Inputs and comments from the ISO

ISO Organization Building Does ISO have any involvement with conformity assessment? As it reads in the ISO FAQ

Summary:
A confederation with the sole role to publish technical and management specifications as well technical specification for voluntary adoption and to help as guidance.

section:

It is not the role of ISO to verify that ISO publications are being implemented by users in conformity with the requirements of the publications. However, in partnership with IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission), ISO develops ISO/IEC guides and publication-standards to be used by organizations which carry out conformity assessment activities as volunteer schemes. The voluntary criteria contained in these publication-standards represent a European consensus for international application on what constitutes best practices. The use of the publications contributes to consistency and coherence of conformity. You can find more information about these activities in the conformity assessment pages of ISO Online's section on communities and markets.

The reason for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is to the development and publication of technical specifications. For more information on the ISO FAQ responses. We specifically cite - quote the International Organization for Standardization (ISO):

ISO does not carry out certification

ISO is responsible for developing, maintaining and publishing the ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 families of standards but ISO does not itself audit or assess the management systems of organizations to verify that they have been implemented in conformity with the requirements of the standards.

ISO does not issue ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 certificates.

The auditing and certification of management systems is carried out independently of ISO by more than 2500 certification bodies active around the world. ISO has no authority to control their activities. The current ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certificates issued by third party certification bodies are issued under their own responsibility on a volunteer agreement and not under ISO's name.

ISO itself does not carry out assessments or audits to check that its standards are being implemented by users in conformity with the requirements of the standards. Conformity assessment – as this process is known – is a matter between suppliers and their customers in the private sector, and of regulatory bodies when ISO standards have been incorporated into public legislation.

Our comment to the above: It is not the intent of ISO to supplant the sovereignty of nations by substituting laws or regulation.

In addition, there exist many testing laboratories and certification bodies which offer independent (also known as "third party") conformity assessment services to provide confirmation that products (including hardware, software and processed materials), services or systems measure up to ISO standards.

Such organizations may perform these services under a mandate to a regulatory authority, or as a commercial activity, the aim of which is to create confidence between suppliers and their clients.

In some countries, the national standards institutes that make up ISO's membership carry out conformity assessment, either on behalf of their respective governments, or as a business operation. ISO itself has no authority to control conformity assessment activities, whether these are business activities by its members, or by other organizations.

However, ISO's Committee on conformity assessment, ISO/CASCO, develops specifications and guidelines for publication covering various aspects for conformity. The voluntary criteria contained in these publication - standards and guides represent an international consensus on good practice. Their use contributes to the consistency of conformity assessment worldwide and may help in facilitating trade across borders specially within the Euro Zone.