10
1 Basics of standards
People are sometimes confused by the mismatch between the name "International
Organization for Standardisation" and the three letters ISO. In fact, the name of ISO
is not an acronym, but rather a word derived from the Greek isos, meaning "equal",
which points to one of the goals of international standardisation. This name is used
around the world to denote the organization thus avoiding the plethora of acronyms
resulting from the translation of the full name into many different languages.
The work ofISO is based on three principles:
1. Consensus
The views of all interested parties are taken into account. This is sometimes referred to as the democracy within the standardisation development. In practice,
the influence in shaping a technical standard is largely restricted to the parties that
can afford to pay for their experts to be involved. However, the final vote on a
draft for an International Standard depends on an agreement of 75% of the voting
parties, independent of their activities during the development process.
2. Industry-wide
The standards will always lead to global solutions that satisfY the needs of industries and customers worldwide. Due to diverse developments in different parts of
the world this principle often leads to a minimum consensus and to abstract-level
standards. Ifworldwide consensus on a specific subject turns out to be impossible,
the ISO would then withdraw its involvement.
3. Voluntary
International standardisation is market-driven and therefore based on the voluntary involvement of all interested parties. If a technical subject requires standardisation, the interested parties would approach ISO asking for guidance on the standardisation process. ISO will guarantee compliance with the consensus principle
and consistency with other International Standards. The development will then receive recognition as an international ISO standard.
1.3.1.1 Members of ISO
ISO is the umbrella organization for national standardisation activities. ISO members are primarily countries which are usually represented by their respective national standards organizations. Examples of such national bodies are the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI), the Standardisation Council of Canada (SCC),
and the DlN (Deutsches Institut für Normung).
The national bodies are often unable to provide the complete range of expertise
required for standard setting. Therefore, scientists and engineers usually exchange
their knowledge within dedicated international organizations like the International
Cartographic Association (ICA) or the International Society for Photogrammetry and
1 Basics of standards
People are sometimes confused by the mismatch between the name "International
Organization for Standardisation" and the three letters ISO. In fact, the name of ISO
is not an acronym, but rather a word derived from the Greek isos, meaning "equal",
which points to one of the goals of international standardisation. This name is used
around the world to denote the organization thus avoiding the plethora of acronyms
resulting from the translation of the full name into many different languages.
The work ofISO is based on three principles:
1. Consensus
The views of all interested parties are taken into account. This is sometimes referred to as the democracy within the standardisation development. In practice,
the influence in shaping a technical standard is largely restricted to the parties that
can afford to pay for their experts to be involved. However, the final vote on a
draft for an International Standard depends on an agreement of 75% of the voting
parties, independent of their activities during the development process.
2. Industry-wide
The standards will always lead to global solutions that satisfY the needs of industries and customers worldwide. Due to diverse developments in different parts of
the world this principle often leads to a minimum consensus and to abstract-level
standards. Ifworldwide consensus on a specific subject turns out to be impossible,
the ISO would then withdraw its involvement.
3. Voluntary
International standardisation is market-driven and therefore based on the voluntary involvement of all interested parties. If a technical subject requires standardisation, the interested parties would approach ISO asking for guidance on the standardisation process. ISO will guarantee compliance with the consensus principle
and consistency with other International Standards. The development will then receive recognition as an international ISO standard.
1.3.1.1 Members of ISO
ISO is the umbrella organization for national standardisation activities. ISO members are primarily countries which are usually represented by their respective national standards organizations. Examples of such national bodies are the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI), the Standardisation Council of Canada (SCC),
and the DlN (Deutsches Institut für Normung).
The national bodies are often unable to provide the complete range of expertise
required for standard setting. Therefore, scientists and engineers usually exchange
their knowledge within dedicated international organizations like the International
Cartographic Association (ICA) or the International Society for Photogrammetry and