About the International Standards Organization ISO
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Because "International Organization for Standardization" would
have different acronyms in different languages ("IOS" in English,
"OIN" in French for organization internationale de normalisation),
its founders decided to give it also a short, all-purpose name. They
chose "ISO", derived from the Greek isos,
meaning "equal". Whatever the country, whatever the
language, the short form of the organization's name is always ISO.
ISO is a non-governmental organization that
forms a bridge between the public and private sectors. On the one
hand, many of its member institutes are part of the governmental
structure of their countries, or are mandated by their government.
On the other hand, other members have their roots uniquely in the
private sector, having been set up by national partnerships of
industry associations. Therefore, ISO enables a consensus to be reached
on solutions that meet both the requirements of business and
the broader needs of society.
Why standards matter
Standards make an enormous and positive contribution to
most aspects of our lives.
Standards ensure desirable characteristics of products and
services such as quality, environmental friendliness, safety,
reliability, efficiency and interchangeability - and at an
economical cost.
When products and services meet our expectations, we tend to take
this for granted and be unaware of the role of standards. However,
when standards are absent, we soon notice. We soon care when
products turn out to be of poor quality, do not fit, are
incompatible with equipment that we already have, are unreliable or
dangerous.
When products, systems, machinery and devices work well and
safely, it is often because they meet standards. And the
organization responsible for many thousands of the
standards which benefit the world is ISO.
When standards are absent, we soon notice.
More about ISO ...
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