Publicatie van de maand

Publicatie van de Maand: Mei 2001

	Tekst overgenomen met toestemming van: ISO-BULLETIN, mei 2001 (COMMENT) Geschreven door: Ross Wraight Chief executive of Standards Australia International, Vice President Technical Chairman of ISO Technical Management board

ISO - what we need to do next. The ISO family has achieved much since I joined it in 1996. The organization in Geneva has improved its efficiency by doing most of its work electronically and introducing major reforms in standards writing processes, including business planning for each Technical Committee, electronic balloting, and cancelling stalled projects. I believe the relationships with IEC have never been better and there is an improvement in the ISO/CEN arrangements. It has been a very busy and constructive period. One of our major challenges is improving the inclusiveness of our organization by adding as members, additional organizations and interested parties. I have a strong inclusive bias. While ISO does not have an exclusive one, I believe we need to actively pursue the involvement of more interested parties so that they can contribute formally to the process of International Standards development. We know, for example, that there are several US Standards Development Organizations that write extremely good standards that are accepted and used all over the world. I believe ISO should accredit organizations such as these, which are technical leaders in their field to write ISO standards. Industry is keen to have a more direct voice in ISO and we should work to actively include them to our mutual benefit, with the positive result of economic and social benefits. Further, there are other industries that are not using ISO to the full, such as the health and accounting industries, and we need to work to include them also. Governments, too, should have a more direct voice, perhaps via the World Trade Organization (WTO). If we don't try to include these organizations in our work, then they will go elsewhere. A lack of universal support and involvement in ISO will create the risk of it losing its status as the preferred international organization for standards development. Let's look back from the future and imagine the potential for this great organization! Consider this: ISO now has representation in its Governance structures from industry and governments (maybe the WTO is that representative). Many major regional and standards development organizations are accredited to write ISO standards. ISO has regional marketing and promotional strategies that are delivering results. The preferred International Standards organization for the accounting and health industries is ISO. The developing economies now account for half of all standards secretariats. ISO is the major distributor of e-learning for developing countries. Several National Standards Bodies have merged, resulting in lowered costs and improved efficiency and service delivery. These may seem to be grand ideas, but we need to see them as ways of meeting the market needs for better and more comprehensive services. ISO, like all organizations, does not have a permanent mandate. We have to continually earn our right to this market. But one thing is certain - we cannot rest on our laurels. We need to find creative ways to be more inclusive if we are to grow and develop. However difficult some may think the realization of this vision is, the beauty of these ideas lies in their benefits to the global community.