Who is ISO?
ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is a system of standards institutes from 164 countries with a central office in Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates the system.
ISO is a non-governmental organization that forms a overpass between the public and private sectors and is the largest standards organization in the world.
- Many of its member institutes are part of the governmental structure of their countries or are mandated by their government.
- Some members have their roots uniquely in the private sector, having been set up by national partnerships of industry associations.
- Therefore, ISO enables a consensusto be reached on solutions that meet both the requirements of business and the broader needs of society.
How does ISO Work?
It is important to be aware of how ISO works. For example, ISO does not actually “certify” any group directly. Rather there are certification organizations that perform that task of auditing and then certifying an organization’s quality management systems. These groups (often known as registrars), must themselves be certified under a separate standard, ISO/IEC TS 17021. The certification process involves a registrar “auditing” a set to ensure that their operations are in compliance with processes outlined in the current ISO 9001:2015 standard. Where inconsistencies or “non conformities are found, the group must typically create a program for correcting these harms before a certificate of registration can be issued.