The global relevance of ISO’s management system standards and their capacity to benefit the very largest and the very smallest organizations in both public and private sectors are underlined by the recent achievements of three highly contrasted users: the world’s principal aviation safety regulator, an operator of 51 marine terminals on five continents and a small business employing 20 people.

The Aviation Safety organization of the USA’s Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) on 16 October 2006 achieved certification to ISO 9001:2000 of a single quality management system covering a total of 6 242 employees at its headquarters in Washington DC, nine regional offices and 125 field offices in the United States, Belgium, China, Germany, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

“Achieving certification to ISO 9001:2000 means that we now hold our government’s aviation safety business to the same high standards as those we regulate,” said FAA Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety, Nicholas A. Sabatini. “As a global leader in aviation safety, we’re operating more like a business to ensure that each FAA office around the world provides the same level of service and products to our customers.”

With a budget of USD 948 million, the Aviation Safety organization oversees a diverse and complex range of business worldwide including the safety certificates of 6 110 air operators, 733 000 active pilots, 1 600 approved manufacturers, 91 000 thousand flight instructors, 11 000 “designees” (industry experts), and 320 000 aircraft. “That’s a primary customer base about as big as they come,” commented Mr. Sabatini.

Moving from aviation to the maritime sector, DP World is the first global marine terminal operator to have achieved certification, in September 2006, to ISO/PAS 28000:2005, Specification for security management systems for the supply chain. The certification covers both corporate headquarters in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, and the DP World-managed Djibouti Container Terminal.

DP World, which is wholly owned by the Government of Dubai, aims to roll out ISO/PAS 28000 throughout its global network spanning 51 terminals in 24 countries in five continents and employing around 34 000 people.

Anil Wats, DP World Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, had this comment: “As a leading marine terminal operator with the widest global network, it is important for us to attain the ISO/PAS 28000:2005 standard to reflect our commitment to providing quality services to our customers, as well as helping secure the international supply chain.”

“In a changing legislative and regulatory environment, ISO/PAS 28000 provides the benefit of consistent security standards that are internationally recognized.”

In complete contrast in terms of size, Bramfood Manufacturers and Distributors, a Canadian small business employing 20 people, is believed to have become, on 25 September 2006, the first North American company to be certified to ISO 22000:2005, Food safety management systems – Requirements for any organization in the food chain.

Muru Rajah, CEO of Bramfood, which manufactures seafood and vegetable products, declared: “ISO 22000:2005 will definitely help the entire food chain from ‘farm to fork’ and avoid unnecessary debate over different standards and different systems of third-party certification in different countries.”

“As the supply chains are diversifying and becoming international in scope, everyone in the food chain should follow this standard if they want to meet the ever-increasing demand for food safety.”

“Small and medium-sized enterprises should definitely look into ISO 22000:2005 in order to enhance their food safety management systems, increase their product acceptability, grow their businesses and give tough competition to the bigger companies.”

Commenting on the achievements of the three organizations, ISO Secretary-General Alan Bryden said: “Ensuring the global relevance of ISO standards is one of our strategic objectives and, in addition, the World Standards Day 2006 message on 14 October emphasized that international standards need to provide benefits for small businesses as they do for global enterprises, governments and society at large. As these recent examples show, ISO is achieving its strategic goal, as well as delivering on its promises to stakeholders.”

Note to Editors
Certification of conformity is not a requirement of the ISO standards themselves, which can be implemented without certification for the benefits that they help user organizations to achieve for themselves and for their customers. Nevertheless, many thousands of organizations have chosen certification because of the perception that an independent confirmation of conformity adds value.
ISO itself does not perform certification to its standards, does not issue certificates and does not control certification performed independently of ISO by other organizations. However, it does develop standards and guides to encourage consistent good practice in conformity assessment worldwide to the benefit of business partners, regulators, and the users and consumers of products and services.