International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

• ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world's largest developer and publisher of International Standards.
• ISO was founded on 23rd February 1947 as a non-governmental federation of national standard bodies.
• ISO is a network of the national standards institutes of 163 countries, one member per country, with a Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates the system.
• 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 the 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.

1. ISO 9000 Family:

• The ISO 9000 family addresses "Quality management".
• This means what the organization does to fulfill:
1. the customers quality requirements, and
2. applicable regulatory requirements, while aiming to
3. enhance customer satisfaction, and
4. achieve continual improvement of its performance in pursuit of these objectives.

2. ISO 1400 Family:

• The ISO 14000 family addresses "Environmental management".
• This means what the organization does to:
  1. minimize harmful effects on the environment caused by its activities, and to
  2. achieve continual improvement of its environmental performance.