ISO & IEC
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) are the two most prominent international standard-setting bodies globally. Together, they publish the fundamental documents that dictate quality management, conformity assessment, and technical specifications across virtually all industries.
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
Founded in 1947 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, ISO is an independent, non-governmental international organization. Its membership comprises the national standards bodies of over 160 countries.
ISO standards are ubiquitous. They cover everything from the dimensions of shipping containers and credit cards to complex management systems. In the context of metrology, the most critical ISO publication is the ISO 9000 family, specifically ISO 9001. This standard sets out the criteria for a quality management system (QMS) and is the foundational requirement for many manufacturing and service organizations worldwide. While ISO 9001 requires that measuring equipment be calibrated, it does not dictate the strict technical competence requirements found in laboratory-specific standards.
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
Established in 1906, the IEC is the world's leading organization for the preparation and publication of International Standards for all electrical, electronic, and related technologies.
While ISO handles general standards, the IEC focuses on the highly technical realm of electrotechnology. If you are dealing with the calibration of an oscilloscope, the safety requirements for a multimeter, or the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) of a measuring transducer, you are operating within the domain of the IEC. The IEC also oversees four conformity assessment systems that verify that equipment and components conform to its standards.
Joint Technical Committees: ISO/IEC JTC 1 and CASCO
Because many modern technologies blur the line between traditional "manufacturing" (ISO) and "electronics/software" (IEC), the two organizations frequently collaborate through Joint Technical Committees.
- ISO/IEC JTC 1: This is the joint committee responsible for Information Technology standards. As metrology increasingly relies on digital data, software validation, and IoT (Internet of Things) sensors, the standards produced by JTC 1 (such as the ISO/IEC 27000 family for information security) are becoming vital to laboratory operations.
- CASCO (Committee on Conformity Assessment): This ISO committee develops policies and publishes standards related to conformity assessment. Crucially, CASCO develops the ISO/IEC 17000 series. The most important of these for the calibration community is ISO/IEC 17025, the general requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories. It is a joint publication that marries ISO's quality management principles with the technical rigor necessary for reliable measurements.