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List of ISO and ISO/IEC Guides
(by numerical order)

ISO/IEC Guides : what they are and what they can help you to achieve

ISO and IEC have come together to provide a resource of helpful advice to standards writers in the form of Guides. The majority of these will help you deal with specialist issues, such as consumer needs, when writing standards. Many are also useful for people not involved in standards work as the advice they contain can be generally applied to their subject areas. Make a note of the list below so that if you find yourself dealing with one of the subjects covered you will know what to use. The Guides can be obtained from the ISO Store or your ISO member body.

Note:  ISO Technical Committee Chairs and Secretaries can obtain them from the ISOTC Server (password protected) or through the ISO member in their country.

ISO/IEC Guide 2:2004    (TMB)
Standardization and related activities – General vocabulary

This guide provides and explains terms and definitions concerning standardization and related activities. It is intended to aid understanding of commonly used terms amongst the members of ISO and IEC and governmental and nongovernmental agencies involved in standardization at international, regional and national levels. The guide also provides a useful reference, briefly covering basic theoretical and practical principles of standardization, certification and laboratory accreditation.

ISO/IEC Guide 7:1994    (CASCO)
Guidelines for drafting of standards suitable for use for conformity assessment

These guidelines can help you to draft standards which are suitable for conformity assessment of products (they can also be useful for process and service standards). If you know that a standard will be used for conformity assessment, you can apply the principles laid down in ISO/IEC Guide 7 to have added confi dence that it is written appropriately.

ISO/IEC Guide 14:2003    (COPOLCO)
Purchase information on goods and services intended for consumers

This guide is one of several dealing with consumer information. It advises standard writers on what information prospective purchasers (of products or services) require and expect. It can also assist you if you use purchase information as part of your job (e.g. regulatory enforcement authorities). It deals with the contents, methods, formats and design of purchase information so that consumers can compare and choose between products and services.

ISO/IEC Guide 15:1977    (TMB)
ISO/IEC code of principles on "reference to standards"

The standards-making procedures of ISO and IEC and their members are at the disposal of intergovernmental organizations and national governmental agencies wishing to use the principle of reference to standards. This Guide gives 5 principles which have been adopted by the ISO and IEC Councils with a view to guiding the work of ISO and IEC towards standards which can be referenced in legislation or regulations.

ISO/IEC Guide 21-1:2005    (TMB)
Regional or national adoption of International Standards and other International Deliverables - Part 1: Adoption of International Standards

ISO/IEC Guide 21-1:2005 provides methods for: determination of the degree of correspondence between regional or national standards and relevant International Standards; adoption of International Standards as regional or national standards; indication of technical deviations which would facilitate immediate recognition of any deviation; numbering of regional or national standards that are identical adoptions of International Standards; indication of the degree of correspondence between the regional or national standard and the International Standard.
ISO/IEC Guide 21-1:2005 does not contain any rules for the use of an International Standard in production, trade, legislation or similar activities. It also does not deal with: the adoption of regional or national standards as International Standards; adoption of regional or national standards as other regional or national standards; adoption of regional standards as national standards; or adoption in or of technical regulations.

ISO/IEC Guide 21-2:2005    (TMB)
Regional or national adoption of International Standards and other International Deliverables - Part 2: Adoption of International Deliverables other than International Standards

This guide provides methods for the following: the adoption of International Deliverables other than International Standards as regional or national deliverables; numbering of regional or national deliverables that are adoptions of International Deliverables other than International Standards.

ISO/IEC Guide 23:1982    (CASCO)
Methods of indicating conformity with standards for third-party certification systems

This guide lays down methods of indicating conformity with standards and reference thereto in standards. Whilst it is directed specifically to conformity with standards, it is recognized that it may be equally applicable to conformity with other technical specifications. It applies to indications of conformity made under the authority of a certification body. This Guide is primarily intended for International Standards but may be used for national standards or other purposes, too.

ISO Guide 27:1983    (CASCO)
Guidelines for corrective action to be taken by a certification body in the event of misuse of its mark of conformity

The purpose of this guide is to identify a series of procedures which a national certification body (non-governmental) should consider in deciding how to respond to a reported misuse of its registered mark of conformity (i.e. violation of a contract, inadequate quality control, or error in assessment of conformity) or a situation in which a certified product is subsequently found to be hazardous (i.e. due to inadequate standard, unanticipated end-use of a product or a manufacturing defect).

ISO/IEC Guide 28:2004    (CASCO)
Conformity assessment - Guidance on a third-party certification system for products

This guide gives general guidelines for a specific product certification system.
It is applicable to a third-party product certification system for determining the conformity of a product with specified requirements through initial testing of samples of the product, assessment and surveillance of the involved quality system, and surveillance by testing of product samples taken from the factory or the open market, or both. ISO/IEC Guide 28:2004 addresses conditions for use of a mark of conformity and conditions for granting a certificate of conformity.

ISO Guide 30:1992    (REMCO)
Terms and definitions used in connection with reference materials
ISO Guide 30:1992/Amd 1:2008    (REMCO)
Revision of definitions for reference material and certified reference material

This guide recommends terms and their meaning used in connection with reference materials, taking into account those terms which are used in reference material certificates and appropriate test reports.

ISO Guide 31:2000    (REMCO)
Reference materials -- Contents of certificates and labels

This Guide is intended to help producers to prepare clear and concise certificates to accompany certified reference materials. Such certificates, while maintaining their essential character, should help to provide, in summary form, all the information needed by the user of the reference material.

ISO Guide 32:1997    (REMCO)
Calibration in analytical chemistry and use of certified reference materials

Quality assurance in a testing laboratory, particularly in the case of its assessment (see ISO/IEC Guide 25), highlights the need to consider closely the question of the accuracy of its measurements and analytical results, and to ensure that the principles necessary to establish demonstrated accuracy have not been omitted.

The calibration of the parameters associated with chemical analyses and material testing deserves particular attention, because major errors can be made by neglecting or ignoring the basic principles of metrology which also apply to these areas. This Guide identifies a number of general recommendations for those who, either in laboratories or as assessors, are faced with this problem.

ISO Guide 33:2000    (REMCO)
Uses of certified reference materials

This Guide discusses the uses of certified reference materials (CRMs) and their correct applications.

Clause 2 of this Guide presents definitions (with indication of their sources) of terms used, and clause 4 sets out the statistical considerations on which the Guide is based.

Clause 5 discusses the role of CRMs in measurement science and in realization of conventional measurement scales.

Clause 6 presents recommendations for developing criteria for the assessment of the precision and trueness of a measurement procedure by the use of CRMs. It pertains only to CRMs characterized to be homogeneous as described in ISO Guide 35.

ISO Guide 34:2009    (REMCO)
General requirements for the competence of reference material producers

Guide 34:2009 specifies general requirements in accordance with which a reference material producer has to demonstrate that it operates, if it is to be recognized as competent to carry out the production of reference materials.

Guide 34:2009 is intended for the use by reference material producers in the development and implementation of their management system for quality, administrative and technical operations. Reference material customers, regulatory authorities and accreditation bodies may also use it in confirming and recognizing the competence of reference material producers.

Guide 34:2009 is not intended to be used as the basis for conformity assessment by certification bodies.

Guide 34:2009 sets out the management system requirements in accordance with which reference materials shall be produced. It is intended to be used as part of a reference material producer's general quality assurance (QA) procedures.

Guide 34:2009 covers the production of certified and non-certified reference materials. For non-certified reference materials, the production requirements are less stringent than for certified reference materials. The minimum requirements for the production of non-certified reference materials are specified throughout the Guide.

ISO Guide 35:2006    (REMCO)
Reference materials -- General and statistical principles for certification

ISO Guide 35:2006 gives statistical principles to assist in the understanding and development of valid methods to assign values to properties of a reference material, including the evaluation of their associated uncertainty, and establish their metrological traceability. Reference materials (RMs) that undergo all steps described in ISO Guide 35:2006 are usually accompanied by a certificate and called a certified reference material (CRM). This Guide will be useful in establishing the full potential of CRMs as aids to ensure the comparability, accuracy and compatibility of measurement results on a national or international scale.
In order to be comparable across borders and over time, measurements need be traceable to appropriate and stated references. CRMs play a key role in implementing the concept of traceability of measurement results in chemistry, biology and physics among other sciences dealing with materials and/or samples. Laboratories use these CRMs as readily accessible measurement standards to establish traceability of their measurement results to international standards. The property values carried by a CRM can be made traceable to SI units or other internationally agreed units during production. ISO Guide 35:2006 explains how methods can be developed that will lead to well established property values, which are made traceable to appropriate stated references. It covers a very wide range of materials (matrices), ranging from gas mixtures to biological materials, and a very wide range of properties, ranging from chemical composition to physical and immunoassay properties.

ISO/IEC Guide 37:1995    (COPOLCO)
Instructions for use of products by consumers

Instructions for use are an integral part of the delivery of the product, and now increasingly make use of different media such as the Internet. They are the means of conveying information to the user on how to use the product in a correct and safe manner. Guide 37 gives advice on the design and formulation of instructions so that they are helpful to the final users of consumer products and services. This guide also deals with the use of panel testing to evaluate instructions. It includes checklists for assessment, and for items to be covered in instructions.

ISO/IEC Guide 41:2003    (COPOLCO)
Packaging – Recommendations for addressing consumer needs

Packaging of products is important to today’s consumer – after all they indirectly bear the cost. When your standards deal with packaging, they should therefore address safety, health, fitness for purpose, comfort and reliability, as well as the environment. Guide 41 gives the general recommendations to be taken into consideration when determining the most suitable type of packaging to be used at the point of sale to the consumer.

ISO/IEC Guide 43-1:1997    (CASCO)
Proficiency testing by interlaboratory comparisons - Part 1: Development and intercomparaison operation of proficiency testing schemes

While there are a number of uses of interlaboratory comparisons, and variations in their design and implementation,  it is still possible to specify the essential principles that need to be considered when organizing such comparisons. This part of lSO/IEC Guide 43 defines those principles and describes the factors which should be taken into account in the organization and conduct of proficiency testing schemes.

Part 2 of lSO/IEC Guide 43 describes how laboratory accreditation bodies, who assess technical competence of laboratories, should select and use proficiency testing schemes.

This part of lSO/IEC Guide 43 is intended for use by proficiency testing operators and users such as participant laboratories, accreditation bodies, regulatory authorities and clients of laboratory services who have a need to assess the technical competence of laboratories. It is particularly useful for laboratories in self-evaluation, but recognizes that proficiency testing is only one mechanism which can contribute to the establishment of mutual confidence between users of different testing laboratories.

ISO/IEC Guide 43-2:1997    (CASCO)
Proficiency testing by interlaboratory comparisons - Part 2: Selection and use of intercomparaison proficiency testing schemes by laboratory accreditation bodies

The objectives of this part of lSO/IEC Guide 43 are:

• to establish principles for the selection of proficiency testing schemes for use in laboratory accreditation programmes; and
• to assist in harmonizing the use of results of proficiency testing schemes by laboratory accreditation bodies.

As results from proficiency testing schemes may be used in accreditation decisions, it is important that both the accreditation bodies and participating laboratories have confidence in the design and operation of the schemes.

It is also important for participating laboratories and laboratory accreditation assessors to have a clear understanding of the accreditation bodies’ policies for participation in such schemes, the criteria they use for judging successful performance in proficiency testing schemes, and their policies and procedures for following up any unsatisfactory results from a proficiency test.

ISO/IEC Guide 46:1985    (COPOLCO)
Comparative testing of consumer products and related services – General principles

This guide is primarily for consumer testing laboratories and associations. It provides guidance on presenting test results and information in a readily understandable and easily comparable way. The purpose is to help consumers and others to make an informed choice. The guide applies to testing of products and services intended for all types of markets (national, regional or international).

ISO Guide 47:1986    (TMB)
Presentation of translations of ISO publications

This guide establishes rules for the presentation of translations of ISO publications into languages other than the official ISO languages. It applies to translations of draft International Standards, International Standards, Technical Reports, Guides, other copyrighted ISO publications. It does not apply to translations of International Standards which are published in the form of national standards or regional standards. This Guide has been drawn up with the object of achieving a degree of uniformity in the presentation of these translations so that their origin and status may be easily recognized.

ISO/IEC Guide 50:2002    (TMB)
Safety aspects – Guidelines for child safety

Children are born into an adult world. Consequently, the potential for injury is particularly great during childhood. Guide 50 provides a framework for preventing hazards to children from the products and services that they use. It is primarily intended for standards writers because you can play a key role in injury prevention and control. A checklist is included so that you can assess if and how you have dealt with any child safety issues.

ISO/IEC Guide 51:1999    (TMB)
Safety aspects – Guidelines for their inclusion in standards

This helps standards writers to include safety aspects in their standards. It is applicable to any safety aspect related to people, property or the environment, or a combination of one or more of these (e.g. people only; people and property ; people, property and the environment). Guide 51 adopts a risk reduction approach. The complete life cycle of a product, process or service, including both the intended use and the reasonably foreseeable misuse, is dealt with.

ISO/IEC Guide 53:2005    (CASCO)
Conformity assessment - Guidance on the use of an organization’s quality management system in product certification

ISO/IEC Guide 53:2005 outlines a general approach by which certification bodies can develop and apply product certification schemes utilizing requirements of an organization's quality management system. The provisions given are not requirements for the accreditation of a product certification body and do not substitute the requirements of ISO/IEC Guide 65.
The schemes contained in ISO/IEC Guide 53:2005 are for product certification only and in all cases involve the following principles:

• assessment of an organization's quality management system and its capability to consistently supply products conforming to specified requirements;
• testing, inspection or comparable verification of the product's conformity to scheme criteria and specified requirements;
• application of a suitable surveillance scheme to ensure continual conformity to specified requirements of products supplied by the organization;
• control of the mark of conformity and/or logo of the certification body.

ISO/IEC Guide 59:1994    (TMB)
Code of good practice for standardization

Standards are developed by many bodies at national and international levels, which in general prepare their documents by consensus processes. Alongside the growth of international trade and technological cooperation, standardizing bodies have developed procedures and modes of cooperation which are commonly considered to constitute good practices for standard development at all levels. These practices are set out in the form of a code, applicable to governmental and non-governmental consensus bodies. The guide deals with procedures for the development of standards, advancement of international trade, participation in the standards development process, coordination and information.

ISO/IEC Guide 60:2004    (CASCO)
Conformity assessment - Code of good practice

ISO/IEC Guide 60:2004 recommends good practices for all elements of conformity assessment, including normative documents, bodies, systems, schemes and results.
It is intended for use by individuals and bodies who wish to provide, promote or use ethical and reliable conformity assessment services. These include, as appropriate, regulators, trade officials, calibration laboratories, testing laboratories, inspection bodies, product certification bodies, management system certification/registration bodies, personnel certification bodies, accreditation bodies, organizations providing declarations of conformity, and designers and administrators of conformity assessment systems and schemes, and users of conformity assessment.
ISO/IEC Guide 60:2004 is designed to facilitate trade at the international, regional, national and sub-national level.

ISO/IEC Guide 63:1999    (TMB)
Guide to the development and inclusion of safety aspects in International Standards for medical devices

Abstract will follow.

ISO Guide 64:2008    (TC 207)
Guide for the inclusion of environmental aspects in product standards

Every product has some impact on the environment during its manufacture, distribution, use or disposal. These impacts may range from slight to significant. Provisions in product standards can therefore have a significant influence on the extent of these environmental impacts. The guide therefore aims to raise awareness of the potential for environmental provisions in product standards and also to help avoid provisions in product standards that may lead to adverse environmental impacts. A number of practical techniques are given to help those standards writers with limited environmental knowledge.

ISO/IEC Guide 65:1996    (CASCO)
General requirements for bodies operating product certification systems

Specifies general requirements for third-party operating a product certification system.

ISO/IEC Guide 67:2004    (CASCO)
Conformity assessment -- Fundamentals of product certification

This guide gives guidance on product certification systems by identifying their various elements based on current practices. It is intended for use by product certification bodies and other interested parties wishing to understand, develop, establish or compare third-party product certification systems.

ISO Guide 69:1999    (TMB)
Harmonized Stage Code system (Edition 2) - Principles and guidelines for use

This Guide establishes a Harmonized Stage Code (HSC) system intended to be used in databases for tracking standards development projects. It sets out the principles and guidelines for the use of the harmonized stage codes, and is intended to facilitate exchange of information concerning standards projects between international, regional and national standards bodies.

ISO/IEC Guide 71:2001    (TMB)
Guidelines for standards developers to address the needs of older persons and persons with disabilities

This provides you with a systematic approach to addressing ageing and disability issues when writing international standards. It will also help whole technical committees to evaluate how they are addressing these issues in their entire work programmes. Effective, practical techniques are given which will help you understand the needs of these people. The guide applies to products, services and environments encountered in all aspects of daily life.

ISO Guide 72:2001    (TMB)
Guidelines for the justification and development of management system standards

Justifying and evaluating new management system standards can be complex, especially when it comes to assessing market relevance. Guidelines on the methodology of developing and maintaining management system standards is given in Guide 72. Important advice is also given to help ensure new management system standards are compatible and aligned with existing ISO or ISO/IEC management system standards (e.g. ISO 9000, ISO 14000, ISO 22000, ISO/IEC 27000 and ISO 28000 series). This guide will help you if you are involved in the development of management system standards.

ISO/IEC Guide 73:2009    (TMB)
Risk management -- Vocabulary

ISO Guide 73:2009 provides the definitions of generic terms related to risk management. It aims to encourage a mutual and consistent understanding of, and a coherent approach to, the description of activities relating to the management of risk, and the use of uniform risk management terminology in processes and frameworks dealing with the management of risk.

ISO Guide 73:2009 is intended to be used by:

• those engaged in managing risks,
• those who are involved in activities of ISO and IEC, and
• developers of national or sector-specific standards, guides, procedures and codes of practice relating to the management of risk.

For principles and guidelines on risk management, reference is made to ISO 31000:2009.

ISO/IEC Guide 74:2004    (COPOLCO)
Graphical symbols – Technical guidelines for the consideration of consumers’ needs

If you are designing a graphical symbol for the public, it needs to be clear and easily understood, as poorly designed symbols can cause confusion for consumers. Furthermore, it is important not to duplicate efforts by creating symbols when ones already exist. Guide 74 will tell you how to develop graphical symbols aimed at helping the public (e.g. instructions or warnings), and indicate databases for symbols and other valuable resources to assist in that task. It covers items such as safety signs and product safety labels which you can use on equipment and products.

ISO/IEC Guide 75:2006    (TMB)
Strategic principles for future IEC and ISO standardization in industrial automation

This Guide provides strategic principles, derived from market experience, for use by IEC and ISO technical committees and subcommittees working in the industrial automation sector, as well as other bodies within IEC and ISO with interests in the work of these committees..

ISO/IEC Guide 76:2008    (COPOLCO)
Development of service standards – Recommendations for addressing consumer issues

Standards are increasingly being developed for services, yet there are special characteristics for services which can be challenging for a service provider. These include the conditions for delivery, appropriate training for personnel and strategies to measure and improve customer satisfaction. This guide has been prepared to help experts to take account of consumer requirements when developing a standard for any kind of service. In particular, Guide 76 has a useful checklist with handy crossreferences to the relevant clauses, and informative examples of how the guide can be used. The information will also be useful for service providers themselves.

ISO/IEC Guide 77-1:2008    (TMB)
Guide for specification of product properties and classes - Part 1: Fundamental benefits

ISO/IEC Guide 77 provides recommendations for standardization committees for the description of products and their properties for the creation of computer processable product libraries, catalogues and reference dictionaries. This description will provide the details of the products and their properties in an unambiguous manner capable of computer communication, in a form that is independent from any proprietary application software.

ISO/IEC Guide 77 is intended to assist the objective of enabling the flow of technical information between internal and external business partners in a cost-effective and timely manner.

The guidance given in ISO/IEC Guide 77-1:2008 is intended to assist convenors and members of ISO and IEC Technical Committees, as well as managers and technical experts in the manufacturing industry.

ISO/IEC Guide 77-1:2008 is intended to provide an overview of the needs and benefits and the process of creating product libraries, catalogues and reference dictionaries. The following are within the scope of ISO/IEC Guide 77-1:2008:

• international standardization activities related to reference dictionaries;
• benefits of reference dictionaries to International Standards;
• a procedure for creating reference dictionaries;
• resources required;
• assessment of savings;
• sources of information and expertise.

The following are outside the scope of ISO/IEC Guide 77-1:2008:

• technical guidance for the creation of product libraries and dictionaries;
• case studies from experiences in the creation of dictionaries of product information in industrial practice.

Reference dictionaries can be useful in the context of product data in the supply chain, as well as in the business context of product data management.

ISO/IEC Guide 77-1:2008 is for guidance only and is intended to support activities such as education.

ISO/IEC Guide 77-2:2008    (TMB)
Guide for specification of product properties and classes - Part 2: Technical principles and guidance

ISO/IEC Guide 77 provides general advice and guidance for the description of products and their characteristics by the use of the ISO 13584 and IEC 61360 series of standards for the creation of computer-processable reference dictionaries. This description will provide the details of the products and their properties in an unambiguous manner capable of computer communication, in a form that is independent from any proprietary application software.

ISO/IEC Guide 77 is intended to assist the objective of enabling the flow of technical information between internal and external business partners in a cost-effective and timely manner.

The guidance given in ISO/IEC Guide 77-2:2008 contains technical recommendations intended to assist standardization committees and technical experts contributing their knowledge to the development of standard reference dictionaries compliant with the common ISO 13584/IEC 61360 dictionary model.

It might also be useful for information experts responsible for the exchange of technical information between business partners or for the generation of applications of ISO 13584 and IEC 61360.

ISO/IEC Guide 77-2:2008 is intended to support the achievement of industrial benefits of applications of the common ISO 13584/IEC 61360 dictionary model. The following are within the scope of ISO/IEC Guide 77-2:2008:

• general principles of product description and characterization;
• presentation of the concepts of product characterization classes, product properties, product ontology and reference dictionaries for products;
• universal identification of classes and properties;
• presentation of the modelling constructs that can be used for building reference dictionaries conforming to the common ISO 13584/IEC 61360 dictionary model;
• rules and principles for developing standard reference dictionaries;
• rules and principles for connecting standard reference dictionaries to avoid duplication and overlap;
• rules and principles for developing user-defined reference dictionaries and for connecting user-defined reference dictionaries to standard reference dictionaries;
• formats and mechanisms for exchanging reference dictionaries;
• mechanisms for connecting reference dictionaries to classification systems.

The following are outside the scope of ISO/IEC Guide 77-2:2008:

• an overview for ISO and IEC Technical Committees and industrial managers for the development of computer-processable product libraries, reference dictionaries and catalogues;
• case studies from experiences in the creation of reference dictionaries of product information in industrial practice;
• categorization of products for purposes other than product characterization.

ISO/IEC Guide 77-3:2008    (TMB)
Guide for specification of product properties and classes - Part 3: Experience gained

ISO/IEC Guide 77-3:2008 provides general advice and guidance for the description of products and their characteristics by the use of ISO 13584 and IEC 61360 for the creation of computer processable product libraries, catalogues and reference dictionaries. This description will provide the details of the products and their properties in an unambiguous manner, capable of computer communication in a form that is independent of any proprietary application software. The term “product” is taken to include devices, processes, systems, installations, etc. ISO/IEC Guide 77-3:2008 is intended to assist in the objective of enabling the flow of technical information between internal and external business partners in a cost effective and timely manner.

The guidance in ISO/IEC Guide 77-3:2008 is intended to assist the following groups:

• convenors and members of ISO technical committees;
• technical experts contributing their knowledge to the development of reference dictionaries, data bases and product libraries;
• information experts responsible for the generation of applications of ISO 13584, particularly related to standardized reference dictionaries;
• managers and technical experts in the manufacturing industry.

ISO/IEC Guide 77-3:2008 is intended to provide practical information of the experience gained in the creation of product reference dictionaries within ISO and IEC. ISO/IEC Guide 77-3:2008 is intended for information only, in areas such as education.

The following are within the scope of ISO/IEC Guide 77-3:2008:

• experience of developing a reference dictionary for cutting tools;
• experience of developing a reference dictionary for electronic components;
• experience of creating a system for the maintenance of a reference dictionary for measuring instruments;
• experience of developing a reference dictionary for fasteners.

The following are outside the scope of ISO/IEC Guide 77-3:2008:

• an overview for ISO technical committees and industrial managers for the development of computer-processable product libraries, reference dictionaries and catalogues;
• technical guidance for the creation of product libraries and dictionaries.

ISO Guide 78:2008    (TMB)
Safety of machinery - Rules for drafting and presentation of safety standards

ISO Guide 78:2008 presents rules for the drafting and presentation of International Standards dealing with machinery safety and safety components and their revisions, primarily to achieve consistency and acceptable quality of the various standards to be prepared.
It also gives requirements on the criteria for the selection of new work items and for procedures to prepare, produce or revise standards in an efficient and effective way.
ISO Guide 78:2008 gives requirements that are additional to the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2, when this is necessary owing to the special requirements of machinery safety standards and standards for safety components.
ISO Guide 78:2008 is primarily intended for the drafting of type-C standards. It is also applicable to the drafting of type-B standards; however, the foreseeable variation in the format of these standards prevents general application. When its requirements are specific to type-B standards, this is indicated.

ISO/IEC Guide 98-1:2009    (TMB)
Uncertainty of measurement -- Part 1: Introduction to the expression of uncertainty in measurement

Two people measuring the same product with the same ruler on different days would probably get different results. This could be because of factors such as a change in the room temperature (important for a metal ruler) or different eyesight capabilities. The two measurements might be equivalent or not, depending upon their individual uncertainties. This concept of uncertainty is a measure of the quality of a measurement and can be vital in many cases. ISO/IEC Guide 98 helps people to evaluate the uncertainty of their measurements, a requirement more and more frequent in technical procedures, regulations, standards and the like, concerning measurements at any degree of accuracy.

ISO/IEC Guide 98-3:2008    (TMB)
Guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement (GUM:1995)

ISO/IEC Guide 98-3:2008 is a reissue of the 1995 version of the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM), with minor corrections. This Guide establishes general rules for evaluating and expressing uncertainty in measurement that can be followed at various levels of accuracy and in many fields — from the shop floor to fundamental research. The principles of this Guide are intended to be applicable to a broad spectrum of measurements, including those required for:

• maintaining quality control and quality assurance in production;
• complying with and enforcing laws and regulations;
• conducting basic research, and applied research and development, in science and engineering;
• calibrating standards and instruments and performing tests throughout a national measurement system in order to achieve traceability to national standards;
• developing, maintaining, and comparing international and national physical reference standards, including reference materials.

ISO/IEC Guide 98-3:2008/Suppl 1:2008    (TMB)
Supplement 1: (GUM:1995) - Propagation of distributions using a Monte Carlo method
ISO/IEC Guide 98-3:2008/Suppl 1:2008/Cor 1:2009
Technical Corrigendum 1

ISO/IEC Guide 98-3/Suppl.1:2008 provides a general numerical approach, consistent with the broad principles of the Guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement (GUM), for carrying out the calculations required as part of an evaluation of measurement uncertainty. The approach applies to arbitrary models having a single output quantity where the input quantities are characterized by any specified probability density functions (PDFs).
ISO/IEC Guide 98-3/Suppl.1:2008 is primarily concerned with the expression of uncertainty in the measurement of a well-defined physical quantity—the measurand—that can be characterized by an essentially unique value. It provides guidance in situations where the conditions for the GUM uncertainty frameworkare not fulfilled, or it is unclear whether they are fulfilled. It can be used when it is difficult to apply the GUM uncertainty framework, because of the complexity of the model, for example. Guidance is given in a form suitable for computer implementation.
ISO/IEC Guide 98-3/Suppl.1:2008 can be used to provide (a representation of) the PDF for the output quantity from which (a) an estimate of the output quantity, (b) the standard uncertainty associated with this estimate, and (c) a coverage interval for that quantity, corresponding to a specified coverage probability, can be obtained.
For a prescribed coverage probability, it can be used to provide any required coverage interval, including the probabilistically symmetric coverage interval and the shortest coverage interval.
ISO/IEC Guide 98-3/Suppl.1:2008 applies to input quantities that are independent, where each such quantity is assigned an appropriate PDF, or not independent, i.e. when some or all of these quantities are assigned a joint PDF.
Detailed examples illustrate the guidance provided.

ISO/IEC Guide 98-3:2008/Suppl 2:2011    (TMB)
Supplement 2: (GUM:1995) - Uncertainty of measurement -- Part 3: Guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement (GUM:1995) -- Supplement 2: Extension to any number of output quantities

ISO/IEC Guide 98-3:2008/Suppl.2:2011 is concerned with measurement models having any number of input quantities and any number of output quantities. The quantities involved might be real or complex. Two approaches are considered for treating such models. The first approach is a generalization of the GUM uncertainty framework. The second is a Monte Carlo method as an implementation of the propagation of distributions. Appropriate use of the Monte Carol method would be expected to provide valid results when the applicability of the GUM uncertainty framework is questionable.

For a prescribed coverage probability, ISO/IEC Guide 98-3:2008/Suppl.2:2011 can be used to provide a coverage region for the output quantities of a multivariate model, the counterpart of a coverage interval for a single scalar output quantiy. The provision of coverage regions includes those taking the form of a hyper-ellipsoid or a hyper-rectangle. These coverage regions are produced from the results of the two approaches described here. A procedure for providing an approximation to the smallest coverage region, obtained from results provided by the Monte Carol method, is also given. Detailed examples to illustrate the guidance are provided.

ISO/IEC Guide 99:2007    (TMB)
International vocabulary of basic and general terms in metrology (VIM)

Before people can communicate they need to know and understand the words they wish to use. This is equally true in metrology, where concepts and terms such as measurement result, measurement error and measurement uncertainty need to be agreed upon if they are to be used in a consistent manner. Since metrology is in an evolving state concerning what is the best approach (e.g. classical versus uncertainty), it is especially important to have an international vocabulary that can allow metrologists to clearly communicate about the measurement approach that they are using. This document gives guidance on the concepts and terms used in various approaches to measurement.