The project committee developing the standard, ISO/PC 239, Network services billing, met for the first time in June 2009, in London, United Kingdom (UK).

Participants from around the world actively discussed the scope of the future standard (ISO 14452), which will promote more customer-oriented billing practices and service provision.



Although billing systems vary from country to country, and from industry to industry, participants agreed to target utilities such as electricity, water, gas and communications, with the support of the International Electrotechnical Commission and the International Telecommunication Union, as well as other key organizations in the field.

The committee also issued an open call for interested parties wishing to get involved (through the ISO member of their respective country). Already, seven countries have participant status in ISO/PC 239, while an additional five are observers. Among its members, Israel (who holds the Secretariat), the Republic of Korea (who holds the Chair), the Netherlands and the UK were present at the first meeting, together with an Asian consumers group.



ISO/PC 239, Network services billing, was established following a proposal from the ISO Committee on consumer policy (ISO/COPOLCO), which noted that billing makes-up a substantial part of overall consumer complaints against utilities. A study carried-out in 2004 by Energywatch, the gas and electricity consumer council in the UK, suggested that up to a third of customers regularly contact their energy suppliers to query or complain about their bills. According to the study, this could amount to as many as 60 million unnecessary contacts per year.

full story on ISO.ORG

SailingAlthough statistically sailing is one of the safer leisure activities, a number of incidents, sometimes fatal, have been reported involving trapeze wires.

A trapeze consists of a harness worn around the waist and attached to the upper mast by a wire, which allows sailors to hang outside the boat. Many models of sailing dinghy and catamarans include trapezes, as they are widely used to increase control and speed of a craft. But sailors must be able to detach themselves at any time, or they risk becoming trapped underwater or in dangerous conditions.



The new standard, ISO 10862:2009, Small craft – Quick release system for trapeze harness, provides requirements and test methods to ensure the correct operation of safety release devices, enabling the wearer to unhook rapidly in the event of an emergency.

Such a device should be easily accessible and able to be operated in all conditions, even when a craft is capsized or inverted.



“ISO 10862 includes a number of important features which could save a sailor’s life” said Ken Kershaw, a recreational craft safety expert, actively involved in the development of ISO 10862 and other small craft ISO standards.
full story on ISO.ORG pressrelease

Infromation security

Since its publication in October 2005, ISO 27001 has been implemented in many organisations as the best practice for information security management, with over three hundred UK organisations independently certified against the standard.

So if these organisations, which range from small and medium to large enterprises, have implemented ISO 27001, why are we still hearing about lapses in information security? Neil O’Connor, principal consultant, Activity asks what lessons are there to be learnt from every organisation, whatever its size, using ISO 27001 as a benchmark?

Introduction

Information security, and in particular the handling of personal information, has regularly been in the headlines over the last few months. There have been notable incidents at HM Revenue and Customs, the Ministry of Defence, Nationwide Building Society and Marks and Spencer among others.

These are all large organisations implementing information security management systems at least compliant with, if not certified against, the international standard for information security management, ISO 27001.

ISO27001



A key issue is that ISO 27001 is a management standard, not a security standard. It provides a framework for the management of security within an organisation, but does not provide a ‘Gold Standard’ for security, which, if implemented, will ensure the security of an organisation.

ISO 27001 takes a risk assessment based approach. An information security risk assessment is used to identify the security requirements of the organisation, and to then identify the security controls needed to bring that risk within an acceptable level for the organisation.

Once the security controls have been identified, ISO 27001 defines processes to ensure that a) these controls are implemented and are effective; and b) that the controls continue to meet the organisation’s security needs.

read full text on bcs.org

"ISO Café"

ISO has just updated its special Web site section known as the “ISO Café”. Students, teachers, journalists, consumers and others sometimes need easily understandable information on ISO International Standards without having to plough through lengthy texts.

The ISO Web site has a special place – the ISO Café, where the menu includes dozens of everyday examples of the benefits ISO standards bring.



ISO Café includes:

• An overview of the ISO system in user-friendly language on the essentials of ISO and what it does
• Examples from many areas of life and work showing how ISO standards provide technical, economic and social benefits.

Written in a user-friendly language and illustrated by cartoons, the ISO Café has just been updated. New entries include standards for:

• Disabled persons
• IT office equipment
• Street crossing
• Travel and tourism
• Sensory analysis
• Safety at work
• Cold work places
• Protective clothing
• Plastic recycling
• Environmental impacts of products
• Spinal disc implants
• Ergonomics data
• Beach safety flags
• Ski touring boots
• Optical discs
• State-of-the-art spaghetti.

The ISO Café is a virtual space for those who want to learn more about the benefits of standards. It shows through concrete examples why standards matter, where to find information on standards and how ISO standards are developed.

read full text on iso.org

A new ISO standard will help prevent death and injury to sailors attached to sailing trapezes on small craft, by ensuring they can release themselves from the wire hooking them to the boat in emergencies.

Although statistically sailing is one of the safer leisure activities, a number of incidents, sometimes fatal, have been reported involving trapeze wires.

A trapeze consists of a harness worn around the waist and attached to the upper mast by a wire, which allows sailors to hang outside the boat. Many models of sailing dinghy and catamarans include trapezes, as they are widely used to increase control and speed of a craft. But sailors must be able to detach themselves at any time, or they risk becoming trapped underwater or in dangerous conditions.

The new standard, ISO 10862:2009, Small craft – Quick release system for trapeze harness, provides requirements and test methods to ensure the correct operation of safety release devices, enabling the wearer to unhook rapidly in the event of an emergency.

Such a device should be easily accessible and able to be operated in all conditions, even when a craft is capsized or inverted.

“ISO 10862 includes a number of important features which could save a sailor’s life” said Ken Kershaw, a recreational craft safety expert, actively involved in the development of ISO 10862 and other small craft ISO standards.



Among the safety requirements the standard prescribes is a release time shorter than five seconds. Taking into account real life conditions, it also requires that the device be operable with only one hand and with the full finger neoprene gloves used in cold environments. At the same time, the safety mechanism should not to be released inadvertently.

“When preparing ISO 10862,” Mr. Kershaw explained, “we looked at other release systems used in kite surfing, mountaineering and deck safety harnesses and pooled all the information together.



“This standard is great news for manufacturers of sailing trapezes who will now have one global source for safety requirements. In Europe, harnesses complying with the standard will bear the CE mark, which is compulsory for safety equipment of this type” he concluded.

ISO 10862 is the result of a multi-stakeholder process which included the participation of recreational craft user groups as well as industry. Sailors were also invited to discuss the concerns they experienced when using trapezes.

Up until now, people seeking advice on how to plan their retirement or best invest their savings have been confronted with similar problems the world over. There is a vast choice of investment schemes, legal frameworks vary from country to country, and investments can go wrong. With so many financial planners to choose from, how can they know who to trust and how should they compare the different schemes on offer? For example, according to the technical committee that developed the standard, ISO/TC 222, Personal financial planning, the number of financial planners in the United States alone ranges from 800 000 to several million, depending on the definition of “planner”.

“An International Standard for financial planning will provide simplification for the client by setting forth requirements to assure that the client is well served by financial planners who have met the highest ethical and educational standards”, said Stuart Kessler, Chair of ISO/TC 222.

• The standard defines six steps of the personal financial planning process:
• establishing client/planner relations;
• determining goals and gathering data;
• evaluating the client’s financial status;
• developing and presenting the financial plan;
• implementing recommendations;
• monitoring the plan recommendations.

At the heart of ISO 22222:2005, is a framework that applies to all aspects of the personal financial planner’s ethical behaviour, and requires compliance with applicable rules and regulations. It gives the requirements for competence performance and competence assessment methods, and obliges the financial planner to demonstrate continued competency by following the necessary training programmes and maintaining records of these.

Read more here

This new agreement strengthens the long-standing strategic partnership between the two organizations in order to promote sustainable development and economic growth through standards development and implementation, capacity building and training, joint publications and related research.



Under this MoU, ISO and UNIDO will undertake joint projects including seminars and workshops organization at the regional, sub-regional and national levels on topics such as:

* Standardization practice
* Environmental and energy management
* Food safety
* Energy use and energy efficiency
* Social responsibility
* Conformity assessment.

ful text on iso.org

media

Every single working day, there are hundreds of new references to ISO on media sites on the Internet, reflecting growing awareness of the contribution of ISO standards to providing confidence in products and services. However, many journalists and other media professionals are probably unaware of the substantial role played by ISO standards in supporting their own industry.

The latest issue of ISO Focus magazine features “ISO and the Media”. It showcases standards that have widely disseminated innovative technological advances in the media industry, increasing its viability.



They have also facilitated the explosive growth of new communication media, such as CDs and DVDs. Other standards, such as for digital file formats and office printing equipment have changed the way we work.

The feature includes articles on the JPEG and MPEG standards for digital compression with respective applications to still photography, video CD and MP3, and digital TV set top boxes and DVD. JPEG is widely used not only by the media but by millions of members of the public to send photo files via e-mail, while MPEG has helped generate the multi-million dollar DVD industry. JPEG and MPEG standards between them have three times been honoured by Emmy Awards bestowed by the US television industry.



The ISO Focus feature includes articles on ISO standards – and joint standards developed with its partner, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) – which are key tools for different sectors of the media industry.

They include standards for photography, images and videos, the digital cinema, office printing equipment  and Universal Plug and Play. This is an innovative technology that will not only allow you to switch the lights on/off or watch your pet while away, but archive files that you can view on a TV, PC or mobile phone wherever you may be.

full text iso.org

Is ISO 9001 relevant to software?

Today, software customers are clearly going global
and are demanding quality.  Given the stakes involved, it is important
for software organizations to understand all the rules for self-improvement
and for doing business in the international marketplace.  The ISO
9001 standard has become a basic part of these rules.

How does ISO 9001 apply to software?

ISO 9001 is an international “quality management system” standard–a standard
used to assess an organization’s management approach regarding quality.

ISO 9001’s focus is directed internally at an organization’s processes
and methods and externally at managing (controlling, assuring,…) the
quality of products and services delivered.

When viewing the key factors affecting the outcome of software development
(shown below in figure 1), ISO 9001’s focus is on all factors except “technology”.



Figure 1: Delivering Quality
Software – macro process (click figure for expanded view)

Scope of ISO 9001:

ISO 9001 is a generic international standard, adopted on a country-by-country
basis, and written for use by the widest possible audience.  As a
result, the standard provides requirements (what needs to be done)
and does not issue specific prescriptive solutions (how to do it).

Being so broadly focused, the ISO 9001 standard does not offer details
about its application to specific domains of expertise.  To assist
in the application of the standard for specific domains, a series of guidelines
are available; e.g., ISO 9000-3 is a guideline for the software development
industry.

Relevance of ISO 9000-3

ISO 9000-3 provides “guidance” on implementing an ISO 9001 compliant set
of processes (collectively referred as a “quality system” or as a “quality
management system”).



ISO 9000-3 is an international guideline.  Guidance is for software
development, supply and maintenance environments.  The guideline is
primarily written for “custom” (contract driven) software markets.
It can easily be adapted for other market needs such as commercial-off-the-shelf
(COTS), internal software development, etc..

ISO 9000-3 virtually mirrors the provision of ISO 9001–it does not
add to, or otherwise change, the requirements of ISO 9001.

ISO 9000-3 is not intended to be used as an internal/external audit
tool.  Its intent is to guide software organizations with their
ISO 9001 implementation and process change efforts: in short, software
organizations are audited against ISO 9001 (not ISO 9000-3).

An example of the type of guidance provided by ISO 9000-3 is shown in
the following table.
Read more here

ISO has published on its Web site a new electronic edition of its advice for managers, Selection and use of the ISO 9000 family of standards.

The ISO 9000 family, which currently consists of 17 international quality management standards and guidelines (plus a corrigendum), has earned a global reputation as a basis for establishing effective and efficient quality management systems.

The best known standard is ISO 9001, which specifies the basic requirements for a quality management system (QMS) that an organization must fulfil to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide products (which include services) that enhance customer satisfaction and meet applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. The standard can be used for certification/registration and contractual purposes by organizations seeking recognition of their quality management system. It is estimated that a million ISO 9001 certificates have been issued in 170 countries.

However, ISO technical committee ISO/TC 176, Quality management and quality assurance, which is responsible for developing and maintaining the ISO 9000 family, and which has updated the e-brochure, states: “You will obtain the greatest value by using the entire family of standards in an integrated manner.”

The e-brochure provides a general perspective on the ISO 9000 family of standards. It is an overview of the standards and demonstrates how, collectively, they form a basis for continual improvement and business excellence. The e-brochure includes:

• An overview of the ISO 9000 core standards
• A step-by-step process to implement a quality management system
• Examples of typical applications of the documents
• Information on the ISO 9000 family of standards.

Read more here