci- There is a high risk of non-trust- ence and a PhD is increasingly being worthy certification systems, which can in international economic rela- regarded as a business- provide misleading approval to educa- tions. He is tion providers, learners, employers and oriented service.” project manager the public. The increasing risk to obtain in the German low-quality credentials in the long run network of RKW Innovation and Ration- It is becoming more and more may affect the confidence in certifica- alization Centres. In RKW Berlin apparent that quality needs to be stand- tions and in the quality of professional GmbH, Dr. Rau is responsible for inter- ardized in the field of education, as meas- labour as such. national projects and consultancy. He urable results and educational structures As more and more suppliers use has also held positions as an associate can optimize learning progress, increase quality assurance systems, ISO will have economic affairs officer in the United transparency in the education market a key role to play by providing Interna- Nations Department for Economic and and make it easier to choose between tional Standards which are transparent Social Affairs, and as senior assistant competitors. The availability of quality and make possible comparisons among professor in the Academy for Political standards is crucial if quality assurance the different certifications. Science and Legal Studies. Dr. Rau has is to be translated into systematic qual- also worked as a self-employed consult- ity development. ant and trainer.

34 ISO Focus November 2007 The first meeting of ISO/TC 232 in Berlin, Germany, in March 2007. assurance, whereby particular empha- − Curriculum requirements (methodo- In addition to WG 1, an ad hoc sis is placed on the exchange of mod- logical teaching concept); group was established to carry out mar- els and methods and the establishment ket research, as well as to research exist- of common criteria and principles. Core − Requirements relating to teachers and ing standards and internationally agreed elements are ensuring the quality and instructors; documents within the scope of ISO/TC effectiveness of education or training − Standards for quality testing; 232. This will help identify further needs and improvement of knowledge trans- for International Standards. fer, whilst also enhancing the transpar- − Classification of quality levels in ency and comparability of the range of specific knowledge areas (e.g. for educational services provided. language certificates); Where will the Vocational training aims to improve proposed standard make competitiveness, and, as such, must be − Knowledge acquisition and commu- a difference ? customized to meet company needs. This nication methods and techniques; The features of the draft model involves directing measures towards the − Tools for accessing stored informa- incorporates market and customer requirements of the company whilst also tion; • considering the needs and capabilities of requirements which are typical for the individual. The collation of standard- − Methods, tools and criteria by which the respective industries; ized data on the status of skills and require- to measure customer satisfaction (i.e. • follows a process orientation individuals receiving education or ments plays an important role in ensur- approach; ing that education, training and quality training and companies); assurance are tailor-made. After all, the • uses principles of excellence in accord- quality of education or training providers − Tools, methods and criteria for mon- ance with international comparison determines whether, and to what extent, itoring of training or education. criteria; they will enjoy market success. • focusses on internal mechanism of quality assurance and self-assessment “ The availability of quality What will be the first capability; standard ? standards is crucial if • provides possibility of inspection, The technical committee’s first certification, and monitoring by inde- quality assurance is to be standard is being developed by working pendent inspection bodies. translated into systematic group WG 1, Learning services provid- quality development.” ers. This future standard, entitled Learn- The future ISO standard for edu- ing services for non-formal education cation services will benefit all concerned: and training – Basic requirements for students, companies using their chosen In line with corporate require- service providers, will be generic and education package for internal qualify- ments and beyond, consideration of suitable as a basis for further sector- ing courses, and, of course, the educa- learning needs at the individual level specific standards. tion providers themselves. It will take requires greater quality control in order The draft under discussion in the account of the following aspects: the to support and safeguard the life-long working group is a reference model for overall methodological conception of learning process. quality management in business-oriented education courses; the requirements to The standardization project will education companies. It is intended to be met by teaching staff; methods and cover the following: develop a very flexible and transparent techniques of acquiring and conveying standard with increasing requirements knowledge; and methods of measuring − Results of the training or educational concerning quality management sys- customer satisfaction. measures; tems. In its basic approach, the mod- Subsequent sessions of ISO/TC − Monitoring (internal testing of indi- el supports the current trend towards 232 will continue to discuss joint qual- viduals and companies providing edu- non-formal education packages that are ity criteria and principles. Publication cational services, quality testing by geared as precisely as possible to cus- of the new ISO standard is expected external parties); tomer needs. in 2010.

ISO Focus November 2007 35 Main Focus

• terms and definitions ; procedure, which is available at www. Standards as iso.org/directives, supports the four • graphical symbols ; main processes of the development and databases and the • codes of all types ; maintenance of standards, i.e. development of • data dictionaries ; • the development of new standards ; knowledge • product properties ; • the maintenance of existing standards ; • elements of classification systems, etc. • the withdrawal of elements from stand- by Reinhard Weissinger, In recognition of these develop- ards ; Group Manager, Project ments, the ISO Technical Management • the systematic review of standards. Board (TMB) has established a special ISO is currently working towards Management and e-Services, group to investigate these activities and providing an environment, called the ISO Standards Department, to propose measures to prepare ISO to Concept Database, supporting this pro- meet this new challenge. The group cur- ISO Central Secretariat cedure, which will facilitate collecting, rently comprises representatives of 14 storing and retrieving concept-oriented ver the last few years, the use of ISO committees from various technical items from standards. The main func- databases to store structured con- fields as well as representatives from tion of the concept database will be to tent from published ISO stand- several member bodies. O provide accessibility to items that have ards or ISO standards under develop- A recent result of the work of been standardized, as well as to provide ment has significantly increased. More the group was the procedure for the an environment for ISO committees to and more ISO committees use databas- development and maintenance of stand- develop and maintain items for which es to store “ structured items ”, which ards in database format, which has they are responsible. The effort to bring lend themselves to being managed with been approved by the TMB and has together content from the different ISO the help of databases. Examples of such become Annex ST to the ISO Supple- committees is designed to facilitate cross- structured items are : ment to the ISO/IEC Directives. The standard and cross-committee visibility and harmonization. This article addresses some of developments in this new field, and tries to place them into the broader context of standards development as a form of knowledge generation and consolidation. It then addresses some potential future scenarios which may evolve from these developments.

Standards development as a process of generation and consolidation of knowledge All standards organizations have procedural rules for the development of standards, for the participation of stakeholders, for prescribed time frames for the development of standards and for the structure and layout of the standards. From a more generic point of view, standards development can be seen as a process of negotiation amongst stakeholders about the codification of knowledge. In this process knowledge may be created, its viability may be tested and verified and existing or potential knowledge alternatives may be discarded (variety reduction) in favour of others.

36 ISO Focus November 2007 Concepts, as stated by ISO/TC Research and development 37, Terminology and other language and content resources, in ISO 704:2000, Ter- (prior to or pre-standardization) minology work – Principles and meth- In flux ods, are “ mental constructs or units of thought which are used to categorize Consolidation of knowledge and best practices objects ”. Concepts do not occur in isolation, but rather as elements in concept (subject to standardization –> Codification) fields representing different knowledge knowledge Stability of or subject domains. Concept fields can be analysed and structured and mod- Established practices, rules, conventions elled as concept systems. Concept sys- (post-standardization) tems help structure, organize and inter- Conso- lidated relate knowledge resources both inside a particular subject field and between Local Generalization Global multiple fields. Concepts are shared in society in general and/or in expert groups. They ensure consistency of understanding and communication by assimilating This process results in a consolidation knowledge generation and of consolida- new experiences to existing concep- of knowledge. Due to the wide participation of results which become part of a tual structures. Learning takes place tion and the extensive review processes globally shared knowledge pool. when new experiences, perceptions or in an organization like ISO, the result- insights cannot be assimilated within ing body of knowledge should normal- the framework of existing conceptual ly be considered to be of high quality, Concepts, knowledge structures. Under such conditions, it is capable of providing the basis for reli- and learning necessary to accommodate, extend or able use and application. Concepts are fundamental for all re-organize these structures and possi- The diagram above shows a sim- bly generate alternative new structures ple three-layered model of knowledge higher cognitive processes. They are the means of organizing our experience and (von Glasersfeld, 1995, p. 113-119 and creation. The vertical arrow indicates a Sodian, 2002). dynamic progression from yet unstable allow us to apply our existing knowledge knowledge through a process of consoli- to new situations. “ This [process] entails categorization, because if we were una- dation to stabilized and codified knowl- Forms of concept edge, whereas the horizontal arrow refers ble to impose categories on the percep- to a dynamic evolution from location- and tual world, then every percept, object, representation condition-specific knowledge, through a or event that occurred would be proc- As shown in the diagram below, process of generalization, towards glo- essed as if it were unique.” (Goswami, concepts can be represented in different bally applicable knowledge. 1998, p. 25) forms. One and the same concept may Although it is evident that not even be designated by different forms all processes of knowledge consolida- “ Concepts are of representations (e.g. by using a term tion pass through formal standardiza- as well as a symbol). tion, standardization can be considered fundamental for all higher Each representation is accompa- as one of the most prototypical forms of cognitive processes.” nied by additional elements, such as an

About the author Concepts [knowledge entities] Reinhard Possible forms of the representations of concepts Weissinger is Group Manager for Project Management Linguistic/ Graphical Codes Signs/signals/ Others and e-Services verbal symbols/ structured in the Standards (i.e. terms) icons messages Department at ISO Central Secretariat.

ISO Focus November 2007 37 Main Focus entry number, a definition, examples, Conclusions notes, a description of the specific func- The review of the ongoing devel- tion, of the image content of a symbol opments and their potential for the future and possibly other elements (see e.g. ISO has shown that standardized concepts 22727:2007, which defines requirements may perform a foundational role in the for public information symbols). emergence, structuring and operation of a global knowledge infrastructure. With its coverage of a multitude of technical Possible future scenarios and other subject fields, its wide range Standards development and standards of stakeholders and open processes, documents ISO – through its national members and together with its international partners It is likely that the database-cen- – is in a position to make a key contri- tred approach for the development and bution to the evolution of such a widely maintenance of standardized content shared knowledge infrastructure. will become much more common in the future. It is also likely that, supported by the new procedure, currently sepa- “ It is likely that the rate approaches to the development of database-centred approach concepts applied in different communities (e.g. terminology, graphical sym- for the development bols) may further converge. The visibil- and maintenance of ity of content from different standards and standards under development in the standardized content same database will very likely contrib- will become much more ute to stronger harmonization and fur- versions (e.g. in response to contractual common in the future.” ther consistency. and legal demands). There may be an impact on the Other services could include the Bibliographical references structure of standards: The existence provision of standardized content for com- of a standard in the form of a paper or Goswami, Usha (1998), Cognition in puter access with a much higher degree electronic document could become only children. Hove, East Sussex: Psychol- of granularity than available today. Cus- one form – amongst others – of render- ogy Press tomers may have many more options in ing standardized content. defining the package of standardized Sodian, Beate (2002), Entwicklung content they wish to obtain in order to begrifflichen Wissens (Development of Flexible assembly of products and new best fit their needs. conceptual knowledge), in: Rolf Oerter, services Leo Montada (eds.), Entwicklungspsy- Together with parallel develop- Emergence of a global knowledge chologie (Developmental psychology). ments in the field of standards authoring infrastructure 5th edition, Weinheim, Basel, Berlin: such as the increasing use of XML, it is Some observers predict the emer- Beltz, pp. 443 - 468 possible to foresee new types of services gence of worldwide structures of mass Tapscott, Don and Anthony D. Williams whereby standardized content is assem- collaboration based on highly segment- (2006), Wikinomics. How mass collab- bled from a set of source standards and ed value-chains which span far beyond oration changes everything. New York: provided as a combination of relevant the borders of individual companies and Portfolio components from standards. Referenc- institutions. Knowledge resources and es to the full texts of the source docu- expertise from inside of firms will be uti- von Glasersfeld, Ernst (1995), Radical ments could be included. The custom- lized and combined with many resources constructivism. A way of knowing and ized product obtained by the customer from outside on a global scale (Tapscott learning. London: The Falmer Press would then only contain relevant ele- et. al., p. 240). Weinberger, David (2007), Every- ments from standards with the possibil- In such an environment, standard- thing is miscellaneous. The power of ity of retrieving the full content of the ized concepts in their different represen- the new digital disorder. New York: standards, whenever needed. tations, including in different languag- Times Books Products provided to customers es, may function as key components of a could be updated more frequently by global knowledge infrastructure through incorporation of new or revised content which existing and newly developed maintained in databases. On the basis of knowledge resources can be referenced, sophisticated release and version man- classified, inter-related and retrieved as agement systems, it would also be pos- part of a new global infrastructure of sible to re-generate and reference earlier meaning (Weinberger, p. 222).

38 ISO Focus November 2007 by Dr. Daniele Gerundino, line’s length, was rejected by Nova Oil ISO e-learning Strategic Adviser C° because its materials conformed to the Southistan’s Bureau of Standards completed ! to the ISO Secretary-General (SBS) standards rather than to Inter- – A convenient, he pipeline fiasco was one of the national Standards. greatest blunders yet to happen in In the end, Steelcorp had to be practical and fun the 21st century (see Box overleaf content with supplying line pipe for the T shorter Southistan portion, implement- for full story). The National Steel Cor- way to become poration (Steelcorp) of Southistan was ed under the responsibility and technical a standardization among the losers. Its offer to supply line supervision of the Southistan’s National pipe for the Baharistan portion, which Petroleum Corporation (NAPETCORP). expert represents nearly 70 % of the total pipe- The top management of Steelcorp is now convinced that all necessary measures must be taken to ensure that Southistan’s industry does not loose such a lucrative deal again.

Standards have a significant impact on business

Steelcorp believes that they have the technical capability to produce line pipe conforming to any standard. They are prepared to remodel their production facilities to comply to the standards required by their customers. Negotiations for the second phase of the pipeline project are due to start in a few weeks. This phase will double the capacity of the pipeline and extend it to Southistan’s eastern neigh- bour – Sharqistan. The investment to remodel therefore constitutes a realistic and worthwhile plan with achiev- able goals. Following this decision, Mr. Kadir, from Steelcorp, addressed the technical director of SBS with the following request : “…We have lately been studying all published and draft Interna- tional Standards for line pipe, and have learned thanks to SBS membership of ISO technical committee ISO/TC 67 that ISO 3183, Petroleum and natural gas industries – Steel pipe for pipeline transportation systems, is currently in the final draft International Standard stage. This means that the new Inter- national Standard will be published in a few months time, and we believe that this is the right moment to adopt it as an SBS standard and implement it in our national industry. “ We expect that adopting this International Standard and implementing it by our company would make it clear to

ISO Focus November 2007 39 The pipeline fiasco – Excerpt from the SOUTHISTAN TIMES Main Focus “…Specialists in the industry call it the greatest blunder of the first decade of the 21st century. Some shake their heads in despair, while others just shrug local and foreign customers alike that our it off as one more consequence of the inefficiency of a state-run corporation. product conforms to world class stand- Most agree that had this huge pipeline project been planned correctly, up to ards. This would enable our company 400 million Southistan Sulis would have been saved by the country. to bid competitively for the supply of line pipe in our region and beyond. By The facts of the case are well known. Most of our readers have followed copy of this e-mail to my good friend, the development of the SS 6-billion pipeline planned to transport crude oil Mr. A Lim, Chair of SBS/TC 24, Petro- and refined products from the offshore sites and oil production fields of the leum, natural gas and petroleum prod- Southern Province to the Northern Province and across the Bijani Mountain ucts, I am requesting SBS to include in range into the densely populated industrial heartland of Baharistan. People its programme of work the adoption of followed the disputes and wrangling over costs and specifications and ISO 3183 and to process this adoption were dismayed to hear that negotiations were time and again broken off through a fast track method…” due to disagreement about unified standards for the whole pipeline which representatives of each side wanted to fashion to their own liking. Sensitive standards After intervention by the Governments of the two countries, the negotiations implementation issues were resumed only to reach a half-hearted agreement: to build the pipeline in In response to Steelcorp’s pro- Southistan according to the standards of our National Petroleum Corporation posal, SBS /TC 24 (the competent SBS and in Baharistan according to the standards set by the Nova Oil C° which committee) held a meeting to discuss, was commissioned by the Government of Baharistan to build their part of the among other topics, the possibility of pipeline…” adopting ISO 3183 and participating in the revision of ISO 13623:2000, Petrole- “…A Parliamentary Commission of Enquiry was set up which ordered a post um and natural gas industries – Pipeline commissioning audit of the pipeline project. Some of the conclusions of that transportation systems. The proposal to audit : adopt ISO 3183 as a national standard, received firm opposition from the rep- the project team and the contractor responsible for the whole pipeline resentative of NAPETCORP. The main • project had to make two pipeline designs with significant extra design and reason given was that ISO 3183 might project engineering costs ; differ substantially from the current SBS standard (SBS 5634), on which numer- it was not possible to place one large order and gain price leverage for the ous processes and procedures of NAPET- • line pipe, which is one of the largest costs of the pipeline project ; CORP are based. there were problems with the pipeline welding and inspection, since Although the NAPETCORP rep- • resentative insisted that they were not both parts of the line had different material and personnel qualification opposed in principle to the adoption of requirements ; ISO 3183, he emphasized that more time it was evident that on a per kilometre basis the Southistan part of the was needed to review company proce- • Pipeline was significantly more expensive due primarily to greater wall dures referencing the current national standard. Only once the consequences thickness of the pipes…” of adopting the new International Stand- “…Now that negotiations for phase 2 of the pipeline project are set to ard were identified could the process of start soon, sources from the Ministry of Energy and Mines say the Minister change begin. This view was supported is determined that no repeat of the embarrassing mistakes of phase 1 by the representative of the Ministry on Energy and Mines, who also wanted to should take place this time. But can the Minister put real pressure on those adopt the ISO standard as a matter of responsible for the technical decisions in the all-powerful National Petroleum principle, but saw no need to speed up Corporation…? ” the process. After a long discussion, some members who had participated in the elaboration of SBS 5634 expressed doubts that ISO 3183 could offer a better solution. The committee therefore established an ad hoc group to study the technical differences between the two standards and report back its findings to SBS/TC 24. The SBS technical director was then requested to provide advice on how to resolve the issue, given its sen-

40 ISO Focus November 2007 sitivity and the apparent clash between “ The feedback received students. The third module was com- the two key Southistan stakeholders : pleted in 2006, and successfully tested NAPETCORP and Steelcorp. so far continues to be very with a pilot session held from April to positive.” June 2007. It is now fully operational as a regular ISO course, along with the What is this all about ? other modules. programme. The programme targets the Does Southistan, SBS, Steelcorp role of “ Expert in International Stand- or the pipeline fiasco not sound famil- ardization Management ”, and address- iar? Do not worry ! You would only know es the training needs of staff members about Southistan and the various devel- within national standards bodies – pri- opments taking place in that country if marily technical officers who already you had participated in one of ISO’s e- have a background in national stand- learning sessions. ardization. Through careful examination of case materials and using supporting documents and guidance from a course mentor, the students’ task consists in analyzing the issue, summarizing key points, and providing draft recommenda- The development of the ISO e- tions to the technical director learning programme “ Expert in Interna- and to the committee chair with, tional Standardization Management ” is hopefully, a positive solution therefore complete, and the three mod- to the problem. ules are now available to ISO members. The story of the South- This implies the possibility of partici- istan’s pipeline is one of the pating in the training sessions organ- practical cases proposed to e- ized throughout year by ISO/CS 2), but learning students in the frame- also to use the programme’s content work of ISO’s e-learning Mod- materials. ule 3 “ Implementing Interna- The three modules comprise alto- tional Standards”. This last gether over 100 content elements, includ- module of ISO’s e-learning ing informative documents, guides, programme was released end PowerPoint presentations, templates of 2006 and tested in 2007. and software tools – without counting the hyperlinks to information sources on the Web. These materials are a) Become a fully harmonized, i.e. share common standardization design principles and content classi- expert with e- fication, as well as look and feel, and In past issues of ISO Focus 1), we learning b) can be re-used in a variety of con- announced that in order to develop the texts, such as classroom courses, new competencies needed to support national The e-learning programme includes customized e-learning modules and participation in international standardi- three independent, albeit interrelated mod- information services. zation, the ISO Central Secretariat (ISO/ ules, dealing with all the key activities All modules are facilitated CS), with the support of two sponsor- that an expert in international standardi- online. Students work on their assign- ing members – the German ISO mem- zation management should master : ments, send questions and completed ber (DIN) and the Japanese ISO mem- • assessing priorities for standardiza- projects to their mentor via the Web. ber (JISC) – had undertaken the devel- tion ; Mentors review their students’ work opment of a comprehensive e-learning • managing participation in interna- and provide feedback online, until the tional standardization ; final deliverable is submitted. At the end of each task, the mentor opens a • implementing International Stand- discussion forum and uses this oppor- 1) See the article on ISO Focus 4/2005, ards. “ The ISO e-learning programme ” and tunity to “ normalize ” the deliverables ISO Focus 4/2006, “ The ISO e-learning The first two modules (described produced by the various students prior programme expands .” in past issues of ISO Focus – see foot- to starting a new task. 2) Reference to the CL concerning ISO note 1) have been operational since 2006, training. and to date have been taken by over 75

ISO Focus November 2007 41 Main Focus

First steps on New ! Module Module 3 helps professionals to standardization (Modules on implementing strengthen their abilities to : 1 & 2) International Standards • ensure the correct application of ISO Guide 21, providing direct coordina- The third ISO e-learning mod- tion of the process for national adop- 1 – Planning a standardization strategy ule covers the last key aspects of inter- tion of ISO standards, and support to Module 1 deals with planning – national standardization: adoption and technical groups and national stand- i.e. with all the activities that an expert implementation of International Stand- ardization bodies (NSB) units respon- should be able to undertake to effec- ards at the national level. sible for the process; tively allow his/her country to benefit Experts in international stand- • highlight the benefits of standard- fully from international standardiza- ardization management should be capa- ization and prepare communication tion including : ble of : materials (such as PowerPoint pres- • analyzing and defining fields of • providing support and advice on the entations) on the subject; application of correct procedures national interest ; provide support on the implementa- (notably based on ISO Guide 21) for • tion of nationally adopted (or soon • evaluating strategic alternatives (such the national adoption of Internation- to be adopted) ISO standards, help- as adoption of published Internation- al Standards; al Standards or participation in the ing users to address and resolve mis- standards development process) ; • developing information and guidance understandings or problems related to promote the role and benefits of to the application of such standards • assessing potential stakeholders’ par- International Standards for the coun- (e.g. existing or perceived conflicts ticipation ; and try’s stakeholders (in general terms with national regulations, possible • estimating resources needed to sup- and from a sectoral perspective); overlaps with existing national standards, different views/interpretations of port the process. offering clarification and assistance • the application standards by different on issues and difficulties related to stakeholders); 2 – Participation in international the use of International Standards. • develop training programmes to pro- standardization The third module, as the previous mote awareness and better understand- ones, is based on the principle of learning Once a national standards insti- ing of national standards by specific by doing. It follows the common instruc- tute has defined fields of interest and stakeholder groups; selected priority items for standardiza- tional design model, and shares with the • introduce a structured approach to tion, Module 2 addresses their partici- other modules, a variety of contextual evaluating/monitoring the adoption pation in the development of Interna- information and content elements. The and use of national standards, e.g. tional Standards. stories presented in module 3 take place by making use of stakeholder surveys The second ISO e-learning mod- in the same fictitious country, Southistan, and similar tools. ule offers a comprehensive didactical with its national standards body (South- environment to help experts in inter- istan Bureau of Standards). The student will adopt the role national standardization management: The module provides an environ- of a technical officer of Southistan with organize and support the participation ment where the learner has to : several years of experience. He will then of national interests in the process of be asked by his supervisor (the SBS international standardization (as par- • apply the procedures for national adop- technical director) to address a number ticipant members), and ensure correct tion of standards in a number of con- of issues covering the subject matters and timely application of the ISO/IEC crete cases; outlined above, with a view to provide directives. • develop information and training mate- satisfactory deliverables and contribute The module provides an envi- rials highlighting the benefits of stand- to the modernization of the Institute in ronment where learners can concretely ardization in selected sectors (the oil these areas of activity (see Box opposite apply procedures for standards devel- and gas and earth moving machine for content structure). opment work, practice with tools sup- sectors are taken as example); porting the process (e.g. project and document management systems), and • provide assistance on problems relat- Nurturing growth with deal with consensus-building and the ed to the use of specific ISO stand- new talent ards – such as the one outlined at the promotion of national positions on spe- The ISO e-learning programme beginning of the article, regarding ISO cific content issues (taken from actual designed to address the top priority areas 3183, Steel pipe for pipeline transpor- ISO standards projects). indicated by Council a few years ago is tation systems; and completed. ISO members can take advan- • plan/organize activities to evaluate the tage of its modules and content materi- spread and use of nationally adopted als. ISO/CS is now organizing various standards. sessions per year, with the capacity to

42 ISO Focus November 2007 train a significant audience of professionals from national standards bodies (several dozen per year). So how do we apply these standards? (Module 3) It is interesting to note that the ISO/CS project team has been closely Module 3 lasts about 12 weeks, with students supposed to work following the learners’ performance to approximately one hour per day. Learners play the role of technical officers, identify outstanding professionals that, with assignments due to their chief, SBS’ technical director, Dr. Samina once their experience is completed, could Khan. The module is divided into five main tasks covering the following be associated with the programme. We topics : believe that this process is important to expand the knowledge network and nur- • Task 1 : Ensuring compliance with ISO Guide 21 ture the growth of widespread profes- – Sub-task 1.1 : Making recommendations on standards adoptions sional skills in our community. It is with particular pleasure that – Sub-task 1.2 : Responding to stakeholder feedback I have seen the first positive steps of this process. In 2007, we welcomed as – Sub-task 1.3 : Providing publication advice a new mentor Ms. Natalia Drault from Task 2 : Preparing a PR presentation IRAM – the ISO member for Argenti- • na – a former student and excellent per- Task 3 : Responding to requests from stakeholders former of ISO’s e-learning. We are keen • to select and involve new profession- – Sub-task 3.1 : Responding to Mr. Karim, Director of Heavy Industries als in the months to come. Incidentally, and Trading (Business case covering the Earth moving machinery another exceptional feature of e-learn- sector) ing is that our mentors can convenient- ly operate from any country, and col- – Sub-task 3.2 : Responding to Mr. Kadir, CEO of National Steel Corp. laborate with the core ISO/CS project (Business case covering the Oil and Gas sector) team in Geneva. – Sub-task 3.3 : Responding to Mr. Habibi, Techncial Director of Habibi Valves (Business case covering the Oil and Gas sector) New and wider horizons Task 4 : Outlining a training programme The feedback received so far con- • tinues to be very positive – including that Task 5 : Developing a stakeholder survey from sponsors of the project, participants • of the course and their managers, ISO Special thanks officers and Council and Technical Man- agement Board members who also had As a final note on module 3, I wish to extend ISO Central Secretariat’s and my the opportunity to follow the project. personal thanks to DIN and JISC – sponsors of the ISO e-learning programme – However, there still is much more and to the ISO veterans who provided their invaluable input and support to the to be done. For example, we plan to re- development of key business cases within the module: Neil Reeve (President of use many of the materials that we have developed so far, to provide new and IFAN, member of ISO/TC 67 Management Committee and a clearly recognized ISO complementary Web-based informa- intellectual leader in the oil and gas field), Roberto Paoluzzi (Chair of ISO/TC 127/ tion services targeting other user groups. SC 4, another recognized ISO intellectual leader in the earth moving machinery field) and Anwar El Tawil, former Director of the ISO/CS Developing Countries unit. I wish also to thank Keyth Moyes from British Standards Institute, for providing an excellent presentation summarizing the DTI-BSI study on economic benefits of standardization. About the author

Dr. Daniele Gerundino is Strategic Other ISO members can also follow on Adviser this initiative. to the ISO Last but not least, we are con- Secretary- sidering new projects to target other General at relevant groups, notably students from ISO Central Secretariat. higher education and experts participating in ISO’s technical work. But that is another story…

ISO Focus November 2007 43 ISO 30 th General Assembly

ISO’s positive contribution to sustainable development

ome 410 delegates from 125 countries attend- ISO has come Sed the 30 th ISO General a long way Assembly from 19 to 21 Sep- tember 2007, held in Geneva, fficially opening the Switzerland. In addition to del- event, ISO President egates from ISO member coun- O Mr. Håkan Murby tries, the General Assembly was compared ISO’s beginnings attended by high-level officials 60 years ago with less than from the United Nations organ- 30 members to its record pro- izations, Swiss authorities and portions today. “ The increase interested stakeholders to take in the size of ISO’s worldwide stock of ISO’s Strategic Plan family is really impressive,” he to ensure the viability, strate- said. “ We now have members gic positioning and success of from 157 countries, thus cov- the Organization for the years ering some 97 % of the world’s ahead. population, representing 98 % As a “ hub ” for interna- of the world’s Gross Nation- tional cooperation and action al Income.” for sustainable development, International Standards the gathering in Geneva proved have shaped our world over the useful not only to review the past 60 years, but our under- complete range of activities of standing and practice of stand- the organization but also for From left : Mr. Alan Bryden, ISO Secretary-General ; Mr. Håkan ardization have also been delegates to interact among Murby, ISO President ; Ms. Anne Mahrer, President of the shaped by 60 years of experi- themselves, and take the pulse Parliament of the Canton of Geneva ; Ambassador ence, he said, adding that, in the of the Organization. Mr. Christian Etter, Representative of the Swiss Federal Council. beginning, ISO standards were

44 ISO Focus November 2007 used by traditional business sectors and The ISO system – “ are now also valued for addressing the quality, safety, environmental and health foundation cooperation with the Organization. He aspects of products and processes.” of a sustainable world also described relations with international “ Today we have projects as var- groupings and meetings of stakeholders, ied as social responsibility, financial hen introducing his report to the including the World Economic Forum, services, hydrogen technologies and General Assembly, ISO Secre- the OECD Forum, the annual meeting nanotechnologies. The areas of man- Wtary-General Mr. Alan Bryden of the American Society for Quality, the agement systems and that of services highlighted the major developments on the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit are taking an increasing place in our world scene between the General Assem- and the World Energy Congress. portfolio,” referring to the expanding blies in Ottawa in 2006 and in Geneva in scope of ISO’s International Stand- 2007, where the imperative and modali- ards in response to the challenges of ties of sustainable development have been the 21st century. addressed by world leaders. He also underlined ISO's contri- “ In all these meetings, the need bution with over 16 500 published stand- for International Standards was highlight- ards, of which 1 388 were published in ed as major tools to transform political 2006, more than 100 standards produced will and international commitment into per month. An all-time record ! concrete actions by all stakeholders for “ As we face the economic, social the dissemination of new technologies, and environmen- as well as good practices for business tal challenges of an and public governance.” increasingly global Mr. Bryden focused on four aspects world, the urgency of ISO’s recent achievements : of addressing climate change, sus- • assisting members to make the best tainable energy and security, and of of their membership in ISO, so that Mr. Alan Bryden. dealing with finite natural resources, they, in turn, can better serve their giant emerging economies and rapidly national stakeholders ; “ It is important that our members evolving technologies, ISO standardi- • consolidating and expanding ISO’s liaise with the national members or inter- zation is there to develop and provide international network ; a toolbox of widely recognized global faces of these international partners, as solutions.” • addressing and promoting ISO’s broad- this will at the same time contribute to President Murby concluded by ening scope and the increasing pro- enhancing their national stature and facili- paying tribute to the men and women duction of International Standards ; tate collaboration at the international level,” he said, adding that the new database who, over the years, have been engaged • modernizing and securing the foun- of organizations in cooperation with ISO in standardization and have shaped the dations of the ISO system. ISO system as it is today – including should facilitate this networking. a large network of ISO members and When underlining the actions taken Mr. Bryden went on to draw more than 680 organizations in cooper- to better assist ISO members, Mr. Bryden attention to ISO’s broadening scope and ation with ISO. listed numerous examples, among them increasing production, which in 2006 set the publication of an ISO/IEC informa- an all-time production high of ISO stand- tion document Using and referencing ISO ards and other deliverables. This, he said, and IEC standards for technical regula- is due to the increased interest in fields tions, and the training and assistance pro- already covered and in the emergence grammes developed to facilitate the use of new work areas, and to the reduction of the IT tools supporting the ISO system of processing times (34 months for an and the development of a specific docu- ISO deliverable). ment distribution service. The ISO Secretary-General con- “ As a priority, we develop actions cluded by paying tribute to the role of and tools to assist ISO members in play- the ISO Central Secretariat : “ With the ing their role efficiently as the gateway management team, the ISO/CS staff is to international standardization for their determined to bring their contribution national stakeholders.” to consolidating the ISO system as the In terms of expanding the inter- world leader for the development of glo- national network, Mr. Bryden highlight- bally relevant International Standards, Mr. Håkan Murby, ISO President, cuts the ed ISO’s cooperation with the UN and thus serving the ISO membership, their first slice of ISO’s cake in celebration of the related agencies, as well with IEC, ITU, stakeholders and contributing positive- Organization’s 60th anniversary. WTO, and the 680 other organizations in ly to society at large.”

ISO Focus November 2007 45 ISO 30 th General Assembly

Cooperation among equal manner, we can cooperate in a way that Motor Show that was so successful will be benefits both of our organizations.” held again at next year’s show. partners Dr. Tani concluded : “ Collectively, “ ISO, IEC and ITU have enjoyed a we believe in maintaining good relations good relationship for many years, and ITU r. Renzo Tani, IEC President, with ISO and in cooperating with you is committed to continue and develop this spoke of the value of continuing whenever that is the best way of serving relationship,” said Mr. Johnson. “ I would Dgood cooperation between ISO our markets and our memberships.” like to take this opportunity to thank ISO and IEC which, he said, benefits both and its members for its commitment to Organizations. the global standards process and its will- He gave an overview of the Commitment to the global ingness to collaborate with us to meet the numerous achievements at various lev- standards process needs of the global community.” els, starting with the World Standards Cooperation (WSC) – the coordination r. Malcolm Johnson, Direc- entity between IEC, ISO and ITU. “ The tor of ITU-T (International Compliance with way that the WSC operates is a lead- Telecommunication Union’s ing example of how cooperation among M International Standards standardization sector), mentioned the equal partners should proceed.” jointjoint effortsefforts byby thethe orld Trade Organiza- WSC.WSC. “Cooperation“Cooperation tion (WTO) representa- andand ccollaborationollaboration iiss tive Mr. Patrick Rata, thethe kkeyey ttoo aavoid-void- W Counsellor,Counsellor, TradeTrade andand EnvironmentEnvironment inging duplicationduplication ofof Division,Division, ppraisedraised tthehe ““frequentfrequent aandnd effort,effort, aandnd ssharingharing fruitful”fruitful” cooperationcooperation withwith ISOISO atat thethe resources.” workingworking llevel,evel, aandnd tthehe mmutualutual ssup-up- He gave as portport givengiven toto eventsevents organizedorganized byby thethe an example the twotwo OOrganizations.rganizations. most significant accomplishment of commitment to cooperation – WSC’s align- ment of the Intel-

Dr. Renzo Tani.

In addition, the IEC President underlined the highly effective cooperation between the central offices, not Mr. Patrick Rata. only at policy level but also on a day-today basis between He underlined how the WTO staff dealing with Agreement on Technical Barriers to more operational Trade (TBT) explicitly encourages matters. He cited Members both to use relevant inter- the World Energy Mr. Malcolm Johnson. national standards and to participate Congress in Novem- in the work of international standard- ber 2007 and the Joint Marketing izing bodies, adding that “in a general and Communication Forum in 2006 as lectual Property Rights policies. “ The move sense, compliance with an international two recent examples demonstrating this sends a strong message to industry that standard is recognized as meaning the good collaboration. contribution of the fruits of research and country respects its WTO obligations “ It remains to be seen for what development activity to the standards proc- and trade barriers are not created.” other areas we might envision a joint ess can be done, safe in the knowledge that Mr. Rata highlighted the TBT event or joint presence. The main point intellectual property rights are respected.” Committee’s work on the fourth Tri- is, when we set our minds to it and work Mr. Johnson underlined the joint workshop ennial Review of the TBT Agreement, in a consultative and well-coordinated on the fully networked car at the Geneva which welcomed “ISO’s engagement and

46 ISO Focus November 2007 provisionprovision ofof ISO embarking on new informationinformation oonn mattersmatters rrelat-elat- areas of work inging ttoo ttheirheir internation-internation- s. Ziva Patir, ISO Vice-Presi- alal standard-standard- dent (technical management), izationization aandnd Mreviewed the developments conformi-conformi- in ISO’s technical work and the busy tyty assessmentassessment year between the General Assembly in work”,work”, notingnoting thatthat thethe ISO Ottawa in 2006 and the one in Gene- Strategic Plan 2005-2010 is referenced va in 2007. She highlighted the mech- in the Review’s report. anisms put in place for investigating He concluded by welcoming new areas of standardization and the ISO’s actions to enhance the partici- creation of project committees in those pation of developing countries in inter- cases where there is a new work item national standards setting through the but no existing technical committee ISO Action Plan for Developing Coun- whose scope covers it. Ms. Ziva Patir. tries 2005-2010. “ISO’s support for our She also outlined the numerous activities has been appreciated and we successes undertaken by the Technical will shortly be calling on your good Management Board (TMB), including Ms. Patir reviewed the pro- favour again as we finalize prepara- the publication of the new ISO/IEC gramme underway to deal with the tions for further technical assistance information document Using and ref- multiplication of thematic manage- activities.” erencing ISO and IEC standards for ment system standards (MSS), includ- technical regulations, the simplifica- ing the formation of a Strategic Advi- tion of deliverables, the joint ISO, IEC sory Group and the ISO/IEC Joint United Nations Office in Geneva. and ITU common patent policy and the Technical Coordination Group, and a ISO’s cooperation with the UN and related change made to the systematic review Guide soon-to-be published on their agencies was highlighted by several speakers of ISO standards. integrated use. at ISO’s General Assembly.

ISO Focus November 2007 47 ISO 30 th General Assembly

Ensuring that ISO standards sup- the combination of the port sustainable development, Ms. Pat- increase of membership, ir pointed out the TMB’s consideration the high level of produc- of a Strategic Advisory Group on Sus- tion of standards, the tainability and of a survey underway efficient promotion of to understand the effects of standards the ISO system and, of on sustainable development. course, good and lean “One of the major challenges for information about ISO and its activities management.” the future,” she said, “is how we take and work to get stakeholders engaged, The Treasurer these survey results and translate them including government officials, consum- added that the positive into an action plan, so that we, at ISO, ers, as well as industry,” said the ISO financial results have make our small but significant contri- Vice-President. assisted in enabling the bution to a sustainable world.” Dr. Arnold concluded by reflect- grouping of ISO Cen- ing on progress mid-way into the imple- tral Secretariat opera- mentation of the Strategic Plan : “ We have tions in new and mod- Mr. Antoine Fatio. Strategies – Present and made a lot of progress, and it is very clear ern premises without that our strategic objectives have provid- drawing from the General Fund. On the future ed a solid foundation for the future and is contrary, said Mr. Fatio, this fund has reflected in ISO’s outstanding, measurable been refurbished. The Treasurer report- r. George Arnold, ISO Vice-Pres- performance over the last several years. ed that the grouping of operations in the ident (policy), recalled the seven It is also very clear that we have a lot of new premises will have a major impact Dkey objectives of the ISO Strate- work ahead of us to extend and solidify on the overall performance of the organ- gic Plan 2005-2010 and how they drive the progress we have made.” ization. ISO’s annual business and operational “ I would like to underline how planning process. much I have enjoyed being your Treas- He focused Sustainably positive urer, as my term coincided with a period on the var- of recovery,” concluded Mr. Fatio. ious initiatives in 2007: ISO is in a sound financial situation,” the creation said Mr. Antoine Fatio, ISO Treas- ISO Principal Officers of the ISO “urer, when underlining the Organ- From left : Mr. Alan Bryden, ISO Secretary- C o u n c i l ization’s good economic and technical General ; Ms. Ziva Patir, ISO Vice-President Task Force performance. (technical management) ; Mr. Håkan Murby, on energy; “ This has not happened by chance,” ISO President ; Dr. George Arnold, ISO Vice- the develop- he said. “ These results happened from President (policy) ; Mr. Antoine Fatio, ISO ment of an Treasurer. online com- pendium of existing economic stud- Dr. George Arnold. ies conducted; the activities related to International Standards and public policies; and the initiatives to enhance the participation of stakeholders in ISO’s work, including the policy for organizations in liaison and the action plan to promote the involvement of consumers’ interests in standardization. In highlighting actions devolving upon ISO members, Dr. Arnold indicated that the real power behind the ISO system are its members – contributing to the consistent and effective implementation of the Strategic Plan – and gave examples of how members can take action at the national level to contribute to its progress. “Within your country, it is up to you to communicate and disseminate

48 ISO Focus November 2007 A National Standards zation. The truth of serving standards users The Task Force examined the land- st with costly products and through fragmented scape and made recommendations, sub- Body of the 21 century distribution channels. Acknowledging the sequently approved by Council, for ways truth is already half the solution.” in which ISO’s standardization activities an and should standardization Turning to the first taboo, stand- could further develop and promote energy become part of the business strategy ? ardization is double Dutch for too many, efficiency and renewable energy sources. CHow to ensure the return on invest- Mr. Schraven said that standardization is A Strategic Advisory Group will carry out ment of resources allocated to standard- not a word used in the boardroom since the implementation of these recommen- ization ? Is the language used is about market shares, dations and further study in a number of the system business alliances, competitive edge and areas, following the strategic orientations of nation- innovation. However, it is just a matter of set forth by the Task Force. The Technical al repre- wording : standardization is in fact part of Management Board will monitor the initia- sentation business strategy. tion, consolidation or expansion of stand- still viable The NEN Chairman broke the taboo ards development and technical work in the and sus- by reaffirming that standardization is busi- areas identified by the Task Force. tainable ? ness strategy – the most sophisticated com- Dr. Arnold said : “ Clearly, Inter- What can petition tool with the capability to set the national Standards play a critical role in the formal rules of the game, to stimulate coopera- facilitating increased energy efficiency standardi- tion, to establish common interfaces, and and broad use of renewable alternative zation sys- to measure success. energy sources. This role is recognized tem learn His presentation provided food by political leaders around the world Mr. Jacques Schraven. from oth- for thought and should pave the way for who have called on the standards com- er ways of further challenging discussions. munity to provide the necessary stand- developing standards ? Could the standards solutions. ardization system benefit from being more “ ISO, in partnership with its sister standardized in its operation ? organization the IEC and international These are among the questions A new energy paradigm agencies such as International Energy addressed by Mr. Jacques Schraven, Agency (IEA), is committed to providing Chairman of the ISO member for the Neth- ISO is already very active in the ener- leadership in the creation of a coherent erlands, NEN, who looked at the challeng- gy efficiency and renewable sourc- and complete portfolio of standards es to standardization and national stand- es fields, having published 123 exist- addressing this urgent societal need.” st “ ards bodies in the 21 century. ing standards and 45 active work items “ Let's break the taboos of standardi- underway,” said Dr. George Arnold, ISO zation,” stated Mr. Schraven. “ Standardiza- Vice-President (policy), who reviewed the tion organizations close their eyes, for the portfolio analysis undertaken by the ISO truth is an inconvenient truth. The truth of Council Strategic Task Force on energy losing market share to informal standardi- for which he served as Chair.

ISO Focus November 2007 49 Thank you, Ziva Patir, Thank you, th ISO 30 General Assembly Vice-President Antoine Fatio, (technical management) ISO Treasurer

Elections/Appointments :

Seven members were elected to serve on the ISO Council for the 2008-2009 term : Brazil (ABNT) China (SAC) India (BIS) Kenya (KEBS) Netherlands (NEN) Spain (AENOR) Tunisia (INNORPI) Mr. Håkan Murby, ISO President, Mr. Håkan Murby, ISO President, Two members were re-appointed presented Ms. Patir (left) with an ISO presented Mr. Fatio (left) with a pair of to serve for the same term : bracelet in recognition of her work as ISO ISO cuff-links in recognition of his work Vice-President (technical management) as ISO Treasurer from 2002 to 2007. Japan (JISC) from 2004 to 2007. United Kingdom (BSI) In a special resolution, Coun- In a special resolution, the Gen- cil expressed its highest apprecia- Dr. Alan eral Assembly recognized that Ms. Ziva tion to Mr. Antoine Fatio for his out- Morrison Patir has demonstrated outstanding standing involvement in matters of (Deputy chairmanship and forward-thinking financial management and transpar- Chairman of during her term as ISO Vice-President ency during his term as ISO Treas- Standards (technical management) from 2004 to urer from 2002 to 2007. It acknowl- Australia) 2007. It acknowledged that Ms. Patir edged, in particular, Mr. Fatio’s con- was elected has always shown fairness in hearing tribution to bring the financial situ- ISO President all points of view and in guiding dis- ation of the ISO Central Secretari- for the 2009- cussions expeditiously towards con- at to a sustainably sound level. ISO 2010 term. sensus positions and recommenda- Council thanked Mr. Fatio for his He will serve as President-elect in 2008. tions. As Chairperson of the Tech- commitment to accommodate with nical Management Board, the Gen- courtesy, flexibility and firmness Mr. Jacob eral Assembly praised the numerous members’ requests for special con- Holmblad achievements of the TMB under her sideration of their financial situation (Managing leadership, including ISO’s embark- towards ISO, with a view to reach- Director of ing on new work areas such as social ing agreements acceptable to the Danish responsibility – upon a personal ini- members themselves, in accordance Standards) tiative of Ms. Patir – the substantial with the ISO rules and respectful of was appointed time reduction for the production of the entire membership. ISO Council Vice-President ISO standards and other deliverables conveyed to him and to his family its (technical and the increased interaction between best wishes for the future. management) for the 2008-2009 term. ISO’s TMB and IEC’s Standardiza- tion Management Board. Ms. Patir Dr. George Arnold was re-appointed was sincerely thanked and the Gen- as Vice-President (policy) for the eral Assembly wished her continued 2008-2009 term. success in her professional activities and international undertakings. General Assemblies 2008 and 2009 Regional liaison officer ISO Council nominations : The 31st ISO General Assembly for the 2008-2010 term : will take place in Dubai, United Mr. Julien Pitton (Switzerland) was appointed as Arab Emirates, from 14 to 16 ISO Treasurer for the 2008-2010 term. Mr. Jesus Motoomull October 2008. (Philippines) was re- Ms. Jai Ok Kim (Republic of Korea) was re- The 32nd ISO General Assembly will appointed for East and appointed as COPOLCO Chair (ISO Committee on take place in Cape Town, South South-East Asia. consumer policy) for the 2008-2009 term. Africa, from 16 to 18 September 2009.

50 ISO Focus November 2007 Excellence award goes to developers Product Data (ISO 10303, Industrial automation systems and integration – Product data representation and exchange) for of ISO industrial data standards different functional areas, covering product design, analysis and manufacture. The achievements of an international team of stand- STEP has been used in industry on such projects as ards developers in facilitating the exchange of industrial the Boeing 777, Airbus 380 and the Eurofighter. It is also data between disparate computer systems were recognized used in the automotive sector, as well as in the shipbuild- through the presentation of the Lawrence ing industries of leading economies. D. Eicher Leadership Award at the 30th ISO General Assembly. As part of this work, SC 4 has pio- neered the standardization of reusable infor- Every year, the award provides rec- mation modules that provide common def- ognition for superior performance by one initions which can be used as “ building of the ISO standards development groups. blocks ” in multiple standards to enforce The 2007 edition has gone to subcommit- interoperability for the end user, and to sim- tee SC 4, Industrial data, of ISO technical plify implementation for software vendors. committee ISO/TC 184, Industrial automa- One hundred and ninety-one such modules tion systems and integration. were published in a single batch at the end Presenting the award, ISO President of 2006 and more than 60 are foreseen by Håkan Murby said that the rapid develop- the end of 2007. ment of information technologies had cre- “SC 4 has developed innovative ated problems related to incompatibility approaches to managing this volume of among computer systems used in indus- work and coordinating the large team of trial processes, along with the prolifera- over 250 experts from more than 20 coun- tion of different systems. The Chair of ISO/TC 184/SC 4, tries who participate in the work,” said the “ International Standards can contrib- Mr. Howard Mason (right), receives the ISO President. ute to avoiding divergent and competitive Lawrence D. Eicher Leadership Award The Chair of ISO/TC 184/SC 4, approaches,” he declared. For the last dec- on behalf of the subcommittee from Mr. Howard Mason, was presented with the ade, ISO/TC 184/SC 4 has been publishing ISO President Mr. Håkan Murby. award on behalf of the subcommittee. a range of standards to support the efficient exchange and sharing of industrial information between The Lawrence D. Eicher Leadership Award is dissimilar computer systems.” named after the late Secretary-General of ISO from 1986 The major development efforts have focused on the to 2002. STEP series of standards, i.e. Standards for Exchange and

ISO Focus November 2007 51 OpenOpen SSessionession

developing and developed countries as International drivers of economic growth. He also spoke on climate change, Standards in describing it as “an urgent and ever- support of public growing challenge, with global implications for development and for securi- policies ty”. Mr. Ordzhonikidze underlined the strengthened political resolve to tack- le the climate challenge and declared: “This shared determination must be he open session on “ Internation- supported by practical tools that allow al Standards and public policies” us to act. International standards are organized by ISO on 20 Septem- among those instruments and I there- T fore welcome ISO’s sustained focus ber, as part of its programme for the 30th General Assembly, highlighted the contri- on the environmental field, including bution of international standards to pub- on environmental labelling, manage- lic policies. More than 400 participants ment and communication, as well as �� attended, including delegates from 125 accounting and verification of green- countries and representatives of 22 inter- house gas emissions.” national and regional organizations.

The session featured two panels �� composed of leaders from government, international organizations, business and the environment, as well as supporting societal interests. The first panel, mod- research and development, and encour- erated by Mr. Paul Hohnen, an interna- aging innovation and its dissemination, tional consultant on sustainability strat- the competitiveness of industry, and the egies, explored how international stand- quality and efficiency of public servic- ards can support public policies for sus- es and public procurements, among oth- tainable development. The second panel, er aspects. moderated by Prof. Jonathan Koppell of the Yale School of Management, focused on international standards in relation to Meeting the UN Millennium public safety and security policies. Development Goals

Good practice, good Mr. Sergei Ordzhonikidze, Unit- ed Nations Under-Secretary-General, and governance Director-General of the United Nations Office in Geneva, officially opened the The trigger for this open session event by explaining how the work of came from the realization that in a glo- ISO helps to advance the UN’s broader balized world, public policies relating to efforts, including meeting the UN Mil- Mr. Sergei Ordzhonikidze, United Nations trade, health, security or the environment, lennium Development Goals. Under-Secretary-General, and Director- can no longer be developed and imple- “Internationally agreed standards General of the United Nations Office in mented in isolation. Increasingly, the use help to build capacity, open up markets, Geneva and referencing of standards, forms part facilitate trade and nurture technologi- of good regulatory practice and public cal innovation,” he said. “They create governance. Furthermore, the 151 signa- a level playing field for producers and The UN Under-Secretary-Gen- tories to the World Trade Organization they provide transparency, reliability eral evoked ISO’s work with societal (WTO) are committed to using interna- and accountability for consumers. implications: “Through standards cov- tional standards in order not to create “As detailed technical agree- ering areas as diverse as health tech- unnecessary technical barriers to trade ments, international standards contrib- nologies, workplace safety, disaster through unharmonized regulations and ute to advancing our collective efforts relief and consumer protection, ISO conformity assessment requirements. across the three pillars of the sustain- makes a considerable contribution to At the open session, public poli- able development challenge: the eco- the societal dimension of our sustain- cies were considered in a broad sense – nomic, the environmental and the soci- able development task. The ongoing covering technical regulations relating etal dimensions.” work to craft an international standard to public responsibilities such as safe- Mr. Ordzhonikidze pointed out for social responsibility is especially ty, security, health, social protection or that international standards benefit both noteworthy in this respect.”

52 ISO Focus November 2007 Supporting public policies for sustainable development

The first panel focused on the contribution of international standards to public policies relating to the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic growth, environmental integrity and social equity. The concept of sustainable development has been highlighted in the world scene for the past 20 years. Concrete actions are now urgently needed, in particular in relation to climate change, energy efficiency, scarcity of natural resources, as well as access to world markets for Reliance on ISO standards in firms; they are integrated into national developing countries and social respon- regulations and laws and referenced in sibility. During the session, it was under- regulations international treaties. lined that ISO could contribute to refin- “Second, ISO standards cre- ing the scope and understanding of sus- Professor Jonathan Koppell, ate market incentives for private sec- tainable development. Associate Professor of Politics and Man- tor actors to follow the law by apply- In the current context of glo- agement and Director of the Millstein ing competitive pressure as an enforce- balization, businesses are increasingly Center for Corporate Government and ment mechanism. becoming a major force of change. It Performance, Yale School of Manage- “ Third, standards guide public was highlighted that international stand- ment (USA), spoke on “ The politics of procurement. By facilitating greater ards are well placed to bring forth a quasi-government and the role of inter- transparency and competition, stand- positive transformation of culture with- national standards in relation to public ards act as a barrier to corruption and in industry, in particular, because ISO policies in the globalized world ”. bolster good government. standards foster a sense of ownership Prof. Koppell mentioned that “ Fourth, standards allow for com- from all its stakeholders due to their although ISO is not a governmental munication and coordination across bor- representative consensus-based devel- organization, the reliance of so many ders in a wide variety of policy fields opment process. As such they can pro- government bodies on ISO standards in including health, safety and develop- mote production and trade, while pro- their regulations underscores a government. tecting the environment and addressing mental connection. “I would argue,” he “ Fifth, standards can shape tech- development goals. said,” that many international standards nological development. This is subtle Several panellists agreed that constitute public policy because they are but important point in that typically, governments should create a favoura- – very frequently, at least – attempts to responsiveness to technological change ble environment to promote the adop- create or preserve public goods: shared is emphasized. Effective standards bod- tion of international standards, through commodities that cannot be divided or ies must actually anticipate technolog- regulation when needed, but especially avoided. These are highlighted in today’s ical development and enable it by set- through encouragement and reward. For two panels: safety, security and envi- ting the foundation.” this it is necessary to help governments ronmental quality are classic, quintes- Prof. Koppell summed up by understand the benefits of standards for sential public goods.” affirming: “The publicness of these func- them and their constituents. Prof. Koppell went on to list tions renders ISO (and other organiza- Good public governance calls for five ways in which “standards shape tions) standards ‘public policy’.” the use of international standards, both the public space”. to promote the efficiency of public serv- “First,” he said, “standards not ices and to implement good regulatory only guide industries and individual practices. Public policies and regulations,

ISO Focus November 2007 53 Open Session

From Left : Mr. Håkan Murby ; increasingly coordinated at the regional Mr. Paul Hohnen ; Mr. Georg Kell ; as harmonization, which avoids the and international levels, should set tar- Lord Lindsay ; Ms. Patricia Francis ; superfluous use of resources. gets and objectives, whilst recognized Mr. Harsha Singh ; Mr. Björn Stigson ; As a result, consumers can get bet- international standards should enable a Prof. Masami Tanaka ; Mr. Alan Bryden. ter prices, SMEs be more competitive, and level playing field and provide tools to producers save costs by not having to com- promote good practices, support clear She added that “meeting interna- ply with inconsistent requirements. “Inter- communication, measure progress and tional standards is not enough for mar- national standards… help strengthen eco- monitor achievements. ket access, but it is the first step. The next nomic links among nations, and enhance Governments should pay atten- step is the demonstration of conformity mutual interest in preserving stable and tion to the emergence and growing impact to these standards.” That is why ITC and peaceful economic relations and promoting of private standards on trade, especially ISO have jointly developed tools to help sustainable development” said Mr. Singh, from small and medium-sized enterpris- SMEs implement standards, such as the concluding that “international standards es (SMEs) in developing countries, and joint guidance package on food safe- can support our policies and aspirations ISO should ensure proper collaboration ty management (“ISO 22000: Are you for a sustainable world.” and complementarity with these initiatives ready?). Ms. Francis called on the inter- and associated organizations. “Good stand- national community to provide assistance ards are a public good” said the modera- to developing countries to increase their Better regulation tor, Mr. Paul Hohnen. ISO is not always participation in standards development alone in providing standards “but it is the and for capacity building. Lord Lindsay, Chairman of the clear leader in this area” he added. United Kingdom Accreditation Serv- ice (UKAS) explored how interna- Aspirations for a sustainable world tional standards can complement and Helping SMEs enhance government regulation to pro- Mr. Harsha Singh, Deputy mote business competitiveness, growth Ms. Patricia Francis, Executive Director General of the WTO, pointed and employment performance. Director of the International Trade Cen- out that WTO rules recognize the impor- A greater reliance on internation- tre (ITC) emphasized the importance of tant contribution of international stand- al standards as “lighter touch” regulation standards for the development of SMEs. ards to international trade. WTO encour- or even as a self-regulatory alternative to ITC considers that standards constitute ages their use, and the participation of legislation can reduce unnecessary regu- an important vehicle for the transfer of its members in their development. He latory and administrative burdens. More- technology and good business practice drew attention to the less often cited over, consensus-based standards might be to SMEs, and facilitate their access to indirect benefits of international stand- more successful than imposed regulation markets. ards to sustainable development, such at changing an organization’s culture. Gov-

54 ISO Focus November 2007 ernments can benefit from a better under- International Standards, such as Hazards faced by consumers, cit- standing of standardization and enhanced ISO 14001:2004 or the upcoming ISO izens and society at large have evolved participation in the process. 26000, Guidance on social responsibil- due to the pervasiveness of information Lord Lindsay called for the ity, are the tools that will help organiza- and communication technologies and the “need to convince governments of what tions achieve this. “For companies, dem- globalization of trade, which broadens and solutions lie on standards” and empha- onstrating commitment to accountabil- complexifies the supply chain and increases sized their value for delivering public ity and transparency by subscribing to the potential for environmental and other goods and helping public officials meet voluntary standards and guidelines has risks resulting from industrial activities and their policy objectives. He encouraged become a standard part of doing busi- new technologies. Responding to natural a greater use of management systems ness,” he said. disasters, threats on homeland security and standards and implementation of the He added that regulators should pandemics requires international coopera- European Union’s Services Directive, determine the framework of require- tion, to which technical and organizational and added that standards can contribute ments to address issues of public inter- standards can greatly contribute. in legislative areas such as healthcare, est, leaving the stakeholders to develop It was recognized that consumers education and security, and for sustain- the standards and tools needed for their have progressed towards citizenship in a able development. implementation. global village. They now wish to be protected against these new hazards, while at the Flexibility and credibility for Managing risk same time be able, through their buying or the private sector general behaviour, to contribute positively to the environment or social progress. In this Mr. Georg Kell, Executive Direc- Prof. Masami Tanaka, Vice- context, the panel concluded that research tor of the UN Global Compact, recog- President of the Japanese Industrial and development on safety, security or nized that ISO standards already make Standards Committee (JISC) present- health issues should include the upstream a key contribution to achieving sustained the case of the Japanese chemical identification of needs for the development able development. ISO 26000 will be industry, and how it greatly benefited of international standards. an important addition that will address from the use of international standards, It also recommended that ISO col- a growing demand for openness, com- in particular in the field of environmen- laborates with international organizations munication and transparency on ethi- tal management and safety. and groups involved in harmonizing regu- cal behaviour. He gave the example of Industry prefers voluntary stand- lations, and promote adequate participa- financial markets, where organizations ards because of their flexibility, and for tion of stakeholders in the development of working with investments, assets and their ability to present a consensus-based ISO standards to be used as a substitute or pensions who have sound responsibility uniform approach. In Japan, broad com- support to regulations. policies are better equipped to manage munication with stakeholders including The newly published document risk. ISO 26000 will help risk manage- the general public, local government and “Using and referencing ISO and IEC ment in a global environment and level industry contribute strongly to the suc- standards for technical regulations” was the playing field. Failure to follow the cess of voluntary standards on safety acknowledged as a useful tool to assist trend towards responsibility might lead and the environment. As a result, stake- regulators in making the best of the ISO to exclusion from markets. holders adopted a consistent approach and IEC systems. Mr. Kell reiterated the UN Global and certified companies gained in cred- The issue of compliance and mar- Compact’s commitment to the Memorandum ibility and safety. ket surveillance was also addressed by the of Understanding with ISO and their desire Today Japan has the highest panel, as an indispensable complement to to cooperate efficiently in this context. number of companies certified to ISO the development of standards. ISO’s con- 14001:2004, Environmental manage- tribution in the form of guidance on good ment systems – Requirements with guid- Hazards know no frontier compliance and conformity assessment ance for use. practices should be enhanced. The second panel was dedicated Striving for ‘soft power’ to the contribution of international stand- Avoiding obstacles to trade ards to public policies relating to safety, Mr. Björn Stigson, President of security and health. Whilst it was recog- How can we avoid unnecessary the World Business Council for Sustaina- nized that these areas had for a long time obstacles to trade without compromising ble Development (WBCSD) emphasized been addressed by voluntary standards as public safety security and other societal the increasing importance of “soft power” a complement to technical regulations, it concerns? asked Mr. Marek Belka, the for success in today’s market place. Com- was underlined that these issues must now Executive Secretary of the UN Economic panies gain “soft power”, for instance by be treated at a global level, because the Commission for Europe (UN/ECE). The protecting their brand with accountability corresponding hazards know no frontier. solution, he argues, can be partially found and transparency. Sustainable development International standards can also reconcile through a “common regulatory language” is a source of “soft power”, and hence an adequate protection with the avoidance of based on jointly agreed safety requirements opportunity for innovation and growth. unnecessary technical barriers to trade. referencing relevant standards. That is why

ISO Focus November 2007 55 Open Session

From left : Mr. Alan Bryden ; UN/ECE “supports the view that regula- Mr. Marek Belka ; Prof. Manfred Hennecke ; application through market surveillance. tions should make reference to standards Dr. Larry J. Kessler ; Prof. Jonathan Koppell ; He also called for the application of inter- whenever possible”. Legislators, however, Mr. Richard Lloyd ; Amb. Krister Kumlin ; national standards to protect consumers in should adopt a flexible approach to avoid Mr. Håkan Murby. the online marketplace. that standards become frozen in a specif- Mr. Lloyd emphasized the impor- ic regulation. tion of dangerous products, but believed that tance of communicating to consumers on enforcement should take place at the outset, the benefits of standards to change the per- before these products are even made. ception that these are business oriented. He Ahead of emerging technologies welcomed the initiative of ISO 26000 as a Prof. Manfred Hennecke, Presi- Targeting crises step in the right direction with a well represented multi-stakeholder process. dent of the Federal Institute for Materials Swedish Ambassador Krister Kum- Research and Testing (BAM) in Germa- lin, Chair of ISO technical committee ISO/ ny discussed the contribution of research TC 223, Societal security, declared that Contributing to society and development groups to standards on there has been an absence of recognized safety and security. Research institutions best practices on societal security. ISO/ can ensure scientific reliability and effi- Governments and citizens can ben- TC 223 is uniquely positioned to provide efit greatly from the multi-stakeholder con- ciency during the development process a coherent approach based on internation- and identify new needs for standardiza- sensus-based international standards that al consensus. Its aim is to develop stand- ISO develops, as highlighted in the theme tion. This will help standards be on pair ards that address threats and challenges to with innovation. For that reason, BAM, he of this year’s World Standards Day (WSD): society by improving crisis management “Standards and the citizen: Contributing explained, is actively involved in the work capabilities, including protection, preven- of the German ISO member (DIN). to society”. ISO President, Håkan Murby, tion, response and recovery, mitigation and urged the audience to take advantage of Dr. Larry J. Kessler, chairman continuous improvement. The committee of the Global Harmonization Task Force WSD as an opportunity to communicate has already developed in record time the on their benefits, which was considered a (GHTF*) also highlighted the importance ISO/CD PAS 22399, Societal security - of working with emerging technologies to key concern throughout the session. Guidelines for incident preparedness and In his conclusion to the open ses- ensure a timely delivery of standards. This operational continuity management. is particularly critical in fields with rap- sion Mr. Murby encouraged ISO members idly evolving technology, as is the medi- to pursue the dialogue and collaboration cal domain, where he said, GHTF has a Consumers make a stand with public authorities and other stake- tremendously successful collaboration holders at the national level. ISO, mean- with ISO. Mr. Richard Lloyd, CEO of Con- while, will continue to build and reinforce Dr. Kessler also emphasized the val- sumers International, brought forward the its cooperation and partnerships with inter- ue of market surveillance for the identifica- voice of consumers, and emphasized the national and regional intergovernmental value of their involvement in the devel- organizations.organizations. opment of standards. Standards can help * The purpose of the GHTF is to encourage consumers exercise responsible purchas- convergence in regulatory practices related to ensuring the safety, effectiveness/performance ing choices as citizens. “We need stand- and quality of medical devices, promoting ards that reflect realistic consumer use of technological innovation and facilitating products,” he said. Standards can address international trade. safety issues, but we need to ensure their All photos courtesy of ISO Central Secretariat

56 ISO Focus November 2007 Engaging developing countries

he themes discussed at the 41st meeting of the ISO Committee Ton Developing Country Matters (DEVCO) held in Geneva, Switzerland, were focussed on increasing developing country participation in international standardization through the engagement of national stakeholders and the work of mirror committees, as well as twinning and partnerships in standards development. The finalization by the DEVCO/ TMB ad hoc Task Force of the Guid- ance on Partnering and Twinning in ISO Standards Development Activ- ities was welcomed by the members. This document is the outcome of the DEVCO/TMB collaboration initiated at the DEVCO meeting held in Ottawa, Canada, in September 2006, and provides guidance on how to establish a twinning arrangement. The role of regional and sub- regional organizations was also high on the DEVCO agenda. Mr. Iman Sudarwo, DEVCO chair commented : “ With the increasing importance of the regional and sub-regional dimension in relation to cooperation in the fields of standards From left : Mr. Alan Bryden, ISO Secretary-General ; Mr. Håkan Murby, ISO President ; Mr. for trade facilitation and development, Iman Sudarwo, DEVCO Chair ; Mr. Bernardo Calzadilla, former Secretary of DEVCO. it was essential that DEVCO provide a forum to exchange views and share experiences on the subject.” Representatives from the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ), Pacif- ic Area Standards Congress (PASC) and Southern African Development Com- munity (SADC) contributed to defining the issues and understanding the role of regional and sub-regional organizations in international standardization. In view of ISO’s decision to review its policy toward these regional entities, the DEVCO discussions couldn’t have been more timely.

ISO Focus November 2007 57 New on the shelf

• support the technical aspects of soci- Using and etal and environmental policies and New suite of referencing ISO and contribute to sustainable development ISO supply chain across the world ; IEC standards for • offer the same level of consumer pro- management tection whether applied in a mature standards to reduce technical regulations or an evolving economy ; • allow products to be supplied and used risks of terrorism, across different markets and reflect SO and its partner the International piracy and fraud the state of the art. Electrotechnical Commission I(IEC) have just published the infor- As well as giving the reasons as mation document Using and referencing to how ISO standards should be used, by Maria Lazarte, Assistant Editor ISO and IEC standards for technical the information document Using and regulations (ISBN 978-92-67-10454-6). referencing ISO and IEC standards for of ISO Focus technical regulations contains practical It includes practical advice for regula- he ISO 28000 series of standards advice and examples to show how they tors on how to use International Stand- on supply chain security manage- can be used ; there are practical exam- ardsards ttoo aachievechieve ttheirheir oobjectives.bjectives. ment systems, which have just been plesples showingshowing hhowow regulatoryregulatory ttextsexts ccanan bbee T upgraded from their status of Publicly writtenwritten toto givegive a rolerole ttoo sstandards.tandards. TThehe Available Specifications to that of ful- documentdocument isis thethe firstfirst ofof itsits kindkind inin ISOISO ly fledged International Standards, will (and(and IIEC)EC) aandnd wwillill tthereforeherefore hhelpelp mmem-em- help to reduce risks to people and cargo berber bodiesbodies andand committeescommittees writingwriting stand-stand- within the supply chain. The standards ardsards toto havehave constructiveconstructive dialoguesdialogues withwith address potential security issues at all theirtheir ggovernmentalovernmental aandnd ppublicublic aauthorityuthority stages of the supply process, thus tar- stakeholders.stakeholders. geting threats such as terrorism, fraud and piracy. ISO Secretary-General Alan Bryden commented: “Threats in the international marketplace know no borders. The ISO 28000 series provides a global solution to this global problem. With an internationally recognized security management system, stakeholders in the supply chain can ensure the safety of cargo and people, while facilitating international trade, thus contributing to the welfare of society as a whole.” The ISO 28000 series of Interna- tional Standards specifies the requirements for a security management system to ensure safety in the supply chain. Its standards can be applied by organiza- StandardsStandards areare increasinglyincreasingly beingbeing tions of all sizes involved in manufac- used by governments as technical sup- turing, service, storage or transportation port to help implement regulation and by air, rail, road and sea at any stage of policy. This can be seen at the national the production or supply process. The and regional level and also where there is series includes provisions to: international regulatory activity. ISO and • establish, implement, maintain and IEC standards are highly suitable for use improve a security management sys- in this context as they apply to all these tem; levels, and as they are fully compliant • assure conformity with security man- with World Trade Organization (WTO) agement policy; requirements, regulators avoid creating technical barriers to trade. Some key • demonstrate such conformity; messages for anyone involved in shap- • seek certification/registration of con- ing regulations and policy are that stand- formity by an accredited third party ards from ISO and IEC : organization; or

58 ISO Focus November 2007 • make a self-determination and self- 28000 series were now published and declaration of conformity. numerous ports, terminals and organiza- New ISO standard tions were being certified by third party will reduce risks of The following standards have independent accredited certification bod- been published recently : ies;” while recognizing that “ISO stand- head injuries in child ards could be applied to all ships, irre- ISO 28000:2007, Specification for • spective of size, type, purpose and wheth- pedestrian accidents security management systems for the er operated internationally, domestically supply chain ; or within internal waters.” The same can • ISO 28001:2007, Security manage- be said of all other transport segments by Elizabeth Gasiorowski-Denis, ment systems for the supply chain – in the supply chain. Editor of ISO Focus Best practices for implementing supply The ISO 28000 series was devel- chain security – Assessments and plans oped by ISO/TC 8, Ships and marine ead injuries are among the most – Requirements and guidance ; technology, in cooperation with other common injuries sustained in organizations and stakeholders. Cap- automobile-to-child pedestrian tain Charles Piersall, Chair of ISO/TC H • ISO 28003:2007, Security manage- collisions, and are the leading cause of ment systems for the supply chain – 8 explained that “in order to deliver a death. ISO is helping to reduce the risk Requirements for bodies providing much needed timely aid, the standards by an International Standard for simu- audit and certification of supply chain were made available to the public as lating the head-impact conditions of a security management systems ; PAS, prior to publication as Internation- child sustained in an actual accident/ al Standards.” ISO/TC 8 has published collision. • ISO 28004:2007, Security manage- over 100 standards in support of inter- ISO 16850:2007, Road vehi- ment systems for the supply chain – national organizations. cles – Pedestrian protection – Child Guidelines for the implementation of ISO 28005, Ships and marine head impact test method, is expected ISO 28000. technology – Computer applications – to facilitate the development of more Electronic port clearance (EPC) is cur- pedestrian-friendly cars, reduce seri- The ISO 28000 series will facil- rently being developed as the latest addi- ous head injuries – and fatalities – of itate trade and the transport of goods tion to the series. children and enhance safety in real across borders. It will increase the abil- ISO 28000, ISO 28001, ISO world crashes. ity of organizations in the supply chain 28003 and ISO 28004 are available The new standard provides a crash to effectively implement mechanisms from ISO national member institutes test method for simulating the front that address security vulnerabilities at and from the ISO Central Secretariat impact of a vehicle to a child pedestri- strategic and operational levels, as well ([email protected]). an’s head. The reconstruction results as to establish preventive actions plans. Organizations can then continually assess their security measures to protect their business interests, and ensure compliance with international regulatory requirements. By encouraging the implemen-

tation of these standards by the various : PierrePhoto Granier actors in the supply chains, countries will be able to maximize the use of government’s resources, while maintaining a level of optimal security. The ISO 28000 series indeed assist in implementing governmental and international customs agency security initiatives, including the World Customs Organization’s Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Glo- bal Trade, the EU Authorized Economic Operators Programme, the US Customs Trade Partnership against Terrorism, and the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) International Ship and Port Facil- ity Security Code. The report of IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee meeting held earlier this month, acknowledged that “the ISO

ISO Focus November 2007 59 New on the shelf will allow manufacturers to generate introduction to the product, under the estimates of head-impact conditions, Nearly 500 articles headline of “ Concentrated ISO Pow- like impact velocity, angle and timing, on ISO management er ! ”adding, “ Both new and existing sustained in the simulated accident and, readers will benefit from the distilla- therefore, maximize harmonization of system standards in tion of this information into an electron- test results conducted by different test ic, searchable format that they can pop organizations. English, French and into a briefcase and consult on a com- Each year, thousands of pedes- puter anywhere in the world.” trians and cyclists are struck by motor Spanish on new CD ISO Secretary-General Alan vehicles. Most of these accidents take Bryden commented : “This CD is emi- place in urban areas where serious or nently suitable for the many students fatal injuries can be sustained at relative- by Roger Frost, Manager, who are assigned or choose university or ly low speed, particularly in the case of Communication Services, MBA projects related to ISO’s manage- 1) children. According to statistics , about ISO Central Secretariat ment standards, as well as to small busi- 8 000 pedestrians and cyclists are killed ness managers and managers of enter- and about 300 000 injured in the Euro- early 500 articles constituting a prises in developing countries and tran- pean Union each year. In North America mine of information on world- sition economies who recognize these the figures indicate around 5 000 pedes- wide developments relating to standards as forming the backbone of trians killed and 85 000 injured. N global supply chains.” ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and other global “ Improved pedestrian safety has business standards developed by ISO are ISO Management Systems inte- been a key issue in many countries, and available in English, French and Span- grates global business and standards undoubtedly, ISO 16850:2007 will con- ish on a new CD. intelligence. It provides a strategic over- tribute towards international harmoniza- The second edition of the ISO view of ISO’s global standards for glob- tion in this area,” said Yoshiyuki Mizu- Management Systems Magazine Data- al markets, including coverage of the no, Convenor, ISO/TC 22/SC 10/WG 2, base includes the complete collection in following : Pedestrian Impact Test Procedure, that the three languages of the 494 articles • Worldwide developments related developed the new standard. “ It will thus that appeared in the magazine in the 32 to ISO’s well known management help avoid excessive testing for differ- issues from the first September-Octo- system standards ISO 9001 (qual- ent markets and acts to remove barri- ber 2001 issue up to and including the ity) and ISO 14001 (environment) ers to trade.” November-December 2006 issue. andand nnewew oonesnes fforor ffoodood ssafetyafety ((ISOISO This work, based on scientific and “This“This meansmeans thatthat newnew subscriberssubscribers 22000),22000), iinformationnformation ssecurityecurity ((ISO/ISO/ biomechanical data gathered in collab- cancan shareshare inin thethe know-howknow-how andand knowl-knowl- IECIEC 27001),27001), supplysupply chainchain securitysecurity oration with experts around the world, edgeedge alreadyalready provided,”provided,” sayssays ISOISO inin itsits (ISO(ISO 28000),28000), thethe automotiveautomotive sectorsector willwill bebe usedused byby InternationalInternational Har-Har- (ISO/TS(ISO/TS 116949)6949) aandnd tthehe ooilil aandnd ggasas monizedmonized ResearchResearch ActivitiesActivities (IHRA)(IHRA) sectorsector ((ISOISO 229001).9001). PedestrianPedestrian SSafetyafety WWorkingorking GGrouproup aandnd • GuidelinesGuidelines forfor implementingimplementing thethe WWorldorld FForumorum fforor HHarmonizationarmonization ooff managementmanagement systemssystems inin healthhealth VehicleVehicle RegulationsRegulations (WP.29),(WP.29), PedestrianPedestrian care,care, eeducationducation aandnd llocalocal ggov-ov- SafetySafety ggloballobal ttechnicalechnical rregulationegulation ((PSPS ernment.ernment. gtr).gtr). ItIt isis alsoalso helpinghelping fulfilfulfil thethe aimsaims ofof tthehe WWorldorld TradeTrade OrganizationOrganization • StandardsStandards forfor confor-confor- AgreementAgreement onon TechnicalTechnical BarriersBarriers mitymity assessment,assessment, servic-servic- to Trade (WTO TBT). es,es, ssocialocial rresponsibil-esponsibil- ISOISO 116850:20076850:2007 isis avail-avail- ityity aandnd bbusinessusiness ttech-ech- ableable ffromrom IISOSO nnationalational mmemberember nologies.nologies. institutesinstitutes andand fromfrom ISOISO CentralCentral • StandardizationStandardization Secretariat ([email protected]).). TThehe initiativesinitiatives atat nation-nation- newnew standardstandard isis thethe workwork ofof ISOISO alal levellevel andand ooutsideutside technicaltechnical committeecommittee ISO/TCISO/TC 22,22, thethe ISOISO ssystemystem. Road vehicles, subcommitteesubcommittee SCSC T h e I S O 10, Impact test procedures. ManagementManagement SSystemsystems MagazineMagazine DDatabaseatabase isis availableavailable ffromrom IISOSO nationalnational membermember insti-insti- tutestutes andand fromfrom ISOISO Cen-Cen- 1) Data collected from traltral SSecretariatecretariat ([email protected]@iso. International Harmonized orgorg).). Research Activities (IHRA).

60 ISO Focus November 2007 Coming up

Developments and Initiatives

Is my watch really water resistant ? Water resistance is a much sought-after quality in watches, but one that consumers have repeatedly found problem- atic due to misleading advertising and strict restrictions of use. According to their warranty, watches said to resist submersion of 30 or even 50 metres, often cannot be used for swimming. The reason behind this is that watches passing resistance tests upon manufacture might loose their effectiveness as soon as they are taken out of the factory (transportation, use, etc.).

Main Focus Industrial automation find out why ISO/TC 184 subcommittee SC 4 won the Lawrence D. Eicher Lead- Industrial automation is one of the tools ership Award for superior performance that help industry face the challenges of an ISO standards development group. of today’s competitive market place. In the December issue of ISO Focus, we Learn also, all about the standard for explore the different facets of Interna- exchange of product model data tional Standards and industrial automa- (STEP). This innovative tool provides a tion. With industrial automation, manu- mechanism for describing product data facturers can improve accuracy and throughout the lifecycle of a product, speed, while reducing costs. This is independent of any particular system! achieved by using control systems, such As such, it can be used for implement- as computers, to manage industrial ing and sharing product databases and machinery and processes where human archiving. STEP standards represent operators are not required or are less hundreds of millions of dollars of reliable. Industrial automation helps proven investment, helping the genera- industry improve quality, as well as tion of consistent product information increase flexibility during the production models throughout the range of products process. As a result, consumers benefit covered by ISO. STEP has been used in from safer and better products. industry on such projects as Boeing 777, Airbus 380 and Eurofighter. It is International standards play a crucial widely used in the automotive sector role in the optimization of industrial and shipbuilding industries of leading automation. In a rapidly changing global economies. environment, they address industry demands for interoperability and inte- The next issue also features an exclu- Technical committee ISO/TC 114, gration of processes and technologies, sive interview with Katarina Lindström Horology, is therefore working on an cost reduction – particularly for SMEs, of Volvo. Readers will learn how this innovative draft standard that rather flexibility, and communication among leading transport solutions provider uses than focus on tests will ensure the industry partners and for product infor- International Standards to support its delivery of a value service that consum- mation. Learn more about industrial business. ers can trust. The new standard will automation and ISO standards in the If you want to find out more about create awareness among companies of next issue of ISO Focus. industrial automation and how Interna- their marketing responsibilities, thus ISO technical committee ISO/TC 184 is tional Standards are helping it redefine selling watches that retain the qualities responsible for developing standards on the way we manufacture products and they offer. Find out more about this industrial automation and integration, reshape the global economy, don’t miss innovative approach that will help com- which greatly benefit the automobile, the next issue of ISO Focus. panies give consumers what they really aeronautics, defense, electric devices, need, in the December issue of ISO energy and IT sectors. In the next issue, Focus.

ISO Focus November 2007 ��