Volume 3, No.

5, May 2012, ISSN 2226-1095

Managing
crises
• Medair CEO : “ Our teams rely
on International Standards ”
• Orange Business Services and ISO/IEC 20000
 a

Contents Comment

ISO standards
Comment
Sadao Takeda, ISO Vice-President (Policy)
ISO standards – An essential resource when disaster strikes ................................... 1

ISO Focus+ is published 10 times a year

(single issues : July-August,
World Scene An essential resource when disaster strikes
November-December).
International events and international standardization ............................................. 2
It is available in English and French.

Bonus articles : www.iso.org/isofocus+

Guest Interview
Jim Ingram – CEO of Medair .................................................................................... 3
The recent sinking by the US Coast Guard in the Gulf of Alaska of following an incident might include the
participation of public and private organiza-
ISO Update : www.iso.org/isoupdate a drifting ship, a Japanese fishing vessel unmoored by the tsunami
tions working at the international, national
Special Report caused by 2011’s Great East Japan earthquake, coincided with the and regional levels. Coordinating efforts
The electronic edition (PDF file) of ISO
Focus+ is accessible free of charge on the ISO standards – Preventing and managing crises ..................................................... 8 first anniversary of the event which devastated my home country. The helps to ensure that action is effective, and
ISO Website www.iso.org/isofocus+ Get ready, set, go ! – Managing disruptions in emergency situations ....................... 10 ship was a haunting reminder of the tragedy Mother Nature (and man) that all relevant parties are kept updated.
An annual subscription to the paper edition This minimizes the risk of misunderstand-
Emergency management – Global best practice for an incident response system..... 13 have wrought on our planet in recent years. The human, economic,
costs 38 Swiss francs. ing and ensures a more effective use of
Nuclear criticality – Mitigating the consequences of an accident.............................. 16 social and environmental consequences are incalculable and will bur- combined resources.
Publisher den our communities for decades to come. ISO standards help ensure timely, relevant
Are you ready ? – ICT readiness and business continuity ......................................... 19
ISO Central Secretariat and accurate operational information by
(International Organization for The “ international ” language – How safety signs and graphical symbols In 2010 alone, a volcano in Iceland played to the World Bank). A year later, thousands specifying process, systems of work, data
Standardization) help reduce risks to people ......................................................................................... 22 havoc with air travel ; massive earthquakes are still missing. capture and management.
1, chemin de la Voie-Creuse
The Great East Japan Earthquake – Could better crisis management in Chile, Indonesia and New Zealand caused 2011 had not finished exacting its cruel ISO standards help to reduce impact and
CH – 1211 Genève 20
Switzerland hundreds of casualties and widespread dam- toll on Asia. Following severe monsoon risk through proactive measures taken before
and ISO 24511 wastewater guidelines have helped ? ................................................. 26
Tel. : +41 22 749 01 11 age. Haiti was hit by a killer earthquake flooding in Thailand that took the lives of an emergency occurs. They provide criteria
Fax : +41 22 733 34 30 Attention water utilities ! – Future ISO guidelines for crisis management ............... 28 (which destroyed infrastructure and led more than 800 people, “ Washi ”, a late- for the establishment and the implementation
E-mail : isofocus+@iso.org to polluted water supplies and a cholera season tropical cyclone, resulted in over of actions that will mitigate the consequences
Centre-fold outbreak), and by flood waters generated 1 200 fatalities in the Philippines. of natural or accidental disasters.
Manager : Roger Frost Be prepared ! ......................................................................................................... 24-25 by Hurricane Tomas. Conflicting estimates International Standards encourage com-
Editor in Chief : Elizabeth Gasiorowski-Denis of the death toll range from 200 000 to over munity participation in the development
Assistant Editor : Maria Lazarte Planet ISO 300 000 Haitian lives lost. ISO standards help and implementation of incident response
Communication Officer : Sandrine Tranchard Tornadoes in the USA, born in “ Tornado measures, to ensure that a response is not
News of the ISO system ............................................................................................. 32 handle incident response
Artwork : Xela Damond, Pierre Granier Alley ” and beyond, left destruction and chaos only tailored to the needs of the affected
and Alexane Rosa in a crisis. population, but also culturally appropriate.
Management Solutions in their wake including some 350 deaths.
Translation : Translation Services, Catastrophes will always happen, but I
And when Mother Nature relented,
ISO Central Secretariat IT service management – ISO/IEC 20000 eases transition to cloud computing hope ISO standards will increasingly help
man-made disasters did not : an explosion When disaster strikes, it is already too late
for Orange ................................................................................................................... 34 on the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of to mitigate impact and better prepare the
Subscription enquiries : Sonia Rosas Friot to put together a system of response. The
Greenhouse gas emissions – ISO 14067 to enable worldwide comparability Mexico started an oil spill that destroyed ultimate purpose of emergency management world’s citizens to manage emergencies,
ISO Central Secretariat
lives, livelihoods and the environment. is to save lives, preserve the environment and improve coordination and cooperation to
Tel. : +41 22 749 03 36 of carbon footprint data .............................................................................................. 37
The world was riveted by the spectacle protect property and the economy. Emergency ensure that precious time is not lost when
Fax : +41 22 749 09 47
E-mail : sales@iso.org of the desperate (and ultimately successful) management is comprised of interdependent disaster strikes. 
Standards in Action
attempt to save the lives of 33 miners in risk-based functions : preparedness, prevention/
Rebuilding from rubble – Lessons learned help New Zealand be better prepared ... 39
© ISO, 2012. All rights reserved. Chile following a cave-in (due to poorly mitigation, response and recovery.
maintained mine structures). ISO, in cooperation with international
360°
The contents of ISO Focus+ are copyrighted And then, on 11 March 2011, the most organizations, associations, governments,
and may not, whether in whole or in part, Safety first – Global regulations protecting lives and property ................................ 42 powerful earthquake ever to hit Japan, a business, manufacturing, academia and
be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earth- consumer groups, is working to develop
ISO 26000 in China – A new way of doing business ................................................ 46
transmitted in any form or by any means, elec- quake, struck off the coast of Tohoku and a effective standards to prepare and respond
tronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise,
New Releases chain reaction was set off. Tsunami waves to emergencies.
without written permission of the Editor.
were triggered, reaching heights up to 40 ISO International Standards are valuable,
Adobe Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) – Now an ISO standard ..................... 48
The articles in ISO Focus+ express the views
metres, some travelling up to 10 km inland. capacity-building tools. They outline global
of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect Coming Up 49 After the earthquake, three of the reactors best practice to establish command centres,
the views of ISO or of any of its members. at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power oversee organizational structures and proce-
plant experienced meltdown, and several dures, support decision making and promote
ISSN 2226-1095 hydrogen explosions occurred. traceability and information management.
Printed in Switzerland Almost 17 000 people lost their lives in In the midst of disaster, harmonized
what became the natural disaster causing the international guidance such as that provided
Cover photo : ISO, 2012 greatest economic loss in history (according by ISO standards is essential. Response Sadao Takeda, ISO Vice-President (Policy).

ISO Focus + May 2012 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ 1

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World Scene Guest Interview

Jim Ingram
Measuring everything
“ Quantities and units enable every aspect
of our lives. Without the metric system con-
tained in International Standards, a whole
range of activities, from shopping at the
supermarket to industrial production, to sci-
entific research, to international trade, would
Some species have become extinct and it
is estimated that between 30 % to 35 % of
Medair
be at best extremely haphazard,” says ISO critical maritime habitats such as seagrasses,
Secretary-General Rob Steele in the foreword mangroves and coral reefs have been destroyed.
of the latest edition of Metric Standards for
Worldwide Manufacturing.
The Convention on Biological Diversity aims
to protect this rich heritage. Marine biodiversity
is therefore the theme of the 2012 International
“ I think we are only starting the journey
towards safety right now,” said ISO Deputy
Secretary-General, Kevin McKinley, “ We
Jim Ingram was appointed
are getting global, and we are bridging public
Medair CEO in June 2011.
Day for Biological Diversity (IDB)
held on 22 May. The event is an and private sectors much better than we ever
opportunity to raise awareness have. Use of standards like ISO 22000 on Mr. Ingram was raised in
and take action. food safety is growing every year in leaps Ontario, Canada, where he
The ocean covers 71 % of the and bounds, and people are seeing the benefits
surface area of the globe, and con- of finally having one consistent approach for spent nine years in univer-
stitutes over 90 % of the habitable managing food safety in their organizations sity, getting a number of
space on the planet. From 2000 to that is becoming more and more accepted.
2010, an unprecedented worldwide So I think this is just the start.” degrees. His studies includ-
Weights and measures have been fun-
collaboration by scientists around Watch the videos : www.youtube.com/ ed mathematics, computer
damental to commerce, production and
the world set out to try and determine FoodSafetyConference
technology since ancient times. The Treaty science, economics, and phi-
of the Metre in 1875 laid the basis for how much life is in the sea. Known
today’s international metric system – the SI as the “ census of marine life ”, it World Water Forum losophy. He spent some time
International Standards maintain the science involved 2 700 scientists from over
80 countries, participating in 540 expeditions ISO solutions to vital water challenges working for the Canadian
of measurement at the state of the art and help were at the heart of a workshop held in March
create confidence in products and services. around the world. Government before begin-
Although scientists are still working through 2012 in conjunction with the 6th World Water
Today, the international metric system is Forum (WWF), in Marseille, France. ning his career at L’Abri
defined in International Standards developed the results, it is believed an estimated 250 000
by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 12 and species inhabit the ocean, though the census Fellowship Foundation in
the International Electrotechnical Commis- team suggested it could be at least a million.
Some think the figure could be twice as high. Switzerland. From 1980
sion’s IEC/TC 25, both of which are entitled
Quantities and units. In 2009, ISO and IEC ISO standards for environmental manage- until 2003, he worked at
completed a new, harmonized, International ment, maritime environmental protection,
fisheries and aquacultures can help. Examples L’Abri as a teacher, counsel-
Standard, with the ISO and IEC designation
80000, Quantities and units, with 14 parts. include standards for risk assessment of anti- lor, treasurer, and as direc-
The metric system is subject to continual fouling in ships, oil spill responses, environ-
mental monitoring of finfish farms’ impact, tor. For 15 years, he was the
improvement. Recent developments include
telebiometrics, which increases the reliability and fish-in/fish-out ratios, to name a few. Executive Director of Swiss
of biometric data, used extensively in security L’Abri. He was the trustee
and health care applications. Together for food safety
Rob Steele concludes, “ The metric sys- Advancing global food safety through col-
of six L’Abri foundations
tem defined in International Standards is laboration was the theme of the 2012 Global around the world, and was
indispensable for manufacturing in a world WWF mobilizes creativity, innovation,
Food Safety Conference, which brought
networked by global supply chains. Metric together more than 900 leading food safety
competence and know-how in favour of water. instrumental in opening a
Standards for Worldwide Manufacturing will It gathers all stakeholders around today’s
experts and decision makers from over 50
local, regional and global issues to tackle the branch in his home country.
be extremely useful for engineers, scientists, countries, in Orlando, USA.
technical writers, teachers and students.” challenges our world is facing and to push
water high on all political agendas. More In 2004, Jim began work-
than 35 000 participants attended the event.
How much life in the sea ? ing for Medair and he has
The workshop, “ How can ISO standards
Fishing, shipping, tourism and other human address global water challenges ?,” focused been an integral part of the
activities are having disastrous consequences on ISO’s tools for the assessment, improve-
on marine biodiversity. ment and management of service activities
organization ever since.
for drinking water and wastewater systems He has served as Director
and for asset management, which can help
water authorities and operators meet the
of Finance, Interim CEO,
expectations of consumers and the principles and as a key voice on the
This year’s conference was the largest and of sustainable development.
most successful yet. Attendees represented the It also looked at water management during
Executive Leadership Team
whole spectrum of the supply chain including crisis conditions, and at ISO’s most recent (ELT). As a member of the
growers, manufacturers and retailers, along work on the reuse of treated wastewater for
with public and private entities and both inter- irrigation, which aims to prevent any adverse
ELT, he has been involved
national and local stakeholder organizations. impacts on public health and the environment. in all the major decisions
A series of videos were prepared for the The workshop was organized by ISO and
conference featuring various key stakeholders facilitated by AFNOR (ISO member for
about Medair’s mission and
in the industry, including ISO. France). its implementation.

2 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ ISO Focus + May 2012 ISO Focus + May 2012 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ 3
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Guest Interview

ISO Focus+ : Medair has been certified those indicators and adjusting our activities and Zimbabwe – how do International Stan-
to ISO 9001 since 2001. Could you please when necessary. dards help you in such diverse situations ?
Medair
explain why a quality management system Jim Ingram : We provide relief and recov-
is important for Medair. What added value ISO Focus+ : How has it evolved over
ery/rehabilitation in response to sudden Medair’s mission is to seek out and serve
does it bring your association ? the years ? At what levels does it con-
natural disasters, like the 2010 earthquake in the vulnerable women, children, and
tribute – operational, top management,
Jim Ingram : First and foremost, Medair Haiti, to slower onset emergencies such as
strategic, etc. ? men in crisis who live in often difficult-
has always been focused on and committed the drought in the Horn of Africa last year,
to-access regions in Africa, Asia, and
to the people we serve and work alongside Jim Ingram : Our QMS is dynamic and and to people in need because of conflicts,
as in the Democratic Republic of Congo and
other areas with extreme need. Medair
of, our beneficiaries. Medair has embraced seeks to promote a culture of improvement.
Today, we actually speak less of the certi- South Sudan. The nature of each crisis or brings life-saving relief and rehabilitation
quality since we were founded in 1988.
Quality at Medair has three dimensions : fication. That is because over the years, we emergency leaves people affected in differ- in disasters, conflict areas, and other
satisfying the needs of our beneficiaries ; have incorporated the ISO QMS principles ent ways, which means our response must crises by working alongside the most
professionalism in how we work; and a into a Medair organizational management adapt to these specific needs. vulnerable.
constant focus on improvement. system, adapting the ISO standards to meet The first step in any response is to identify
Medair is a non-governmental organization
our internal requirements, while remain- the people who are most vulnerable and
(NGO), with internationally recruited staff
ing aligned with external, internationally affected and then decide on how we will
who are motivated to care for people in
Photo : Miguel Samper

Medair’s work recognized standards of practice. intervene. To do this, our programming,

For example, we recently reviewed logistics and technical advisory teams need. Its work is compassionate and
has made a profound practical, providing life-saving care and
procedures in our QMS to better identify
difference for millions internal control points and related risks. support that upholds the dignity and
of people. These improvements contributed to suc- independence of those served, regardless
Dispatching emergency kits following an outbreak of dysentery in the Democratic Republic of Congo. cessful audits of our internal control system, of race, religion, gender, age, or politics.
which were conducted as part of relatively
Medair made a strategic decision in of Medair humanitarian activities. Our beneficiaries, donors, and staff to help us Since 1989, Medair’s work has made
new requirements for Swiss non-profit
2000 to demonstrate a commitment to QMS helps keep our beneficiaries central better respond to changes in our operating organizations to demonstrate operational a profound difference for millions of
quality and our beneficiaries by putting to our mandate. environment. control systems. people, enabling lives to be saved and
in place a quality management system Quality is about performance to standard Our certification brings added value by From a strategic perspective, we looked sustained for a better future. Together
(QMS) based on ISO 9001. When Medair and continuous improvement. At Medair, providing a solid framework and an adapt- at lessons learned from our emergency with its donors and partners, Medair is
achieved the ISO 9001:2000 quality cer- we strive to do this by following a disci- able context for planning our humanitarian response in Haiti in 2010, and are devel- unwavering in its commitment to bring
tification, we named the beneficiaries as plined cycle of planning, doing, evaluat- interventions, setting standards and indica- oping our capacity for a more rapid and hope to the world’s most vulnerable.
the primary stakeholder or “ customer ” ing and improving – using input from our tors, measuring our performance against improved response through a dedicated
emergency response team at headquarters.
At the same time, Medair continues to
address emergencies as part of our ongoing
programming in the health, nutrition and
water/sanitation/hygiene (WASH) sectors,
through outbreak preparedness including
pre-positioning of supplies, training and
capacity building of local staff.

Our QMS helps keep

our beneficiaries central
to our mandate.

Our certification is worldwide and encom-

passes our field operations, headquarters and
affiliate offices. Medair is fully committed
to quality in our work from field activities in
remote and hard-to-reach places, to senior
management and our International Board
of Trustees.
Photo : Jan Joseph Stok

ISO Focus+ : Medair implements a wide

variety of relief and rehabilitation projects
in disaster, and conflict areas, ranging from
sanitation to shelter, to water, in countries
such as Afghanistan, D.R. Congo, Haiti,
Mother and child in a Medair clinic in Somaliland. Madagascar, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan Clean water from a Medair-designed hand pump system in cyclone-flooded Madagascar.

4 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ ISO Focus + May 2012 ISO Focus + May 2012 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ 5
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Guest Interview

clearly established processes and emergency

Photo : Jaco Klamer

protocols in place across Medair to be able
to execute rapidly once we make the deci-
sion to intervene. Here again, International
Standards provide a framework for having
in place the processes and protocols we
need to execute with quality and deliver
aid to our beneficiaries.

ISO Focus+ : On your Website, you say :

“ We are focused on using our funds with
integrity, ensuring maximum efficiency and
accountability for all our programmes ”.
How does certification affect your fund-
raising efforts vis-à-vis institutional and
private donors ?
Jim Ingram : Quality is intrinsically
linked to two of our core values – account-
ability and integrity. We are committed to
employ best practices in our management
and operations, pursuing excellence in all

Photo : Colin O’Connor

we do. Funding partners, both public and
private, entrust us with their money. They
expect effectiveness and professionalism.
We are accountable to them for what we
do with it and we seek to provide a clear
and accurate account of what we have done
Getting feedback from a beneficiary in Haiti.
in relation to what we said we would do,
rely on International Standards, such as regardless of the amount of the donation.
the Sphere standards which represent Medair’s funding comes in large part from
Medair’s funding institutional donors. They have rigorous
sector-wide consensus on best practice in
humanitarian response. comes in large part requirements for reporting on how we use
Technical standards provide us with from institutional donors. their funds – as they should. We have seen
guidance that can be adapted operationally a steady increase in the number of required
to these diverse situations, while the larger Nutritional assessment in Somaliland.
QMS creates the framework for planning,
implementing, managing and measuring audits at various stages of our projects. were developed, and used as they are recognized standards and initiatives, not
our responses. It gives us a strong set of Within our QMS, we have established sys- today. We adapted the ISO standards to our duplication. ISO management system
tools for putting quality in context for each tems that allow us to meet their reporting context. However, there are now dedicated standards can continue to be a framework
project we undertake. requirements and have mechanisms in place standards to help the humanitarian com- for implementing processes and operating
to follow-up on the audit recommendations. munity improve accountability, quality principles to achieve those standards.
ISO Focus+ : Medair brings emergency While certification is not a goal in and performance in humanitarian action. Some adaptation, however, is required to
relief and rehabilitation to more than two itself, it can be an indicator to a donor Key groups such as the Sphere Project, fit non-profit organizations, as Medair has
million people a year in some of the most that Medair can be trusted, because it People-In-Aid and HAP (Humanitarian done and will continue to do.
vulnerable countries in the world, employ- signifies that we are proactively engaged Accountability Partnership) and ALNAP Another important work item that ISO
ing well over one thousand international in ensuring the best possible results with (Active Learning Network for Account- can develop will be continued guidance
and national staff. How do International the money entrusted to us. ISO 9001 is ability and Performance in Humanitarian around social responsibility, a topic that
Standards help in Medair’s work processes just one certification that is relevant for Action) are seeking how to work even is getting a lot of attention these days.
for emergency preparedness ? us. Private donors in Switzerland, where more closely together in this area. From our donors to the beneficiaries
we are based, are familiar with and trust we serve, our stakeholders have expec-
Jim Ingram : Emergency preparedness
the ZEWO label and what it represents in tations regarding our actions toward
involves more than just a dedicated team to
assess and plan an intervention. The entire
our fundraising practices. ISO 26000 is relevant social responsibility. The core subjects
organization must be ready to contribute for humanitarian of ISO 26000:2010, Guidance on social
ISO Focus+ : What are your expectations responsibility – human rights, labour
to the relief effort – from the team that organizations like Medair.
and needs for future ISO standards ?
actually goes in, to the teams carrying out practices, the environment, fair operating
various support activities that are required Jim Ingram : Medair chose the route of practices, consumer issues and community
to make it work, such as human resources, the ISO 9001 certification before many Any ISO work to further the development involvement and development – are plainly
communications and fundraising, finance and of the major humanitarian quality and of internationally accepted parameters in relevant for humanitarian organizations
information services. This means we need South Sudanese children with measles vaccination cards. accountability initiatives and standards the non-profit sector should contribute to like Medair. 

6 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ ISO Focus + May 2012 ISO Focus + May 2012 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ 7
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Special Report

ISO standards
Preventing and managing crises
by Sandrine Tranchard

On 11 April 2012, a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 8.6

struck off the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Lessons had been learned
in the aftermath of the December 2004 earthquake (with a magni-
tude of 9.0) that had generated cataclysmic tsunamis and resulted in
230 000 deaths.

Back in 2004, there were no sea-level but preparedness is the key to limiting the
monitoring instruments in the Indian Ocean. toll that must be paid.
But by April 2012, a large network of The theme of this Special Report addresses
seismographic centres, coastal and deep- crisis management and features articles on
ocean stations had been created to detect how International Standards protect and
potential tsunamis. Centres issue watches, if support stakeholders involved in preparing
necessary, to national bodies in the region. for, and managing, emergencies.
It is then the responsibility of each national Topics range from keeping the water
agency to alert its population, by whatever supply clean to the safe maintenance of
means they have at their disposal. nuclear reactors, how to manage risk and
This time, warnings of the threat of a IT preparedness for business continuity and
tsunami could be broadcast across the
disaster recovery. An article also outlines
Indian Ocean in real time. Thankfully, a
global best practices for establishing an
tsunami never materialized, but the system
incident response system contained in a
had shown that it worked, giving safeguards
new emergency management standard,
for the future.
helping both the public and private sectors
That such a sophisticated, early-warning
system had come into being in the wake of to prepare and implement an effective
26 December 2004 was due to a colossal, incident response.
multinational effort spearheaded by the Inter- This issue also presents examples
governmental Oceanographic Commission. of lessons learned in the aftermath
The speed of transmission of information of disasters in Japan and New Zea-
had to be accelerated if real-time warnings land, to illustrate how International
were to become reality. Standards can help in the manage-
Earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis, hur- ment of crises, their consequences
ricanes, wildfires that burn out of control, and put communities, countries and
floods that wash away human lives and the world on the road to recovery.
property: add to those natural disasters Whatever the issue that might arise
the ones man creates intentionally (crimi- prior to, during, and after a disaster, ISO
nal acts, terrorism) and unintentionally has many essential roles to play. The fol-
through accidents, negligence, a lack of lowing pages showcase a handful of such
preparedness for unexpectedly catastrophic examples and how ISO standards are valu-
circumstances (a tsunami invading a able, capability-building tools in handling
nuclear reactor and leading to equipment incident response to any crisis. 
failures, a nuclear meltdown and the release
of radioactive materials). Managing the Sandrine Tranchard is a Communication Officer,
aftermath of these crises is a huge task, ISO Central Secretariat.

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Special Report

There are sound practical, social and Such a document will be used by : those There is no need to address the entire risk
economic reasons for having such an responsible for emergency preparedness management framework or the risk man-

Get ready, set, go !

approach to the conduct of emergency risk policies, plans and procedures ; those agement process as outlined in ISO 31000.
assessments. These include : accountable for ensuring disruption-related However, because the focus is on the assess-
• Improving the understanding of risk is effectively managed in a community ment of risks from emergency events, the
emergency risk issues and ensuring or organization ; specialist risk practition- management of emergency risks is directed
that risk treatment measures provide ers who must apply the methodology ; towards, and in line with, International
Managing disruptions a sound return on investment in terms
of knowledge, skills and resources (for
those who evaluate the effectiveness of
emergency preparedness practices ; and
Standards for risk management.
The resulting document should produce
in emergency situations example, capital, time, people, pro-
cesses, systems and technologies)
other stakeholders. a risk assessment methodology that :
• Facilitates a focus on risks in small
• Standardizing risk assessments and the Not all emergency events (e.g., organizational or municipal) or
development of alternative risk reduc- large (regional and/or national and/or
tion proposals so that all involved
are caused by nature.
global) areas
speak the same language of risk
• Is useable for both risk from and risk
• Increasing transparency so that assess- The methodology needs to focus on to (e.g., risk from flood, typhoon,
ment processes can be followed easily, emergency events and be concerned with tsunami and wildfire; and risk to
checked or modified in the light of the risk assessment of events that require buildings or infrastructure from all or
improved knowledge or information the development of effective emergency specific sources of disruption-related
• Improving consistency to allow mean- preparedness plans. Although the focus
risk)
ingful comparisons between different should not be on risk management, risk
by Kevin W. Knight AM* disruption-related risks. mitigation or addressing business continuity • Uses a scenario-based approach
processes and practices, these can benefit • Samples risk across a range of credible
Effective responses to a frequently wide range of disruption-related To meet the challenges of disruption-
related risks, the above objectives must be
from the methodology’s outputs. consequence levels

risks require a concerted approach to the management of emergency addressed in the development of emergency
preparedness. preparedness plans. In this way, individual,
organizational, municipal, regional, national
and global needs can be met.

This can be achieved by applying • Test and measure the probable out- an organization’s proactive provision of Understanding risk
ISO 31000:2009, Risk management – come of controls and other mitigation resources to ensure that critical societal
Principles and guidelines, to the develop- strategies (identifying and quantifying or business objectives continue to be met To achieve these goals, responsible organi-
ment of emergency preparedness plans residual risk) in the face of any disruption-related risk. zations should develop an appropriately
and processes. Resource, time and capability constraints contextualized emergency risk assessment
• Determine how the organization will
Disruption-related risks are a result of will usually mean that any plan has to methodology consistent with ISO 31000.
continue to achieve these objectives
natural, biological, technological, industrial focus its emergency preparedness plans Given the complexity and severity of
should additional disruption-related
and other human activities, and can lead to on key deliverables. This may mean the possible outcomes as a result of emergency
risks occur.
significant social and economic costs for disruption of critical activities for defined events, the guidelines need to generate an
individuals, organizations, municipalities, These key aspects apply to all private and periods. Following this, other objectives integrated, comprehensive and objective
regions and countries. public organizations required to develop and more extended disruption timelines understanding of emergency risks. This
Specific effects include : damage to an effective emergency preparedness can be addressed. will inform the emergency preparedness
property, infrastructure and facilities ; programme. plans required.
financial costs and indirect economic losses ; Outputs from risk assessments under-
Risk-assessment methodology
fatalities, injuries and illness ; impairment taken using the resultant methodology must
of ecosystems and loss of biodiversity ; and There is a need for Those charged with producing emergency seek to improve decision making about
social and cultural losses. a concerted approach preparedness plans and processes therefore the allocation of scarce resources for risk
To respond effectively to these chal- need to develop a risk assessment methodol- treatment and emergency preparedness
to the management ogy to clearly understand the objectives that plans and procedures.
lenges, effective emergency preparedness
plans must :
of emergency need to be addressed by The emergency risk assessment methodol-
• Understand what the body developing preparedness. the emergency pre- ogy developed must be scalable, capable of
paredness plan. being used for assessing emergency risks
the plan must achieve – the critical
arising from any hazard and able to be
objectives With little modification, these same used from an individual to a global level.
• Identify possible barriers or inter- aspects can be applied to address the Depending on the context of its application,
ruptions in trying to achieve these needs of even the smallest organization or any study conducted using the methodol-
objectives municipality. There is no need to approach ogy will necessarily focus on particular
emergency preparedness as a monolithic hazards of significance and impact for the
* Member of the General Division programme. More than solely the writ- community in question.
of the Order of Australia. ing of a plan, emergency preparedness is

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• Identifies current risk under existing The result of a need for a standard based
controls, and residual risk assuming on international experience, ISO 22320
implementation of additional controls CELLULAR PHONE outlines global best practice for establish-
HEAD PROTECTOR
or control improvements ing an incident response system. While it
• Provides base-line qualitative risk does not touch on legal regulation, it defines
assessments and triggers for more
ADHESIVE minimum requirements for the single- and
detailed analysis
TAPE multi-organizational collaboration of parties
involved in preparing and implementing
• Allows risk evaluation at varying EMERGENCY effective incident responses.
levels of confidence NUMBERS
• Provides comparable outputs which
rate risk and suggest ways to reduce GAUZE Emergency management
SMALL explained
risk.
FLASHLIGHT
“ Emergency management ” can be defined
ANTISEPTIC
EXTRA OINTMENT differently according to the language,
Applicable to all emergencies BATTERIES nationality, organization or legal regula-
In many jurisdictions, emergency pre- tions involved. For ISO 22320, emergency
paredness planning focuses on the sudden management is the overall approach for
FIRST AID KIT GAUZE PADS preventing and managing emergencies. As
onset of natural hazards. These include
earthquake, flood, storm, hurricane, storm shown in Figure 1, emergency management
surge, debris flow, tsunami and wildfire. consists of all three phases of a disruptive
DISPOSABLE COLD PACK event (before, during and after) and vari-
Of course, not all emergency events are
GLOVES

Emergency
caused by nature. However, consequences ous activities.
from emergency events may be similar, Incident response comprises actions to
regardless of the trigger involved. It is BAND AIDS stop the causes of an imminent hazard, and/
therefore imperative that the final document RUNNING or mitigate the consequences of destabilizing

management
adopt an all-hazards approach and provides SHOES or disruptive events, and/or recover. These
a method that is suitable for considering events include natural disasters, terrorist
other sources of risk. These include disease threats, poor IT security or an industrial
(human, animal and plant), insect/vermin fire disrupting the product chain. The main

Global best practice

plague, and those risks arising from tech- activities of an incident response are :
nological and other human sources, unless preparedness plans have the required man- process – including concerns – can be • Warning, alerting and activation of
specific risk assessment techniques have
been developed for the detailed analysis
date and commitment from top management
to facilitate their activities.
considered, captured in the risk register
and assessed through to the risk evaluation. for an incident response system incident response
• Command and control, information,
of particular hazards. Above all, effective emergency prepared- coordination and cooperation
ness requires a fundamental cultural change
Defining scope by Ernst-Peter Döbbeling • The response to the incident to save
in a society or organization, including an
lives and mitigate negative effects.
In the public and private sectors, a key task is minimizing the impact
Outputs from risk The scope of the risk assessment needs acceptance of uncertainty and imperfection.
to be adequately considered to define the People and organizations need to appreciate
assessments must seek The warning of the population at risk is a
required data. Because the management that risk is inherent in every decision and of the disasters and crises that follow natural, negligent or intentional key part of incident response. An ISO stand-
to improve decision of risks from emergencies could involve activity, and that part of this risk has the
incidents. When major incidents occur, they regularly demonstrate the ard currently in development, ISO 22322,
making. multiple hazards, the definition of scope potential to create disruption. As a result, Societal security – Emergency management
must address the range of hazards for a they need to consider how they will manage importance of an effective response. Fortunately, ISO 22320:2011, – Public warning, will cover this.
single event or multiple events, the relevant any resultant disruptions to their activities. Societal security – Emergency management – Requirements for “ Command and control ” has its origin in
ISO 31000 states that the success of risk community including its geographical or There is no single solution for engender- incident response, enables organizations to respond efficiently and military and police terminology. It is now
management depends on “ …the effectiveness jurisdictional boundaries, and relevant ing the required cultural change, although a more generic term for target-orientated
of the management framework providing the timelines. Accordingly, consideration needs appropriate communication certainly helps
effectively.
foundations and arrangements that will embed to be given to determine : the emergency to achieve success. 
At first it might be surprising to see the
it throughout the organization at all levels ”. event(s) ; the sources of risk (describing
publication of an International Standard for
An appropriate methodology ensures that the hazards) ; and the impact categories Before incident During incident After incident
information on disruption-related risks will (describing the elements at risk). About the author incident response. This is because emergency
be adequately reported and used at relevant Consideration may also be given to the management is widely seen as a matter
levels in decision making with respect to fact that emergencies can have beneficial Kevin W. Knight for public or governmental organizations Resilience Prevention Preparedness
Incident response
emergencies and the development of effec- long-term consequences for the relevant AM is Chair of operating within a legal framework.
tive emergency preparedness plans. These community, which might (partially) offset ISO/PC 262, Risk But today, incident response has become a Warning CCICC* Mitigation
activation of effects
are to protect individuals, organizations, immediate or short-term detrimental impacts. management, and broader multi-organizational, multinational
municipalities, regions and countries, and Also, consequences beyond the region or was Convenor of concern in which private and public actors Business Recovery
are also applicable globally, as required. jurisdiction of concern may increase or the ISO working collaborate. Following business continuity
continuity
* Command and Control, Information, Coordination and Cooperation
It ensures that those charged with devel- reduce those within the region. In general, group responsible analysis, many companies have identified
oping, testing and implementing emergency any issue raised during the risk identification for ISO 31000:2009. the requirement for a response system. Figure 1 : Phases of emergency management.

12 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ ISO Focus + May 2012 ISO Focus + May 2012 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ 13
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implementation of an ongoing process • Preparation and implementation of a

for providing operational information, logistic support network.
Incident
including necessary activities, as shown in
Figure 3. It also explains how information Cooperation is an agreement to work
can be integrated, evaluated and interpreted or act together for common interests and
to create operational information which values. The complexity of national and
Implementation Feedback fulfills quality criteria. All professionals international public and private collabora-
of decisions and control in incident response are aware of the high tion has produced new ways of working
importance of information processing and together in incident response. Private-public
documentation. partnership or contract-based company
partnerships have partly replaced traditional
systems. An example is public emergency
services combined with private services
Information ISO 22320 applies supplying food, energy or shelter.
gathering to all private- and public-
and sharing Private companies implement mutual sup-
sector organizations. port to avoid service interruption and ensure
opportunities for effective and economical A good reaction to disruptive situations
business continuity. They agree in advance
incident response planning. Cooperation is driven essentially by information avail-
by contract or arrangements to contribute
Decision Assessment can reduce or share costs and improve ability and information exchange. The
making Another process in energy management with their resources to incident response.
of situation and business continuity and recovery. standard outlines the information process
and sharing forecast is coordination. Often, many organizations and the relevant quality criteria.
have to respond to an incident and interact. In incident response today, collabora-
For example, public emergency services Incident response Benefits to all
tion between organizations, companies
interact with private industry services, indus- comprises actions ISO 22320 applies to all the private- and or governments is based on coordination,
Planning try interacts with energy or water suppliers, to stop the causes public-sector organizations that can be cooperation and public-private partnership.
and police interact with fire and ambulance of an imminent hazard. involved in incident response. An organi- In many countries, the hierarchical struc-
services. Each organization has its own line zation can use this standard to identify its ture is still the only way of handling incident
Figure 2 : Example of the command and control process in a single hierarchical organization of hierarchy, command and information.
with limited coordination needs. individual performance requirements and response in emergency management. For
Coordination is the way in which such Cooperation has to be assessed, pre- organize decision making in crises when them, this standard presents a wider view
different organizations work together to pared, established and tested in advance on normal hierarchical decision making is for preparedness in incident response.
decision making in which decisions are taken example. This process changes due to the achieve a common objective. The chal- the basis of risk analysis. This facilitates interrupted. For developing countries, this stand-
under time pressure and with incomplete impact of response measures (positive) or lenge is to integrate individual responses ard is a neutral best praxis document for
information. It is more effective when a to the evaluation of the incident (negative). to achieve synergy to the extent that the planning and implementing a complete,
structured command and control system is Operational information provides the incident response has a unified objective
Incident well-structured incident response system.
implemented. This ensures, for example : basis for situational assessment and decision and a consensus decision-making process. An ISO standard-based incident response
• A common understanding of aims and making. The production, integration and Without coordination, organizations have system offers the opportunity for trans-
purpose dissemination of operational information difficulties in identifying a common inci- border collaboration. It also facilitates good
are essential elements in command and dent response goal and accepting strategic
• A common operational picture of the Implementation Feedback incident response coordination between
control. In an emergency or crisis, normal implementation. of decisions and control
situation governmental organizations and industry. 
information paths can be interrupted and ISO 22320 lays out the principles for a
• Links with other organizations outside the information itself can be subjective, multi-organizational command and control
the line of command intentionally manipulated or wrong. process with an enhanced need for coordina-
• The appointment of relevant managers. ISO 22320 supports the definition and tion and information sharing, as shown in
implementation of effective incident
About the author
Figure 4. Following a best praxis analysis, Coordinated
In the standard, command and control information processing. It describes the effective coordination is shown for the : information gathering
can be organized for public emergency and sharing Prof. Ernst-Peter
services as well as for private industries. • Setting of boundaries (geographical Döbbeling is Pro-
The standard gives examples for typical E VA L U AT I O N and areas of responsibility) between fessor of security
roles and responsibilities ; but of course the different organizations and safety engi-
Dissemination Organization A Organization B
these must be adapted to the local frame- and • Interoperability of communication, Coordinated
neering at Furtwan-
Coordinated
work of incident response and to the types integration geographic and information manage- Field of coordination assessment of gen University,
decision making
of possible incident. Analysis and Planning ment networks and sharing situation and Germany. He is
and
and information sharing
The standard also describes how to : production • Identification of common and transpar- forecast also Convenor
MISSION direction
identify and define incident response levels; ent decision-making procedures of ISO technical
Organization C Organization D
structure command and control according to committee ISO/TC 223, Societal security,
Processing • Implementation of an information
political, strategic and tactical needs ; and working group WG 3, Emergency man-
and Collection sharing and situational awareness
create a response system which is scalable exploitation agement.
policy Coordinated
to different incident types and sizes. He has previously been Chief Fire Officer
• Implementation of a communica- planning
The command and control process fol- at CERN (European Organization for
AND FEEDBACK tion flow plan and communication
lows the principle of Plan-Do-Check-Act. Nuclear Research), Geneva, Switzerland,
Adapted to incident response, the process guidelines and Director of Fire and Rescue at Lud-
Figure 3 : The process of providing Figure 4 : Circular chart for a multiple hierarchical command and control process
includes four steps as shown in the Figure 2 operational information. • Division of operational tasks with enhanced relevance of coordination. wigshafen on Rhine, Germany.

14 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ ISO Focus + May 2012 ISO Focus + May 2012 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ 15
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Non-reactor nuclear facilities with

operations, processes, storage, handling
and on-site transport of significant quanti- Enrichment
ties of fissionable materials are required to Fuel fabrication
maintain a nuclear criticality safety (NCS) Conversion
programme for the prevention of nuclear For natural uranium fuels
criticality accidents, in accordance with
ISO 1709:1995, Nuclear energy – Fissile

Nuclear
materials – Principles of criticality safety Milling Recycle
in storing, handling and processing. NCS
programmes determine the need for nuclear
MOX fuel fabrication
criticality accident alarm systems.

criticality
An evaluation is performed for all activi-
ties having inventories of fissionable materi-
als in individual unrelated areas exceeding Reprocessing Power plant
700 g of 235U, 520 g of 233U, 450 g of the Electricity
fissile isotopes of plutonium or 450 g of
any combination of these isotopes. Mining

SS0059AB.pdf 1 2012-04-18 15:15:12 Preparedness and response

Implicit to the evaluated need for a HLW
nuclear criticality accident alarm system Spent fuel storage
is the requirement for the implementation
of emergency preparedness and response
plans. In consideration of such a need,
Mitigating the consequences ISO 11320:2011, Nuclear criticality safety –
Emergency preparedness and response, was
Spent fuel
disposal
of an accident developed. The new standard is designed
to mitigate a nuclear criticality accident’s
Source : International Atomic Energy Agency.

impact on human health and safety, quality Figure 1 : Domain of nuclear criticality safety standards for non-reactor nuclear facilities (outside the red bounded areas).
of life, property and the environment. It
was developed by ISO technical commit- storage, handling, and on-site transportation
tee ISO/TC 85, Nuclear energy, nuclear of fissionable materials before and after Safety record
technologies, and radiological protection. their use in nuclear reactors.
Various ISO standards exist and are devel- NCS analysis for the international trans-
portation of fissionable material packages
Although the world’s non-reactor nuclear facilities have had an excellent 60-year safety
oping to assist facility NCS programmes record overall, there have been 22 nuclear criticality accidents. The first was in 1954,
in the prevention of nuclear criticality is required and governed by International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safety and the most recent was in 1999 (see Figure 2 on next page).
accidents.
Standards (TS-R-1). Requirements for Worldwide non-reactor nuclear facility criticality accidents have resulted in localized
national and international transportation of impacts on people and almost no physical damage to facilities. Nine fatalities occurred
fissionable material packages in the public
It is essential to in seven of the 22 accidents and four individuals were seriously injured from radiation
domain provide for safety even under the
respond quickly. most extreme conditions.
exposure. Every one of the seriously injured or fatally irradiated individuals had been
Apart from public transportation, the within two metres of the unshielded criticality accidents.
emergency preparedness and response to The duration of criticality accidents has varied greatly, from low-power fission densities
Such NCS programmes are primarily a criticality accident at non-reactor nuclear and long durations (minutes to hours) to high-power fission densities and short and
directed at avoiding nuclear criticality facilities processing significant quantities
accidents. However, the possibility of
self-limiting durations (seconds to minutes). Irrespective of the anticipated duration of
of fissionable materials lies elsewhere. It is
such accidents exists and the consequences a criticality accident, the presence of a criticality accident emergency preparedness and
generally under the purview of the national
by Calvin M. Hopper can be life-threatening. For facilities that response plan is a vital part of a nuclear criticality safety programme.
competent authority and the responsibility of
are judged to have a credible criticality
A nuclear criticality accident is the occurrence of a self-
the non-reactor nuclear facility performing
accident risk, there is an expectation for fissionable material operations, processing,
advance planning, practice in planned storage, handling and on-site transportation.
sustaining neutron chain reaction that is either unplanned or emergency responses and verification
behaves unexpectedly. Only a few special nuclear materials of readiness.
Rapid response
such as enriched uranium or plutonium are capable of support- The domain of NCS programmes at
ing a self-sustaining neutron chain reaction, hereinafter called non-reactor nuclear facilities and activities The emergency preparedness and
is shown outside the red bounded areas in response plan is required to minimize
nuclear criticality. Figure 1. The activities of the unbounded consequences due to a nuclear criticality
areas include all operations and processing, accident. ISO 11320 therefore specifies

16 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ ISO Focus + May 2012 ISO Focus + May 2012 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ 17
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Russian Federation USA United Kingdom Japan

1945 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95
Figure 2 : Chronology of process criticality accidents.

the responsibilities of organizational man- evacuation paths. This will help personnel
agement, technical staff and individuals A criticality accident to avoid unnecessary radiation exposure
to that end. It further requires that an when exiting to predetermined emergency
evaluation of credible criticality accident
emergency assembly stations.
locations and characteristics be considered preparedness and If a nuclear criticality accident occurs at
for establishing accident alarm locations, response plan is vital. a nuclear facility, it is essential to respond
immediate evacuation zones and emergency quickly, and even more important to have
prepared an emergency response. ISO 11320
provides criteria for establishing and
implementing actions that will effectively
mitigate a potential accident’s consequences

Are you ready ?

Nuclear criticality accidents for human health and safety, quality of
life, property and the environment. Such
Nuclear criticality results in the same reactions that occur in a nuclear reactor. The emergency preparedness and response plans
products of nuclear criticality are heat, radiation, and radioactive materials called fission can also mitigate unnecessary public angst
about the hazard and its limited impacts on
ICT readiness and business continuity
products. Nuclear reactors are designed so that:
operating personnel, facilities, the public
• Nuclear criticality is controlled and can be terminated and the environment in the rare event of a
• Fission products are contained and managed to protect people from their radiation nuclear criticality accident. 
by Edward Humphreys
• The heat produced may be beneficially used, for example to boil water, make steam,
drive a generator and produce electricity
• Some of the radiation produced may be used to produce beneficial products such as
About the author Are you vulnerable to an information and communication tech- (such as performance criteria, design and
nology (ICT) cyber-attack, and would you cope if it happened ? implementation) for improving an organiza-
medical isotopes or for research, but in all cases arrangements such as shielding are Calvin M. Hopper tion’s ICT readiness for business continuity
If you are concerned, ISO and IEC have a solution.
present to protect people from radiation. retired from the (IRBC). It applies to any organization of
ISO/IEC 27031:2011, Information technology – Security tech- any size developing an IRBC programme
Special nuclear materials must be handled and processed, often on an industrial scale, Oak Ridge National
Laboratory in 2008 niques – Guidelines for information and communication technol- and requiring its ICT services / infrastructure
outside nuclear reactors. Industrial work with these special nuclear materials includes
as a development ogy readiness for business continuity, can help any organization to be ready to support operations during
the manufacture of nuclear reactor fuel, chemical processing to concentrate, purify or disruption to business continuity, includ-
and design engineer prepare for incidents, respond to security compromises and be less
change their form for various industrial applications, and various defence-related activities. ing for security reasons. It also enables
in ORNL’s Nuclear
susceptible to disruption. an organization to measure IRBC-related
A prime consideration in the design, construction, and operation of industrial facilities to Science and Tech-
process special nuclear materials is the prevention of nuclear criticality. Unfortunately, if nology Division. performance parameters in a consistent and
Now, as a consultant for ORNL, he sup- In the middle of the night, a hacker gains recognized way.
special nuclear materials are improperly handled outside a nuclear reactor, it is possible These and many other incidents are
for a nuclear criticality accident to occur in the workplace. ports the US Department of Energy, US access to an organization’s servers. He dis- real, and can happen in any market sector.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Oak connects 15 minutes later, taking 100 Gbyte It is crucial that organizations know how
The immediate result of a nuclear criticality accident is the production of an uncontrolled Ridge Y-12 National Security Complex. of data and, in exchange, leaves a piece of to defend themselves against any security ISO/IEC 27031 aims
and unpredictable radiation source that can be harmful, even lethal, to people who are Since 1995, he has participated in ISO/ malware. The next day the organization’s attacks and swiftly respond and recover to lessen the effects
nearby. In the workplace, nuclear criticality accidents last from a fraction of a second TC 85, Nuclear energy, nuclear technolo- operations are in chaos. any business systems to avoid longer-term of business disruption.
up to several minutes, but may persist for much longer times, depending upon the gies, and radiological protection, SC 5, In another organization, it is mid-afternoon damage and disruption.
specific conditions. Nuclear fuel cycle, WG 8 on nuclear criti- and a disgruntled employee decides he
cality safety and is the group’s convenor. has had enough. He submits his letter of
A nuclear criticality accident itself provides various mechanisms that tend to terminate Improved readiness
He is overall advisor for ISO/TC 85/ resignation, sabotages a server and goes Just as ISO/IEC 27001:2005, Informa-
the accident, and workplace personnel can also take actions to terminate persistent SC 5 of the American National Standards home. His actions take immediate effect ISO/IEC 27031 helps organizations be tion technology – Security techniques
accidents. One accident that occurred in an experimental facility persisted for over six Institute (ANSI) Nuclear Technology Ad- as the accounting system grinds to a halt. prepared, respond to security compromises – Information security management sys-
days before it was terminated by facility personnel. visory Group, and has chaired the ANSI How quickly can organizations get their and lessen the effects of business disruption. tems – Requirements, addresses the issue,
N16 Standards Consensus Committee on systems up and running, minimize disruption It provides a framework of methods and “ Are my information systems secure ? ”.
Nuclear Criticality Safety. and resume normal operations ? processes to identify and specify all aspects ISO/IEC 27031 addresses the issue, “ Is my

18 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ ISO Focus + May 2012 ISO Focus + May 2012 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ 19
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early warning, detection and prediction

Level of processes. This ensures that when an incident
operations incident does occur, there is a gradual rather than Time Zero
a sudden and drastic drop in operations.
tolerable period of disruption
normal level Facing threats head-on Prevention & IRBC Prevention & IRBC
implementation Detection Response Recovery DR Operation Restoration improvement
MTO
Figure 2 shows how implementing BCM
and IRBC systems can reduce disruption.
By using ISO/IEC 27031, the organiza-
tion can ensure that its ICT infrastructure, Business continuity (BC)
V Recovery time objective (RTO)
systems and services are resilient and robust (per product, service or activity)
minimum level
enough to support business continuity. This
involves the organization implementing Recovery ICT DR ICT supports
a system to prevent, predict and manage point Invocation ICT recovery time BC user arrangement migration back
ICT incidents and deal with any resulting objective Detection decision objective (RTO) acceptance supports onging from recovery
time (RPO) time time (per ICT service) test BC activities mode
MTO - Maximum tolerable outage disruptions in an effective and timely way.
RTO period to resume
RTO - Recovery time objective normal activities Getting ICT functioning as soon as possible
can therefore contribute towards restoring
Figure 1 : Incident causing operational disruption. normal business operations. Time of events
Figure 3 shows how IRBC elements help
ICT capable of responding to a threat to • Respond and recover from incidents/ to reduce overall response and recovery !!
my information systems ? ” In the context disasters and failures. time. The diagram highlights several points.
of the business continuity management Decision ICT ICT
Last good data Disruption Service loss taken to infrastructure application Users access Business services Return to
(BCM) process, IRBC refers to a system Implementation and prevention involve ICT
which complements and supports an organi-
ISO/IEC 27031 enables backup occurs experienced
recovery
recovery recovery restored ICT fully recovered (new) normal
operations
complete complete services
zation’s BCM and information security any organization to face ICT infrastructure and services need to
management systems (ISMS) programme. threats head-on. be protected to prevent compromise from
Improved readiness enables an organi- threats, such as environmental and hard-
zation to : ware failures, operational errors, malicious
Figure 1 shows the general situation when attack and natural disasters. This is critical Figure 3 : IRBC elements supporting activities in a typical ICT disaster recovery timeline.
• Respond to the constantly changing
an incident occurs and normal activity falls
risk environment
below the minimum level needed for normal
• Ensure continuation of critical busi- to maintaining the organization’s desired Prevention and improvement
operations. This illustrates the situation in
ness functions systems availability.
which no BCM or IRBC system is in place. Since it is vital to learn from experience,
• Get ready to act and respond before an The organization can reduce business dis- incidents should be documented, analyzed
ICT service disruption occurs ruption and recovery times by implementing
Detection
and reviewed. Lessons learnt will help the
Detecting incidents early will minimize organization to be better prepared, fully
the impact to services, reduce the recovery in control and avoid repetitions.
effort and preserve service quality. Whatever the incident, be it a cyber attack,
After implementation of a physical or environmental disaster or an
Operational Status early detection and response
capabilities to prevent sudden and Response internal employee problem, it is better to be
drastic failure and enable gradual ready. Fortunately, ISO/IEC 27031 enables
deterioration of operational status An incident response should be carried any organization to face threats head-on. 
100 % and further shorten recovery time out to: ensure efficient, effective recovery
and restoration; minimize disruption and
downtime; and reduce the risk of escalation
z% into an emergency or crisis. About the author

y% Prof. Edward
Recovery and restoration
Humphreys
x% Identifying and implementing the proper is Chair of the
Time recovery strategy will ensure the timely working group
T= 0 T= i T= j T= k T= l
restoration of ICT infrastructure and responsible for the
Before implementation of BCM services and maintain data integrity and development and
availability. It is important to understand maintenance of the
After implementation of BCM
and set the suitable recovery priorities to ISO/IEC 27000
After implementation of early detection and response reinstate the most critical services first, family of standards.
capabilities to enhance ICT readiness and others later. Involved in information security for 37
ICT recovery can then support the years, he has many achievements and
Figure 2 : Concept of readiness for business continuity. resumption of normal business operations. awards to his name.

20 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ ISO Focus + May 2012 ISO Focus + May 2012 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ 21
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Safety signs from ISO 7010. Water signs from ISO 20712-1.

Types of safety signs Prohibition signs warn that a specific

behaviour is forbidden.
Safety signs are a combination of colour, Fire equipment signs let people know the
shape and graphical symbol. The colour and equipment’s location and/or identification.
shape help users to recognize the type of sign. Mandatory action signs
indicate that a spe-
SD0244BB.pdf 1 cific action
2012-04-18 has to
15:12:30
Graphical symbols be taken and tend to
contribute to the appear in workplaces.
well-being of people For example, signs cov-

The
ering personal protection
worldwide.
equipment instruct oper- Example of a tsunami evacuation route
atives to wear appropriate sign in Mataushima, Japan.
clothing such as head or1 2012-04-18 14:54:17

“ international ”
SD0087BB.pdf
Warning signs highlight potential hazards eye protection. Although controls such as windscreen wipers
and enable people to take appropriate action. people should have safety and horn, increasing road safety. In
The registered safety signs in ISO 7010:2011, instructions, the graphical the workplace and at home, we ben-
Graphical symbols – Safety colours and symbols remind them of efit from the globally recognizable

language
safety signs – Registered safety signs, when and where safety symbols on equipment.
include the warning sign for electricity, seen equipment should be worn.
in workplaces and in public areas, and the Safe condition signs cover ISO 23601. For the benefit of all
of an es ca pe plan from
radioactive material sign. The water-safety Exampl e
emergency evacuation and
signage standard ISO 20712-1:2008, Water Together with its subcommittees,
safety equipment, for exam-
ISO/TC 145 takes its role seriously to
How safety signs
safety signs and beach safety flags – Part 1: ple the location of first-aid equipment. safe route in an emergency could make the
Specifications for water safety signs used make sure graphical symbols contribute
difference between life and death.
to the well-being of people worldwide.
and graphical symbols help
in workplaces and public areas, indicates Emergency evacuation Similarly, ISO 16069:2004, Graphical
potential hazards such as underwater ISO/TC 145 has also developed standards
symbols – Safety signs – Safety way guid-
obstructions. Perhaps some of the most important for design principles to ensure the best
reduce risks to people
ance systems (SWGS), covers safety-way
examples of safety signs are those used for possible results.
guidance systems, combining safety signs
emergency evacuation. When a fire breaks out All safety signs and symbols are available
with route and doorway markings.
or a tsunami occurs, it is essential that people via the ISO Online Browsing Platform. 
ISO 20712-3:2008, Water safety signs
by Barry Gray can find their way to a place of safety via a and beach safety flags – Part 3: Guidance
safe, clearly signed route. Well positioned, for use, covers tsunami evacuation and
Crossing language and cultural barriers, internationally understood standardized signing is vital to ensure that
those at risk evacuate in an orderly, calm and
the optimum use of water safety signs and
beach safety flags.
About the author

safety signs and graphical symbols can mitigate risks and avoid safe manner, even in an unfamiliar country Barry Gray is
potentially dangerous situations. where the language is not understood and Chair of ISO/TC
Other ways symbols are used 145, Graphical
panic is possible.
Other types of graphical symbol also help symbols, having
ISO technical committee ISO/TC 145, In our globalized world, internationally to increase understanding and reduce risk. previously been
Graphical symbols, in particular subcom- standardized graphical symbols enable Covered by ISO 7000, graphical symbols for Chair of ISO/
mittee 2, works hard in this area, ensuring everyone to recognize and react rapidly to Graphical symbols enable use on equipment can have the same virtues TC 145/SC 1,
these signs and symbols contribute to hazardous situations. everyone to recognize of recognizability. For example, symbols Public informa-
increased safety in the workplace, home, Secondly, graphical symbols can be easier and react rapidly to in our cars enable us to quickly understand tion symbols. He
car and elsewhere. to display and be more obvious and visible is Convenor of two working groups in
hazardous situations. ISO/TC 145 and contributes to the work
than a written message. A simple text-free
Used locally, message can be more obvious and visible. of other technical committees in ISO and
understood globally The symbol can also be larger than a sign the European Committee for Standardiza-
with words. As shown in ISO 23601:2009, Safety tion (CEN). In addition, he carries out
Why is a sign’s graphical symbol so Thirdly, people who find it difficult to read identification – Escape and evacuation similar roles for The British Standards In-
important ? words or letters often find symbols easier to plan signs, signs also appear on escape stitution. He has chaired the Sign Design
Firstly, graphical symbols are interna- understand. Similarly, well-designed graphical and evacuation plan signs in places such as Society and was formerly Signing and
tional as they do not rely on language. symbols can assist those with vision problems. Example of a beach sign from ISO 20712-3. hotels, factories and offices. Knowing the Equipment symbols from ISO 7000. Design Manager for Network Rail.

22 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ ISO Focus + May 2012 ISO Focus + May 2012 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ 23
 a

Be prepared !
Earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, floods, fires, ISO standards help manage crises by offering
terrorist attacks, accidents or IT hacking attacks global best practice and knowledge in all
can happen at any time – with catastrophic situations, from keeping the water supply clean
consequences. Although it is nearly impossible to the safety of nuclear reactors.
to predict when the next disaster will strike,
being prepared can significantly limit the
damage and speed up recovery.

And the winner is…

Anna Pfenniger To build awareness of the importance of being ready for
any incident, ISO organized a photo competition through
As a medical doctor and Facebook (www.facebook.com/isostandards) and Twitter (www.
research scientist, Anna twitter.com/isostandards).
has developed an acute
Participants were invited
sense of observation. When
to send images showing
outside the hospital, she
emergency readiness, a
enjoys finding beauty and
disaster or its aftermath.
humor in the most unex-
We received creative
pected places – be it an
submissions from around
urban jungle, a vegetable
the world. But the winner
or an uncommon face.

Photo: Anna Pfenniger

comes from Switzerland !
Through photography, she
Anna Pfenniger took
attempts to capture and
this captivating photo
share these often over-
showing emergency
looked gems, hoping to
preparedness in action.
transmit the sense of awe
Congratulations Anna ! Life jackets on Staten Island Ferry, New York City.
that she felt.

© ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ ISO Focus + May 2012 ISO Focus + May 2012 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+
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Special Report

in the water utility’s management system.

Standardization is one of the most power-
ful tools to use in applying such lessons to

The Great East

an organization’s management system. In
the case of the Minamigamo wastewater
treatment plant, or indeed any water utility,
the most urgent and appropriate standard

Japan Earthquake
is ISO 24511:2007, Activities relating to
drinking water and wastewater services -
Guidelines for the management of waste-
water utilities and for the assessment of
wastewater services.
ISO 24511 was developed by ISO/TC 224,
Service activities relating to drinking
water supply systems and wastewater sys-
tems – Quality criteria of the service and
performance indicators. The International
Standard provides guidelines for publicly
and privately owned and operated waste-
water facilities. It addresses wastewater
systems in their entirety, and is applicable
to systems at any level of development –
e.g., pit latrines, on-site systems, networks
and treatment facilities.

Employees watch in horror as the tsunami floodwaters, over 10.4 metres higher than normal,
New crisis management system inundate the Minamigamo wastewater treatment plant in Sendai City, Japan.
standard
The necessity of asset and risk manage- In particular, the technical commit- Water authorities in Japan are contribut-
ment in the event of natural disasters is tee encourages broad implementation of ing to the development of the new standard
explicitly stated in the standard as one of management systems that enable water and to the effectiveness of a crisis manage-
the components of managing a wastewater utilities to deal with disasters through ment system for water utilities by drawing
utility. ISO/TC 224 continues to take a close standardization. For example, ISO/TC 224/ on the experience of the recent disaster.

Could better crisis management and ISO 24511 interest in the asset and crisis management
of water utilities, and is involved in new
WG 7, Crisis management of water utilities,
is currently drafting a crisis management
The aim is to improve the capability of the
water industry to apply countermeasures

wastewater guidelines have helped ? projects related to drinking water supply

and wastewater systems.
system standard that is expected to provide
valuable guidance in the event of a disaster.
against disasters through ISO and relevant
standards. 

by Tetsuya Mizutani About the author

At 14:46 on 11 March 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake hit As a result of our emergency work, there
Tetsuya Mizutani
is Manager of the
the largest city in the Tohoku Region of Japan’s east coast. About one were not any major wastewater overflows Asset Management
hour later, many houses, factories and rice paddies in the coastal area in our city. We finished the survey of our Strategy Office in
4500 km pipe thanks to help from other the Business Plan-
were swept away by the destructive tsunami, triggered by the offshore major cities of Japan. Our restoration has ning Section of the
earthquake. 704 people were killed in Sendai City alone, and 26 are still advanced steadily and we are ready to share Sewerage Manage-
missing. The damage to Sendai City has been estimated at over USD 16 the lessons of our experience with others. ment Department
billion (JPY 1.3 trillion). of Sendai City,
Lessons learned Japan. He heads a project to apply an asset
Minamigamo, the largest wastewater to the earthquake-proof administrative management system to the city’s sewage
treatment plant in the city, located just building – the only happy outcome of The disaster has highlighted the need for works, and is a member of the national
300 m from the sea, was also devastated the disaster. better risk, asset and crisis management in committee for ISO/TC 224, Service ac-
by the tsunami. Waves over 10.4 metres The Minamigamo plant, which had been the future. It was evident that many water tivities relating to drinking water supply
above normal sea level hit the pumping treating 300 000 m3 of wastewater per day, utilities in Japan had not implemented a risk systems and wastewater systems – Quality
facility closest to the shore. All cars and came to a standstill. Rebuilding of the plant management system, and that the concept of criteria of the service and performance
ground equipment were washed away and and full restoration of services is expected risk management was not fully understood. indicators, WG 6, Asset management, and
the entire treatment plant was inundated. to take five years, at a cost of some USD Lessons learned from the recent Minami- The damage to the wall of the Minamigamo pumping facility was caused not by the Great East to ISO/PC 251, Asset management, WG 2,
Fortunately, all plant employees escaped 0.86 billion (JPY 70 billion). gamo experience must now be reflected Japan Earthquake, but by the pressure of the tsunami that followed. Requirements and applications guidelines.

26 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ ISO Focus + May 2012 ISO Focus + May 2012 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ 27
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Special Report

Attention
water utilities !
Future ISO guidelines
for crisis management
by Bruno Tisserand, Jacobo Sack, Thomas Zenz and Yaron Ben-Ari

While water is vital for life, in many countries there remains a lack
of knowledge about the crisis management of drinking water and
wastewater services. To address this issue, ISO is preparing globally
applicable guidelines to ensure water utilities respond successfully to
ISO 11830 will use the Plan-Do-Check-
any crisis situation – the future ISO 11830 on the crisis management Act approach and will consider the following
of water utilities. Phase Description Linkage
Relevant in its process :
Clauses
• Ensure water supply and the removal
In the short term, impairment of drinking in preparing the water utility for a crisis and treatment of wastewater
water services can seriously compromise situation (pre-crisis phase). The Pre-Crisis Phase is carried out during • Cooperate with all the other authorities
routine operations and under normal
the quality of life for many people; and in ISO 11830 will provide a general guide management. It includes, for example,
Clause 5 concerned
the medium term, it can threaten their abil- on how a crisis should be dealt with (the decisions on the structure of the crisis Preparedness • Consider the natural environment as
ity to survive. The continuous and orderly crisis phase), on how to re-establish services Pre-Crisis management team and training for the
well as the impact on the health and
designated personnel.
supply of clean and potable water is of (post-crisis phase) and on the best way to Phase well-being of the population
paramount importance. draw conclusions and revise procedures for This phase is the transition from normal
management to crisis management and • Effectively communicate with the pub-
Also important is the removal and safe future events. Figure 2 (page 31) illustrates
preparation for the implementation of the Clause 6 lic to mitigate or prevent panic.
disposal of sanitary wastewater and drainage how recovery activities can commence Crisis Phase.
storm-water. This prevents epidemics and during the crisis phase to begin restoring Response
poisoning of the public by contamination service to parts of the system. The Crisis Phase begins by declaring a Attention water utilities
state of crisis and assembling the crisis
and urban inundation. It also protects the The future ISO 11830 will aim to meet
management team. It comprises crisis
environment. control activities. It is terminated when Clause 7 water utilities’ needs for guidance on pre-
Crisis the end of a crisis is declared and the paring and coping with possible crises. It
Phase crisis management team is dissolved. Recovery
Crisis management The normal management team begins to normal will make it easier for national regulators
the Post-Crisis Phase. This phase is operation to adopt a national policy for reducing
Crisis management starts before the characterized by a high level of activity. risk and increasing resilience in the water
onset of a crisis and requires comprehen-
industry, and prioritizing these in policy
sive preparation during routine operations. The Post-Crisis Phase is the complete Clause 8 implementation. ISO 11830 will therefore
Figure 1 shows the different phases of a change over from crisis management to
normal management including normal Monitoring and contribute to the effective implementation
crisis management process.
supply of the water utility’s services. Part review of the of emergency management tools.
The future ISO 11830 standard on crisis of this phase is carried out under crisis implementation
management will describe the fundamentals management and part under normal of the crisis
of a crisis management system. It will include Post-Crisis
management.
The continuous andmanagement
ISO standards are
recommendations for water utilities and Part of the normal management activity system
Phase orderly supply of clean intended to be used in
examples of relevant national authorities’ is the operational recovery of the
experience in crisis management. and
water utility facilities and includes the potable water is any water utility around
monitoring and review of actions to be
ISO 11830 will be the first of its kind: taken by management as a result therefore
of the of paramountClause 9
the world.
documents have been published on water crisis. This is carried out when importance.
the water Management
safety before, but none deals with crisis utility has returned to normal operational
mode. Review
management in water utilities. It will deal Water utilities management will be in
with situations in which the normal supply charge of implementing the future ISO 11830
of potable water, or the removal and treat- standard. Regulators, local authorities or
ment of wastewater, are interrupted. It will water utilities directorates will be respon-
also enumerate steps that should be taken Figure 1 : Phases of a crisis management process. sible for follow-up.

28 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ ISO Focus + May 2012 ISO Focus + May 2012 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ 29
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Special Report

Crisis Phase
Pre-Crisis Phase (CMT inactive) (CMT active) Post-Crisis Phase (CMT inactive)

Activity
Routine operations Phase I Phase II Phase III Routine operations

Recovery activities

Ascertaining Declaring a state Declaring an end Changeover to Time

the fault of crisis of crisis routine operations

Intensity of activity

Figure 2 : Recovery activities, to restore service to parts of the system, begin during the crisis phase.

The necessary investments and resources issues by establishing a crisis management Progress in implementation will be
for the implementation of the guidelines team. Poorly equipped utilities will need to do measured by the number of countries
depend on : much more though, and might need to invest adopting the guidelines as mandatory or
• The level of utilities development 10 % or 20 % of their total budget. promoting the application as voluntary, and
• The likelihood of a large-scale crisis by the number of water utilities starting to
scenario being considered. implement the guideline recommendations
The continuous and in their management systems.
Well-developed utilities usually have most orderly supply of clean More than 35 countries are participants
of the equipment and facilities needed, and in working group WG 7, Crisis manage-
and potable water is ment of water utilities, and many others
have established emergency processes for crisis
situations in their daily operations (such as therefore of paramount registered as observers. Formal publica-
Pioneering work repairs to broken pipes). If this is the case, it importance. tion as ISO guidelines is expected by the
is worthwhile to concentrate on organizational end of 2013. 

ISO technical committee ISO/TC 224, Service activities relating to The suite of ISO standards :
drinking water supply systems and wastewater systems – Quality • Are universally recognized as they are applied to developing
criteria of the service and performance indicators, was launched in and existing services (such as in Burkina Faso and Argentina, About the authors
2001 to develop standards providing guidelines for service activities respectively)
related to drinking water supply systems and wastewater sewerage
systems. It has developed pioneering water- and wastewater- • Add value to the widely known management system standards ISO
related standards such as : 9001 for quality management and ISO 14001 for environmental
management
• ISO 24510:2007 for the improvement and assessment of the
service to users • Support the objectives of the Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD) to meet the challenge of
• ISO 24511:2007 for the management of wastewater utilities financing water and sanitation
and for the assessment of wastewater services
• Bring service stakeholders together to decide governance and the
• ISO 24512:2007 for the management of drinking water utilities essential technical elements for efficient operations. Stakeholders Bruno Tisserand is Chair of Jacobo Sack is Co- Thomas Zenz is Co- Yaron Ben-Ari is Secretary
and for the assessment of drinking water services. can then discuss service objectives and evaluate performance. ISO/TC 224, Service activi- convenor of ISO/TC 224, convenor of ISO/TC 224, of ISO/TC 224, working
ties relating to drinking water working group WG 7, Crisis working group WG 7, Crisis group WG 7, Crisis
These system standards were designed to be globally relevant
supply systems and wastewater management of water utilities. management of water utilities. management of water
for all water utilities. Since the standards are guidelines, they are
systems – Quality criteria of ysack@bezeqint.net zenz@dvgw.de utilities.
not used for certification. Their main function is to describe good the service and performance yaronbenari@sii.org.il
practice in the management of water and wastewater utilities. indicators.
bruno.tisserand@veoliaeau.fr

30 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ ISO Focus + May 2012 ISO Focus + May 2012 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ 31
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Planet ISO Planet ISO

standards bodies and ISO members, and to staff motivation, were identified as leadership of standards that had an important role in sup-
review ISO’s intellectual property right (IPR) goals. Some CEOs were concerned that stand- porting innovation and even created further
policies. ISO Secretary-General, Rob Steele, ards bodies are perceived as a “training ground” opportunities for innovation.
and ISO Director Marketing, Communication for the public sector with staff head-hunted Mr. Steele stressed three important areas
& Information, Nicolas Fleury, facilitated after a year or two. SABS Human Capital where academics should get involved with
the meeting. Executive, Mercy Mathibe, demonstrated how standards.
SABS IPR Specialist Samantha Harding the balanced scorecard could support learning Firstly, by getting standards into curricula
highlighted the challenges faced by SABS and development in organizations. so that students entering the workplace are
when protecting ISO intellectual property, CEOs discussed the role of the different aware of standards, their importance, how
name, logo, etc. Mr. Steele said that work is sub-groups in the African region and how they are developed, and why they should get
under way to align the different policies and these could be reinforced to strengthen involved in standardization.
procedures, including dealing with national relationships, exchange ideas, and discuss Secondly, implementing standards can
adoptions of ISO Standards. challenges and concerns. For example, ISO help training institutions to gain advantage
Ian Thomas, a motivational speaker, cap- and Southern African Development Com- from the body of knowledge and best practice
tivated the audience with a presentation on munity Cooperation in Standardization have guidelines to better manage their business (e.g.,
The late Anders J Thor.
“ Power of the pride ”, where he illustrated signed an agreement to enhance collaboration, ISO 9001 on quality, ISO 14001 on environ-
Anders Thor passes away how lions worked together to achieve a goal. especially in training. ment, and ISO/IEC 17025 on requirements
He made the analogy to teamwork. for testing laboratories)
Anders J Thor, a long-standing contributor Participants also discussed learning and Finally, by participating in standards devel-
to technical committee ISO/TC 12, Quanti-
South Africa full throttle
development as well as the way forward. opment through national and international
ties and units, passed away on 7 April 2012. Emphasis was put on the sustainability of While in South Africa, ISO Secretary- committees as a way of applying academic
A staunch and passionate supporter of NSBs. General Rob Steele actively participated in a research.
standardization, Mr. Thor was Secretary of To overcome these barriers, leaders must talk number of initiatives organized by the South The ISO Secretary-General concluded by Participants at tyre plenary, in Kyoto, Japan.
ISO/TC 12 from 1982 until 2009, when he the language of government, and understand African Bureau of Standards (SABS), ISO noting the ongoing research to measure the
was appointed Chair of the committee – a what the customer wants, said Mr. Steele, member body for the country. economic benefits of standards which, he with key stakeholders such as the UN Eco- • Tools will be developed to help SMEs
position he held until his passing. Mr. Thor drawing attention to case studies in Canada, Mr. Steele delivered the keynote address noted, is critically important for standards nomic Commission for Europe (UNECE) apply the standards
had also been Secretary of ISO/TC 203, France and Germany that demonstrated a at SABS’ first Academic Open Day in March developers to get companies to not only use, World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle • A list of frequently asked questions will
Technical energy systems, since 1991. He direct link between the economic impact of 2012, highlighting the role that standards play but really commit to standardization. Regulations (WP.29) GRRF (working party on be developed
held many other leadership and expert posi- standards and the growth of GDP. in innovation, and dispelling the notion held During his visit, Mr. Steele attended the brakes and running gear) and GRB (working • All types of stakeholders will be represented
tions in standardization, including convenor- Customer focus, governance, training and by many that the two worlds do not belong signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Under- party on noise). in the work of the committee
ships in a number of ISO working groups, retention of staff, as well as skills transfer and together. He did this through several examples standing between SABS and the Technology Participants came from Canada, France, • The ISO Committee on conformity assess-
among others.
Innovation Agency (TIA). Under this agree- Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Thailand, the ment (ISO/CASCO) and other relevant ISO
Mr. Thor believed in the importance of
ment, the SABS standards and conformity United Kingdom, and the USA. TCs/SCs will be invited to joint working
finding common ground in quantities and
assessment services will be offered to young groups when relevant.
units. He transmitted this passion through his
entrepreneurs and school graduates who have
work, several articles that he authored for ISO Food safety looks ahead
pre-qualified for TIA funding under the Youth
Focus+, as well as scientific publications and
other texts. He was also appreciated by the Technology Innovation Fund. It applies to a In 2010, food safety management stand-
thousands of students he taught at the KTH, variety of sectors including chemicals, electro- ard ISO 22000:2005 saw an increase of
Royal Institute of Technology, on the basics technical, food and health, biotech, mechanical 34 % in certifications, the highest of all
of mechanics. and materials, mining and minerals, services ISO management standards according to
Per Forsgren, Group manager at the Swed- and transportation. the ISO survey of certifications.
ish Standards Institute (SIS) where Mr. Thor Finally, the ISO Secretary-General visited As the use of the ISO 22000 family
worked says, “ Our thoughts go primarily Megawatt Park, ESKOM’s headquarters (an
of standards continues to grow, the ISO
to Anders’ family and relatives, who very energy giant). Addressing the ESKOM Sus-
subcommittee responsible – SC 17,
suddenly lost a loved one and a friend. At tainability Committee, Mr. Steele emphasized
Management systems for food safety,
SIS, many of us will remember his tireless, the benefits of standardization for promoting
within ISO/TC 34, Food products –
non-negotiable, hard work and commitment sustainability. He drew attention to some new
areas of development such as coal-bed methane, is ensuring success by planning its
to have SIS project management use stand- strategy for the next five years.
ardized and established quantities and units biogas, etc. ESKOM gave an overview of their
implementation of ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and The subcommittee would like to
in standardization work.”
ISO 50001 (energy management). increase knowledge and use of the
In addition to standards, Mr. Thor had
The ISO Secretary-General concluded his ISO 22000 family of standards. Fol-
other passions. He was a two-time Swedish
basketball champion in the 1950s and played visit to SABS with a presentation at a work- lowing a survey conducted amongst
for many years after that. shop for small, medium and micro enterprises food industry experts and other
Our deepest condolences to his wife and (SMME), where he stressed the importance stakeholders, SC 17 developed the
three children. His knowledge and friendship of standards for enhancing business. 2011-2015 Strategic Plan to ensure
will be missed by all who knew him. that work progresses in a structured
Tyres on a roll manner and meets user needs.
African CEOs in standards safari The main objectives of the
Experts from around the world came together 2011-2015 strategy are :
CEOs of various African national standards in Kyoto, Japan for the plenary meeting of
• ISO 22000 should be the leading standard
bodies (NSBs) came together at a forum ISO technical committee ISO/TC 31, Tyres,
for food safety worldwide for organizations
organized by ISO and the South African rims and valves, in March 2012. Overall, the key objectives can be
of all types and sizes
Bureau of Standards (SABS) in Pilanesberg Progress was made on run-flat tyre stand- summarized as : accessibility, applicability,
Game Reserve, North West Province of South ards, snow grip performance on trucks and • Cooperation with the Codex Alimentarius involvement, transparency and dynamic
Africa in February 2012. buses and noise reduction among other topics. Commission will be strengthened response on market needs.
The event was an opportunity to discuss Participants at the CEO Forum organized by ISO and the South African Bureau of Standards The meeting was also an opportunity to • Tools facilitating use of the standards should For more information about ISO 22000
CEO responsibilities as leaders of national (SABS) in Pilanesberg Game Reserve. highlight and reinforce close coordination be easily accessible to users see : www.myiso22000.com.

32 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ ISO Focus + May 2012 ISO Focus + May 2012 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ 33
 a

Management Solutions Management Solutions

speaking the same language as the majority governance model that applies worldwide.

IT service
of our multinational customers globally. The model is under the stewardship of global
This strategic process baseline, necessary process sponsors and owners, as well as the
to deliver ICT services successfully, provides corporate quality organization.
a stable launch pad for cloud computing

management
services. These standards have helped us
improve our processes, performance and Finding an ISO/IEC
quality of delivery. 20000-certified provider
Without such a solid process baseline,
the complexities of cloud computing would
is one way to ease
ISO/IEC 20000 be difficult to attain. For example, we must
master change and configuration manage-
doubts.

eases transition ment in a standard IT environment before

Photo : Orange
launching into the cloud, and our product These processes underpin the delivery of

to cloud computing development processes must work well. our services, and together these roles ensure
that the business and performance objec-

for Orange Integrating certifications for

greater impact
tives are met through a system of controls,
regular review and process scorecards. The
Axel Haentjens is Vice President of Cloud
Computing at Orange Business Services.
evolution and improvement of the processes He was previously Head of Marketing, Brand
by Axel Haentjens Orange Business Services is a global are defined in process roadmaps, in terms
& External Communications for Orange and
Head of Strategy and Business Development
of operational objectives, performance,
Cloud computing – the delivery of computation, software appli-
organization delivering services in more for Equant. Before the merger between
than 220 countries and territories with a quality and security. Equant and Global One, Mr. Haentjens was
industry. However, some hesitate when This governance model is underpinned Head of Marketing for Global One, having
physical presence in 166. To deliver services
cations, data access, management and storage resources “ from the considering the promise of cloud computing.
moved from France Telecom Data Networks
on such a global scale, we operate seamless by our ISO 9001 quality, ISO/IEC 20000 and Services where he served as Vice
cloud ”, i.e from infrastructure at a remote location, has grown into Trust and cloud computing adoption go global processes managed under a corporate IT service and ISO/IEC 27001 information President.
a multi-billion euro market since its birth in 2007. Finding a global hand-in-hand. Migrating to the cloud raises
information and communications technology (ICT) provider certified questions and concerns for enterprise cus-
Cloud computing is an evolution of IT managed services. It allows any IT resource to be consumed as a
tomers, particularly related to their secure, utility, from simple applications to a complete server infrastructure, and be delivered as on-demand services
to ISO/IEC 20000-1:2011, Information technology – Service man- business-critical applications. Finding an
over a network. This lets enterprises benefit from advanced IT services without extensive capital investment,
skilled staff and ongoing operational headaches. Computing resources become elastic, scaling up and down future clouds
agement – Part 1: Service management system requirements, is one ISO/IEC 20000-certified ICT provider is one
to suit seasonal demand, always with the latest upgrades, security and performance features. It can be
implemented as “public cloud” open to any Internet users; as a “virtual private cloud,” which is a shared
service but delivered over a service provider's private network; or as a “private cloud,” which utilizes
way to mitigate the doubts and fears of organizations evaluating their way to ease the doubts of those companies resources dedicated to the enterprise.
vertical
clouds
community
entrée into the world of cloud computing. considering the transition. This infographic charts how cloud computing technology has evolved and where it is heading. inter clouds

cloud journey
clouds

By 2014, sales of cloud computing ISO/IEC 20000 open

products and services are expected to

Some hesitation key to customer trust clouds personal clouds

generate nearly EUR 43 billion in annual Thanks to cloud computing, organizations how IT is evolving
ISO/IEC 20000 implementation and
revenue, and the cloud computing model can have access to powerful and flexible certification is the logical objective of a
will propel IT growth and expansion for computing capabilities – and with more global ICT provider like Orange Business
the next 20 years, according to market flexibility than ever, they can externalize all Services. The release of the latest 2011 Internet 2013 2014 2015
intelligence provided by the International or part of their information systems, work- version of the International Standard com-
there were
100 million active
smartphone sales
increased 74% in 2010 approximately 60% of server 90% of organizations will Morgan Stanley
to 295 million devices
Data Corporation (IDC). Today, the model spaces, servers, applications and storage. pletes our alignment with ITIL V3 (2011)
Web sites on the Internet
at the beginning of 2011
workloads will be virtualized
10% of total number of physical
support corporate applications
on personal devices
estimates that the
mobile Web will be
servers sold will be virtualized per month: 5.1 exabytes of business bigger than desktop
promises enterprises great benefits in terms This allows organizations to personalize IT qualifications, and enables us to validate
mobility
with an average of 10 virtual machines
per physical server sold
Internet traffic,
2.3 exabytes business managed
Internet

of IT agility, flexibility, scalability and computing infrastructures to their needs our alignment with the widely adopted Web 2.0 177 million active Skype users
10 virtual machines per physical host
means 80-100 million VM per year
IP traffic,
0.7 exabytes business mobile data

cost reductions. and to the specific requirements of their ITIL IT service management approach by
110 million tweets per day
156 million public blogs 2010 2011 2012
you virtualization 500 million active Facebook
are 80% of enterprises
now have a virtualization
users the number of physical servers
in the world: 50 million
mobile malware targeting
Android and jailbroken iPhones;
per month: 3.7 exabytes of
business Internet traffic,
here cloud program one-third of Intel-based servers in 48 million tablets sold 1.7 exabytes business
enterprises are virtualized managed IP traffic,
300,000 Web sites hosted on 0.1 exabytes business
business challenges Amazon EC2 mobile data
inflexibility globalization emerging markets

are you planning to build 20%

a private cloud infrastructure? have no
plans
top concerns for implementing top reasons for adopting
public cloud services cloud computing 50%
moving to yes 30%
security 37%
lower implementation costs 53% cloud services are thinking
about it
lower ongoing costs 48% 1 build a catalog of services
network availability 23% 2 visualize future use
new features faster 46% 3 perform discovery and analysis
service levels 19% 4 build a proof of concept
better support for mobile workers 34%
5 right-source the services
supplier lock-in 8% per-use pricing matches volatility 30% 6 plan for transition
7 execute
0% 10% 20% 30%
Photo : Orange

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 8 optimize – and start again

Sources: Netcraft, Berg Insight, Skype, Nielson, Gartner, JP Morgan, F-Secure, Cisco, Orange Business Services, Orange Labs

A graphic projection of the evolution of cloud computing from 2010 to 2015 and beyond illustrates the great promise of the cloud computing model
Orange Business Services’ new Cloud Data Centre in Val de Reuil, France. in terms of IT agility, flexibility, scalability and cost reductions. Photo : Orange

34 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ ISO Focus + May 2012 ISO Focus + May 2012 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ 35
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Management Solutions

Greenhouse gas
security management system certifications
– and the common governance requirements
and continuous improvement loops inherent

emissions
in all three standards.
A decision was made from the beginning
to introduce these standards progressively
and in an integrated manner, based on the
Orange Business Services governance model,
and built on our initial corporate ISO 9001
certification. This gives Orange a regularly
audited and certified quality management
system based on best practice ICT service
management processes, underpinned by a
standard set of security controls. Photo : Jérôme Galland – Getty Images for Orange.

Orange Business
Services delivers
services in more than
220 countries and
territories. ISO 14067 to enable worldwide
We have even gone a step further than
comparability of carbon footprint data
State-of-the-art hardware at Orange’s Cloud Data Centre is operated in accordance with
the ISO management system standards, by
ISO/IEC 20000 IT service management system requirements.
integrating ISAE 3402, the new international
standard for service organization assurance
engagements, into our governance model. For example, we have developed and Orange Business Services encourages
To be clear, these standards are integrated optimized the operation of our change advi- enterprise customers to assess providers by by Herbert Hirner
at the process and operational level, given sory board and our problem management looking at the certifications they hold that

In 2010, over 30 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide were released

that the underlying audit system is not process to take advantage of these manage- address the challenges of cloud computing.
ment system certifications. The improved By choosing an ISO/IEC 20000-certified livelihoods because of anthropogenic CO2
harmonized across ISO and ISAE. Fur-
productivity and customer satisfaction that provider, enterprises can have the assur- into the atmosphere worldwide – that is an enormous amount of the emissions.
thermore, from 2013 we plan to integrate
results go hand-in-hand with the targeted ance they need to take the first step in the In 1972 – already 40 years ago – the
our ISO 14001 environmental management greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. The upcoming
growth we are seeking. cloud computing journey. As a result, they Club of Rome alarmed the public with its
system as well.
will achieve clear business benefits backed International Standard ISO 14067, Carbon footprint of products – forecasts on “ The Limits to Growth ”. By
Standards underpin global by essential global quality, services and Requirements and guidelines for quantification and communication, 2005, it had become evident that humans
Standards support cloud have a significant impact on climate change
market strategy security management standards. is being developed to increase transparency in quantifying and report-
objectives through greenhouse gas emissions – a fact
We participate with the Distributed
Not surprisingly, our global customer ing CO2 emissions over the entire lifecycle of products and services – recognized by the eight leading industrialized
Orange Business Services is success- Management Task Force (DMTF) in its
fully delivering on its promise and creating base expects Orange Business Services to Cloud Management Work Group to advance from production to recycling or waste disposal. The document is cur- nations (G8) at their summit in Gleneagles,
notable momentum in the cloud computing achieve certifications on an international international cloud computing and virtu- rently at the stage of Draft International Standard (DIS) and expected Scotland, that year. The G8 summit was also
market. The company has confirmed its level. Today more than ever, our customers alization management standards that will to be finalized for publication in March 2014. attended by representatives from developing
cloud computing ambition and strategy as and markets are seeking additional assur- allow more choice for IT customers via and newly industrialized countries, such
part of its “Conquests 2015” programme. ance that their service providers are audited interoperability and portability between as China, India, Brazil and Mexico, and
Cloud computing is one of the key growth regularly to ensure expected service levels cloud environments. In addition, Orange from numerous international organizations.
drivers defined by Orange in its five-year wherever they are providing services. ITIL has joined the Cloud Security Alliance In addition to lifecycle analysis, the Significant anthropogenic
plan, and we aim to generate EUR 500 processes, ISO MSS, and ISAE assurance as a corporate member to lend its global new standard will focus on greenhouse influences
million via the cloud model in 2015. It is reports help us to convince our customers expertise to promoting best practices for gases, globally the most important envi- Consumers will have
also part of our own service transformation that Orange is more than capable of deliver- security within cloud computing. ronmental factor, and ensure that carbon In its synthesis report on climate change
programme. ing to their expectations. The objective of Orange Business Services footprint data will become comparable published in 2007, the Intergovernmental all the information for
Launching these sophisticated services Cloud computing creates numerous market it to make it easy for enterprises to access worldwide for the first time. ISO 14067 Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated assessing a product.
would be very difficult without the spring- opportunities for organizations, and helps the IT resources they need by providing a will also be consistent with other standards that the climate system is unequivocally
board provided by our integrated manage- address many of their IT challenges. By one-stop-shop for a range of cloud com- such as ISO 14025 (environmental labels warming. This is evidenced by observations
ment system and governance model. Our optimizing IT infrastructures and enhancing puting services. By taking an integrated and declarations), ISO 14044 (lifecycle of an increase in globally averaged air and In addition, the G8 leaders agreed on an
ITIL V3 aligned processes for IT delivery productivity, cloud computing can enable approach, Orange can deliver network and assessment) and BSI PAS 2050 (specifi- sea temperatures, extensive melting of snow action plan for climate protection meas-
have been improved over a number of years companies to do more with their IT budgets. IT “as-a-service” with end-to-end service cation for the assessment of the lifecycle and ice as well as a rise in the mean global ures, and recognized the Kyoto Protocol
through our programme of ISO management However, choosing the right cloud comput- level commitments wherever our customers greenhouse gas emissions of goods and sea level. As a result, millions of people as a potential regulating mechanism for
system standards (MSS). ing service provider is critical. do business.  services). are threatened with losing their homes and market-based incentive systems.

36 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ ISO Focus + May 2012 ISO Focus + May 2012 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ 37
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Management Solutions Standards in Action

Thus, numerous assessment models have

been developed in recent years. However,
there were no suitable tools for comparing
these classifications, no agreement on a
common terminology, nor were the assess-
ments generated sufficiently documented
to allow for objective analyses.

Comparing data,
communicating quickly
Now, for the first time, ISO 14067 will
enable the quantification of CO2 emissions measures to reduce emissions and raise
over the entire lifecycle of products and the efficiency of the value creation chain.
services, and ensure that the relevant values Thanks to the new standard, this optimized
become comparable worldwide. carbon footprint can be communicated to
The standard also covers communica- consumers through traceable information.
tion of carbon footprint data to consum- As a result, consumers will have all the
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Klaus ers. Communication tools of claim, label quality information required for assessing
Radunsky, Convenor of the ISO working and declaration used by ISO to date are
group that is developing ISO 14067. a product. by Debbie Chin
complemented by an external communica- ISO 14067, developed by 107 experts
tion report (ECR) and a carbon footprint from more than 30 countries, makes reli-
B
Rebuilding
Carbon footprint reveals performance report (CFPR). able and comparable parameters available etween September 2010 and
polluters While the existing tools require time- to enterprises and consumers. This is a
consuming studies or programmes, the
December 2011, a series of
To effectively reduce greenhouse gas emis- significant preparatory step towards the
ECR and CFPR serve to provide con- powerful earthquakes wreaked

from
sions, one must first identify their sources. reduction of CO2 emissions worldwide. ISO
The carbon footprint concept highlights the
sumers with rapid, traceable and, hence, experts, however, are already considering devastation in New Zealand’s
reliable information that depends less on further actions. Canterbury region, particularly
contribution of individual products to the
quantification. “ The next goal would be a ‘ personal car-
greenhouse effect. Attempts were made to in Christchurch. What has been

rubble
draw up a kind of balance sheet by adding bon footprint ’. Just imagine the dynamism
the country’s response and
up all the carbon dioxide emissions caused that can be created if companies pursue the
by a product throughout its lifecycle. The next goal would objective of manufacturing the product what role can standards play in
be a “ personal carbon with the smallest carbon footprint,” says the face of natural disasters ?
Dr. Radunsky. 
footprint”.
On 4 September 2010, a magnitude 7.1
earthquake struck the city of Christchurch
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Klaus and the surrounding region of Canterbury.
Radunsky, department head at Umwelt- This earthquake triggered a rippling effect
bundesamt (Environment Agency Austria) throughout the region, with major earth-
Austria’s representative in the World Climate quakes occurring on 26 December 2010,
Council, and Convenor of the ISO work- 22 February 2011, 13 June 2011, and 23
ing group that is developing ISO 14067, December 2011.
explains : “ This new standard is certainly
a milestone. ISO 14067 is a very important
GNS Science, New Zealand’s leading
seismic hazards research organization, says
Lessons learned help
tool for obtaining a good indication of areas
in which greenhouse gases can be reduced.
the ground accelerations in Christchurch
on 22 February 2011 were the largest ever
New Zealand be better prepared
On the other hand, the standard can help recorded for a New Zealand earthquake.
raise awareness of this issue. After all, the Massive cracks formed in the roads of Christchurch, New Zealand by a devastating earthquake
decarbonization of our economy eventu- in February 2011.
ally depends very strongly on individual Standards New Zealand
consumption decisions.”
Photo : Hans Leitner

is working to ensure damage to buildings. Tragically, a total of on rebuilding and repair work that form
standards reflect lessons 185 people died, and many others suffered part of the recovery from the Canterbury
Benefits of ISO 14067 serious injuries. earthquakes ”.
learned.
How can manufacturers and service pro- These events led New Zealand’s govern- These recommendations include the
viders benefit from ISO 14067 ? Put simply, Herbert Hirner is a freelance Austrian ment to form the Royal Commission of review of several New Zealand building
they can identify the lifecycle processes journalist and regular contributor to Although the September 2010 earth- Inquiry into Building Failure Caused by standards to support the Canterbury rebuild.
CONNEX Journal published by Austrian the Canterbury Earthquakes. In October A final report is expected to be delivered
that significantly contribute to the carbon quake was of greater magnitude, it was
Standards. This is an edited version of
footprint of a product or service in an initial an article first published in the January/ the magnitude 6.2 earthquake of 22 Febru- 2011, this commission released an interim to New Zealand’s Governor-General in
screening. Then, they can take targeted February 2012 edition. ary 2011 that led to the most deaths and report to “ inform early decision making November 2012.

38 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ ISO Focus + May 2012 ISO Focus + May 2012 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ 39
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Standards in Action

The Government also established a new and benefits to determine the level of fire
agency, the Canterbury Earthquake Recov- protection that should be prescribed.”
ery Authority, to lead and coordinate the
region’s recovery. The big picture
Beyond individual building issues, gov-
Seismicity – developing a model
ernment officials and industry leaders are
GNS Science has built a national seismic increasingly aware that resilience should
hazard model (NSHM) to predict the likely be built into our overall systems to deal
magnitude and frequency of major earth- with extraordinary circumstances. In this
quakes. Developed for use in engineering context, resilience is defined as putting
design, NSHM was updated in 2010, before processes in place that help communities
the September 2010 earthquake. anticipate and, if necessary, respond and
As well as modelling earthquakes on recover from disruptive challenges.
known faults, the updated model now allows I see an important role for standards in
for earthquakes on hidden faults up to a addressing resilience both in New Zealand
region-dependent maximum magnitude. and internationally. Resilience standards
For Canterbury, the new seismic model could be developed in a similar way to
raised this magnitude from 7.0 to 7.2, just how risk management standards, such
encompassing the magnitude 7.1 of the as ISO 31000:2009, Risk management –
September 2010 earthquake. This type of information is now being Roger Shelton, Senior Structural Engi- Principles and guidelines, have evolved
fed into standards development and review neer, Building Research Association of to offer organizations and communities
processes. In building, fire protection, infra- New Zealand, and a member of several a process-oriented approach to deal with
structure, and risk management, Standards national and international standards com- complex and unexpected problems.
Codifying building New Zealand is working with government, mittees including the one responsible for
standards in legislation communities, and industry to ensure our NZS 3604, says that codifying building
helps to ensure best standards reflect lessons learned from standards in New Zealand legislation helps I see an important
recent events. An important aspect of this to ensure best practice. He says : “ After
practice. work is also to identify what standards are
role for standards in
the September 2010 and February 2011
working well. addressing resilience.
earthquakes in Canterbury, early findings
suggest most buildings that met current
Following the 22 February 2011 earth-
Standards as building blocks standards fared well.”
quake, GNS Science updated NSHM again, Standards New Zealand is currently
to account for the region’s active ongoing In New Zealand, many building stand- He cautions, however, that standards
considering resilience planning and many
sequence of earthquakes. This led to an ards are codified in the country’s building development is an iterative process : “ Build-
other areas of work.
increase of the seismic hazard factor for legislation and building code. For example, ings that failed through the Canterbury
The Canterbury rebuild is a huge challenge
Christchurch from 0.22 to 0.30, a large NZS 3604:2011, Timber-framed buildings, earthquakes may have been built to standard
to New Zealand, and industry, government
rise reflecting knowledge gained from the is a core resource for demonstrating compli- at the time, but our knowledge continues
and local communities must continue to
Canterbury earthquakes. ance with the New Zealand Building Code. to grow and, based on that knowledge, Christchurch Anglican Cathedral in New Zealand prior to the devastating earthquake
work together to ensure success. Extending
standards continue to evolve. of February 2011 which destroyed the magnificent spire and stained glass windows
over the entrance. beyond physically rebuilding Canterbury,
“ And while standards development this great effort has social, environmental,
is important, it’s equally crucial that we economic, and cultural dimensions, too. 
ensure building professionals and consum- One expert is Chris Mak, who has over buildings to have dedicated water supplies
ers are well informed, and compliance with 25 years’ experience in fire protection, and in case public water service is interrupted.”
appropriate standards is achieved. currently manages the technical services In light of the earthquakes, the review
“ One of New Zealand’s advantages is business unit of insurance broker and risk committee of NZS 4541:2007, Automatic About the author
that we are a relatively small country where management provider, AON New Zealand. fire sprinkler systems, which Chris Mak
government, industry, and consumer rep- Chris Mak says that, overall, fire protec- chairs, is examining seismic provisions for Debbie Chin is
resentatives come together to solve issues. tion devices (such as sprinklers) that meet water tanks and considering the inclusion Chief Executive
That allows a nimbleness and responsiveness applicable standards performed well in the of an appendix to the revised standard that of Standards New
to issues that might be harder to achieve in Canterbury earthquakes : “ What we found introduces guidelines for steps to take fol- Zealand, a role
other parts of the world.” after the September 2010 and February 2011 lowing a natural disaster. The draft standard she has held since
earthquakes is that most sprinkler system is expected to be released for public com- 2007. Among her
The standards difference damages were attributed to building col- ment later in 2012, with publication of the previous roles she
lapse, or mechanical damage by building final standard scheduled for March 2013. has been Deputy
Since the September 2010 earthquake, element failures. Chris Mak says : “ Another aspect of fire Director, General
engineers and building experts have worked “ Still, there have been several lessons protection that needs further consideration Corporate and Information, Ministry
closely with government officials and learned for future fire protection stand- is what happens if there is more than one of Health, and Advisor for the Depart-
Canterbury communities to identify issues ards development, including the collapse disaster, for example if a major fire occurs ment of Prime Minister and Cabinet. A
Red tape reading “ danger keep out ” preventing people crossing a bridge. Taken in Christchurch that need to be addressed as Cantabrians of about a dozen constructed water tanks after an earthquake. There is work to be Chartered Accountant, she is a graduate
after the earthquake which struck on 22 February 2011. begin to rebuild. and the potential need for some classes of done in assessing risk and analyzing costs of Victoria University, Wellington.

40 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ ISO Focus + May 2012 ISO Focus + May 2012 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ 41
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360° 360°

established ratings if ever called upon in

a real-life fire.
This is where our committee discus-
sions on ISO/TC 21/SC 5 play a key role
in identifying and comparing trends in the

Safety first
global fire safety market. During this pro-
cess, we receive input from manufacturers,
regulatory agencies, contractors, insurance
industry and fire-code enforcement offi-
cials, and others. This input can be from
direct committee attendees as well as from
comments submitted during the balloting
Global regulations protecting process from a wider range of principal
and observer members.
lives and property
A fire event in one part
of the world is quickly
communicated to a
Photo : property of Victaulic.

broad audience around

the globe.

This process enables us to share experi-

ences and cross-train our members with
by Len Swantek a broad range of knowledge in fire safety
product testing and standards development.

There is much more to fire quality and most comprehensive fire safety
product qualification standards possible.
Before regulatory procedures even begin,
a tremendous amount of time is invested
Pre-testing to these stringent standards
is a key function in determining critical
protection regulation than sim- attributes, as well as individual compo-
Some producers have more than 100 in research and development. For example, nent durability that make up the overall
ply following the rules. Helping different projects in the approval cycle at ensuring proper water supply and distribution performance ratings of the end device or
shape them is equally impor- any given time, along with hundreds of over a given commodity, material hazard complete system. This process would not
tant. In this article, I will give follow-up examinations and annual produc- or occupancy is at the forefront of the fire be complete without replicating known field
a description of the regulatory tion external audits each year. sprinkler designer’s agenda. scenarios that could be encountered, applying
Given the critical applications and Product and technology designs and process technology and even re-engineering
process from product design to the broad range of systems in which fire future concepts that are coming through products as necessary. At the subcommittee

Photo : property of Victaulic.

post production, and explain the protection products are applied, it is not manufacturers’ internal evaluation pro- level, the combined contributions from a
role and importance of stand- surprising that there should be so much cesses are judged against a wide range wide range of expertise generate valuable
ards development in support of scrutiny. However, it does require consider- of both national and international per- discussions and collaboration.
able management and coordination to meet formance standards. This validates their Although this can be difficult and time-
the global fire safety industry. both agency and customer requirements. long-term durability, serviceability and consuming in the consensus building process,
the end result is a well-balanced criterion for Fire safety standards incorporate a wide range of laboratory data obtained by replicating known
Getting the groundwork right each particular area of product specializa- field scenarios.
tion in the standard (fire sprinklers, valve
Regulation is a highly complex mat- products and other related components).
ter for manufacturers, code enforcement evaluations by more than 35 different standard used in the region where the initial
agencies worldwide. For time and cost agency qualification took place.
officials and property owners alike. With Life-long assessment
considerations, some manufacturers use This is also an important feature of our
global emphasis on improving fire safety,
Development of a new product is a lengthy a tier-based approach to their third-party global committee collaborations, in that
today’s manufacturers are filing new prod-
process, often involving many months, and testing. For example, a manufacturer may some regions with less developed fire safety
uct approval applications with the major
sometimes years. However, this is time well- select the most important product certifica- standards and infrastructure can benefit from
certifying agencies at a rate not seen since tions required to capture its initial market
spent and, while most people would often other delegates having more experience in
the early 1990s. The output of this work take this for granted in a sprinkler system objectives and a return on its product fire safety product testing and available data
yields a large amount of laboratory test installed in their workplace or home, there development investment. from their regional laboratory resources.
data, that is invaluable to ISO technical is no substitute for these labour-intensive These initial certifications and test data To facilitate actual performance testing,
committee ISO/TC 21, Equipment for fire and costly product qualifications in the can often be used to achieve the next level product samples, pipe of various specifi-
protection and fire fighting, subcommit- event of an actual fire. of agency approvals in a particular region cations and other related equipment must
tee SC 5, Fixed firefighting systems using A single fire safety system component that also follows a similar fire code, or that be organized and shipped to applicable
water, in their efforts to develop the highest can be subjected to testing and/or technical recognizes and follows the performance agency facilities globally. This is another

42 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ ISO Focus + May 2012 ISO Focus + May 2012 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ 43
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360°

time-critical operation as any delays by a codes and standards committees to quickly Duplicating these events and conduct- Working together is important, and we
manufacturer could result in a lost position become aware of a potential need to enact ing product performance trials becomes greatly appreciate the focus and individual
in the testing laboratory’s queue. At this new legislation, revise existing building the task of regulators and manufacturers. efforts of all of our committee members.
stage, documentation must already be avail- and fire codes and create both short- and Testing a wide range of samples to new or The safety of our communities is, after all,
able in multiple languages for examiners to long-term solutions for installers, inspectors proposed standards is serious work, making the number one consideration of everyone
assemble equipment themselves based on and building owners. fire protection one of the most regulated in this business. 
an assumed level of skill equal to that of the The scale of fire events and related cir- industries in the world.
end user. On average, the testing process cumstances are also often matched with the Agency testing is among the most exacting
takes six to nine months to complete. degree of urgency in making critical changes of all market segments. Although heavily About the author
The approval authorities are also con- to the applicable codes and standards. For influenced by the insurance industry, fire
cerned with the manufacturing and assem- example, if a fire investigation reveals a protection and fire safety are also among Len Swantek is
bly locations of specific finished parts or product performance deficiency in one the most widely recognized areas of public Director of Global
sub-assemblies. Those parts that are most region, this information can be easily dis- concern globally, irrespective of cultural or Regulatory Com-
critical to the overall performance of the seminated and brought to the committee for demographic influence. pliance at Victaulic.
finished assembly will have greater regula- discussion and action as deemed appropriate. We can all learn from real-life situations He is also Chair
tory oversight. If the manufacturer produces SC 5 recently engaged in such discussions and effect change where needed – whether of ISO/TC 21,
in multiple locations worldwide, this can to help other delegates understand the specific this means collaborating in committees with Equipment for fire
greatly increase costs as each location must circumstances that led to a regional product manufacturers and regulatory bodies to protection and fire-
be certified and audited regularly. recall and revision of the related qualification create the most well-rounded and effective fighting, subcom-
Independent of this process, the commit- Audit management starts when a prod-
In the event of a non-conformance at this standards. In fact, some of the most beneficial regulations, or joining with contractors and mittee SC 5, which oversees standards
tee could receive comments, suggestions uct certification is officially released and
stage, a manufacturer risks losing valuable work to improve the effectiveness of fire end-users to help solve real-world problems governing “ fixed fire-fighting systems
or questions raised by any of our global only ends when the product is no longer
time to market and must re-submit for a re- safety standards and product testing is often and build on shared learning to develop using water ” within the scope of the
delegates related to existing standards or produced. Through various surveillance
evaluation, but only after design modifica- the result of real-world events. new products. ISO 6182 series.
for future consideration as a revision or procedures and factory production control
tions have been finalized and documented.
future standard. For the manufacturers, audits, products are re-tested annually as
Upon successful completion of all testing
this can be particularly concerning, as any a minimum requirement. Some regulatory
to the applicable standards, the certifying
future change to the standard could affect authorities re-examine products quarterly
authority will issue its final report with all
the type and amount of certification testing – and sometimes even weekly – to ensure
relevant data, along with a formal certificate
required to qualify the end product. high-quality performance to regional agency
or other documents confirming compliance
As such, manufacturers can only go to codes and standards, and to check that
with the relevant standards.
market when they have secured all appli- manufacturing processes remain unchanged.
cable certifications and each product or Auditing is especially important since
Global stages and audit process codes are constantly evolving to improve
package carries the appropriate agency
With more than 35 regional agencies markings. Once complete, only then can health and safety as a result of real-world
throughout North America, Europe, the results be reviewed and data fed back to factors. A clear understanding of the most
Middle East, Africa, India and Asia-Pacific the research and development teams. All up-to-date requirements is vital to the suc-
– and each having individual jurisdictional project correspondence is then archived cessful completion of the approval cycle
authority over specific systems or applications and manufacturers move on to the audit and for maintaining the ongoing produc-
– approvals for the complete global market management process, the final phase in the tion reviews.
can take up to a year or more to complete. regulatory cycle.
Ongoing safety watch
Manufacturers of fire safety products work
with regulators, code officials and compet-
ing manufacturers to overcome problems
encountered in the various industries and
to better protect property and lives.
Changes to codes and standards are
frequently driven by trends in construction
techniques – some for instance are prompted
by the push towards lighter weight and more
recyclable materials. They are also driven
increasingly by immediate events that, on

Photo : property of Victaulic.

the surface, may seem unlikely in certain
areas or impossible to duplicate in other
market segments.
Through instant global media and
advanced web tools, a fire event in one part
of the world is quickly communicated to a
broad audience around the globe. The open- Qualification testing is a key function in determining individual component durability that make up the overall performance of the end device
ness of today’s communications allows the or complete system.

44 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ ISO Focus + May 2012 ISO Focus + May 2012 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ 45
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360°

ISO 26000 in China

Comprehensive
social responsibility
management manual booklet.
The State Grid Corporation promotes SR
implementation across the organization. Press conference announcing China’s first SR report based on ISO 26000.

of the People's Republic of China (SAC), A large number of universities, research Future growth
under the authorization of ISO, to help institutions and other educational establish-
drive the development of SR in the country. ments now feature courses on the subject. The growth of SR should improve organi-
In addition to the standard, the concept is SR is changing management practices in zations’ decision making, risk assessment,
backed by a number of other recent initia- China, the exact manner depending on the financial and non-financial success and
tives including : structure, nature, approach and farsighted- long-term sustainability.
It is also hoped that SR will be admitted
• SR has been written into China’s ness of the organization involved.
into the strategies for national governance,
revised company law Some local governments and companies
and that the national government will
• The state-owned Assets Supervision have adopted SR development performance
play a more active role in initiating and
and Administration Commission has as the assessment indicator, demonstrating
supervising SR.
stated that national enterprises should their drive and determination to build effec-
For companies, sustainable development
implement SR tive SR management systems.
needs to be a core element of new, greener
• The Shenzhen and Shanghai stock Examples of other organizations embrac-
development models.
exchanges have released SR guidance ing SR include : If Chinese SR is to go on growing, we
for listed companies • Jinan Sunny Sister Domestic Service need to see cooperation, flexibility and
• Some local governments have estab- Co., Ltd has released the first Chinese steady determination across the country.
lished SR programmes and guides report on SR based on ISO 26000 One day – perhaps soon – Chinese com-
• The State Grid Corporation has panies will regularly appear as case studies
• The China Textile Industry Associa-
released the “ Guide for implemen- in international forums and the world’s
tion, China Association of Industrial
tation of social responsibility ” to leading business schools. 
Enterprises and other industrial organi-
The State Grid Corporation encourages the safe use of electricity and energy saving on campus. enterprises in its own industry, and
zations have released SR guides for
their sectors. has implemented a pilot scheme for
A new way of doing business Moreover, numerous organizations,
responsibility management
• COSCO Group has implemented
About the author
including social bodies, communities, Dr. Chen Wang,
indexing the management of sustain-
investors and research institutions, have Assistant Research
consideration of economic, environmental, able development.
by Chen Wang adopted and are implementing SR. Professor, is
and social responsibilities. This change in
Deputy Director of
Less than two years after publication, ISO 26000:2010, Guidance
thinking has enabled Chinese people to
assess themselves and their activities with International approach the Social Respon-
a new, longer-term perspective. sibility and Credit
on social responsibility, has had a significant impact worldwide. In Over recent years, China has greatly Research Office, in
China, while some of the standard’s principles were initially unfamil- strengthened its SR-related international the quality manage-
A solid start involvement and links. In addition to adopt-
iar, it is being rapidly and broadly accepted. ment branch of the
The movement towards social responsibil- ing the concepts, principles, management China National Institute of Standardiza-
ity (SR) in China is well underway. Since the tools and assessment standards of SR, China tion. She specializes in social responsibil-
Traditionally, the notion of social respon- ideas on the subject, this Chinese approach initial release of a responsibility report on has welcomed independently authenticated ity and sustainability. Chen Wang is an
sibility in China centred mainly on charitable has evolved. national enterprises in 2006, Chinese com- international institutions such as Global expert in ISO project committee ISO/PC
and social activities for the public good. There is now a greater emphasis on : panies have taken a particularly strong lead. Compact and Global Report Initiative. 250, Sustainability in event management,
With the growing momentum of social sustainable development; compromise The Chinese edition of ISO 26000 was In international forums on SR, Chinese ISO/TMB/SGDG 1, Sustainability guide
Jinan Sunny Sister Domestic Service Co., Ltd
responsibility as good business practice, and between stakeholders; mutual understanding; published in November 2011. It was trans- SR report (2010), and China’s first SR report contributors have a significant presence drafting group, and the ISO social respon-
the absorption of western and international balance; and the careful, multidimensional lated by the Standardization Administration based on ISO 26000 (September 2011). and continue to increase their participation. sibility post publication organization.

46 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ ISO Focus + May 2012 ISO Focus + May 2012 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ 47
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New Releases New Releases Coming Up

Adobe Extensible 360°

Metadata Platform (XMP) 35th ISO General Assembly

Now an ISO standard The American National Standards

Institute (ANSI) will host the 35th ISO
General Assembly in San Diego, USA,
from 19 to 21 September 2012. An open
session on innovation and sustainability
by Elizabeth Gasiorowski-Denis will be held during the event.
The June issue of ISO Focus+ will
Have you accessed or modified the data embedded in a file today ? feature an interview with Joe Bhatia,
President and CEO of ANSI, who
Even if you have not, there is a good chance you did recently. explains ANSI’s motivation to pro-
This is because the XMP (Extensible Metadata Platform) for tagging pose the USA as the venue for the ISO
information electronically has become part of the digital document General Assembly. He tells us about
the enormous changes that have taken
landscape of today and a new ISO standard will allow users to have
place in standardization since the last

Innovation
a thorough understanding of the XMP data model. time the USA hosted the ISO General
Assembly in 1973.
To know more about the role of ANSI
ISO 16684-1:2012, Graphic technology Metadata can greatly increase the utility
in international standardization, read
– Extensible metadata platform (XMP) speci- of resources in collaborative production
the June 2012 issue of ISO Focus+. 
fication – Part 1: Data model, serialization workflows. For example, an image file might
and core properties, offers content creators contain metadata such as its working title,
an easy way to embed meaningful infor- description, and intellectual property rights.
mation about their projects. It is useful for Accessing the metadata makes it easier to

E
ISO Focus+
anyone who wishes to use XMP metadata, perform tasks such as searching for images,
The electronic edition (PDF file) of
F
including both developers and end-users locating image captions, or determining
of applications that handle metadata for the copyright clearance to use an image. ar from being a barrier to innovation, its work include bar code and RFID tech- ISO Focus+ is accessible free of
resources of any kind. The new standard, ISO 16684-1:2012 International Standards can be an important nologies. The impact of these standards charge on the ISO Website www.
Adobe’s Extensible Metadata Platform is based on the XMP specification part 1 driver. According to the World Bank, one is enormous. From helping the supply iso.org/isofocus+. In addition, the

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(XMP) is a labeling technology that allows version developed by Adobe Systems. Estab- of the most important economic benefits of chain to track, acquire and manage data entire collection of previous issues of
users to embed data about a file, known as lishing this International Standard ensures standards it that they increase productive and information to identifying personnel, ISO Focus+ editions, plus ISO Focus
across a broad range of file formats and
metadata, into the file itself. With XMP, the stability and longevity of its definitions and innovative efficiency. But that’s not all. transactions and resources. (2004-2009), plus ISO Management
domains of usage.
desktop applications and back-end pub- and encourages broader integration and Standards are the building blocks that The issue also highlights the work of the
Future parts will address formal validation Systems magazine (2001-2009)
lishing systems gain a common method interoperability of XMP with existing influence technological advances and ISO, IEC and ITU Moving Picture Experts
of XMP and XML syntax for describing is also available free of charge as
for capturing, sharing, and leveraging this standards. determine innovation performance. In group (MPEG), which created one of the
XMP UI elements. In addition, ISO 16684- electronic files.

I
valuable metadata – opening the door for Mr. Biederich further noted : “ Effective particular, they influence the innovation most successful standards to date. Highly
1:2012 will serve as the foundation for
more efficient job processing, workflow metadata management has become increas- process by setting the direction for future praised with several Emmy awards, MPEG
automation, and rights management,
domain specific ISO activities, for example, ISO Update
ingly important with the explosion of digital technological developments. And they can has revolutionized the audio, video and
ISO/TC 42, Photography, working group
among other possibilities. This is where media. The Adobe Extensible Metadata be a catalyst for innovative thinking and multimedia experience of millions of people. The ISO Update, a monthly sup-
WG 18, Electronic still picture imaging,
ISO 16684-1 comes in. Platform (XMP) offers a powerful metadata creativity. Innovation can also help build a more plement to ISO Focus+ is available
or ISO/TC 171, Document management

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Adobe Systems Director of Engineering, infrastructure to the industry and is a widely With the evolution of technology and sustainable world. Examples of green electronically (PDF) in both English
applications, SC 2, Application issues,
Frank Biederich, commented : “ I am excited adopted technology, specifically in the area the explosion of the Internet, Websites, plastics and carbon capture and storage www.iso.org/isoupdate and French
WG 5, PDF/A.
to see ISO advance open and extensible of image and document management. social media and online services are giv- showcase the importance of standards for
ISO 16684-1:2012 was prepared by www.iso.org/fr/isoupdate.
metadata by releasing the first part of the “ The XMP platform not only helps ing rise to new challenges for industry and the proliferation and development of these
Adobe and was adopted by ISO/TC 130, The ISO Update informs readers
Adobe XMP specification as an Interna- operating system vendors and software consumers. International Standards can technologies.
Graphic technology, under a fast-track about the latest developments in
tional Standard. Going forward, this allows companies to seamlessly exchange media

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procedure. It is available from ISO national provide solutions. Finally, the issue looks at ISO’s ongoing
industry experts to influence the direction related information, it also has been adopted The June issue of ISO Focus+ will explore innovations in the standards developing the ISO world, including ISO member
member institutes. It may also be obtained
of XMP and drive innovation leveraging by camera manufacturers applying metadata these issues by highlighting key standards process, aimed at meeting stakeholder bodies’ CEO and address changes,
directly from the ISO Central Secretariat
an established metadata ecosystem. to content early in the creation process. that are revolutionizing industry. requirements and responding to market draft standards under circulation, as
(www.iso.org) through the ISO Store or by
“ With its continuous commitment to ISO 16684-1:2012 supplies two essential One key player is joint technical commit- needs, with the goal to be always faster, well as newly published, confirmed
contacting the Marketing, Communication
openness, Adobe will expand its engage- components of XMP metadata : data model tee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology, simpler and better. or withdrawn standards. It also in-
& Information department (sales@iso.org).
ment to other ISO groups in the future to

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and serialization. In addition, this part defines which provides a solid ICT infrastructure, To learn more about the benefits Interna- cludes a list of upcoming technical
help develop and standardize metadata a collection of core properties, which are defining the basic structures which new tional Standards bring to innovation, don’t
Elizabeth Gasiorowski-Denis is Editor in Chief, committee plenary meetings.
workflows based on XMP.” XMP metadata items that can be applied ISO Focus+. technologies will build on. Examples of miss the next issue of ISO Focus+. 

48 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ ISO Focus + May 2012 ISO Focus + May 2012 © ISO Focus+, www.iso.org/isofocus+ 49
1

Hard work
is one thing.
Exploitation
is another.

ISO 26000, Guidance on social responsibility

The first link in a global supply issues and seven over- Available from ISO national member
chain may be a little guy car- arching principles. All are institutes (listed with contact details
rying a heavy load. The differ- based on consensus on the ISO Website at www.iso.org)
ence between hard work and among 99 countries and and from the ISO Central Secretariat
Webstore at www.iso.org/isostore
exploitation depends on criteria 42 international organiza-
or e-mail to sales@iso.org.
like adequate pay, working con- tions from both public
ditions, health and safety and private sectors.
factors, and social pro- People worldwide now
tection. Labour prac- demand that organiza-
International Organization
tices comprise one of tions behave in a
2010-10-2
1 17:07:36

for Standardization – www.iso.org

the seven core subjects Discoverin
g ISO 26000
- E.indd
1

socially responsible
Central Secretariat
of social responsibility manner. ISO 26000 shows how 1, ch. de la Voie-Creuse
defined in ISO 26000, 1 16:33:47
– and the benefits of doing so. Case postale 56
along with 37 underlying Link up now !
2010-10-2

ISO 26000
- Project
overview
E.indd
1 CH-1211 Genève 20