ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies, with ANSI being the member body to ISO for the United States. ISO publishes international standards in many different areas, including notable standards pertaining to management systems and conformity assessment bodies and activities.
ISO Management System Standards
The ISO standards which set requirements for management systems, including the original ISO management system standard ISO 9001 for quality management systems, are among the most widely known ISO standards. Fulfillment of ISO management system standards is used worldwide, within any size or type of organization, to achieve goals and objectives in a particular domain such as quality, impact on the environment, occupational health and safety, or information security. Demonstrations of fulfillment of ISO management system standards can provide assurance as a basis for trust and confidence for various stakeholders that an organization’s goals and objectives are appropriate and will be achieved.
ISO CASCO Standards
In the conformity assessment field, ISO is also well known for the 170xx-series conformity assessment standards, especially those which set requirements for the competence, impartiality and consistent operation of accreditation bodies and conformity assessment bodies such as testing and calibration laboratories, inspection bodies, certification bodies (all collectively referred to as bodies). The 170xx series conformity assessment standards are under the responsibility of the ISO Committee for Conformity Assessment (CASCO) and these standards are informally referred to as the CASCO Toolbox. Fulfillment of the ISO CASCO Toolbox standards is used worldwide, for bodies of any size, to achieve competence, consistency and impartiality. Demonstration of fulfillment of ISO CASCO standards can provide assurance as a basis for trust and confidence in, and acceptance of, the conformity assessment deliverables a body produces.
Relationship Between ISO Management System and CASCO Standards
As the above description shows, there are linkages and parallels between the general characteristics of ISO management system standards and ISO CASCO standards. For example, both types of standards:
- are published by ISO (most ISO CASCO standards are also double branded as ISO/IEC standards)
- set requirements for activities in an organization
- can be implemented by organizations of any size
- can, through demonstrations of fulfillment, provide assurance to external stakeholders as a basis for their trust and confidence
In addition, the two types of standards are linked in that the content of both:
- include an arrangement of activities in a cycle that the organization works through continuously
- share a common structure and terminology with other standards of the same type (management system standards share a common terminology and structure with each other, and conformity assessment standards share a common terminology and structure with each other)
- include requirements for identifying and addressing risk
- include requirements for competence of persons, documented information, internal audit, management review, and corrective action
These similarities, specifically, sharing some general common characteristics, can lead to the impression that ISO CASCO standards are “types of” ISO management system standards. However, this would be an incorrect conclusion.
Having some characteristics that are the same is not by itself logical proof that one thing is a type of another. Many examples exist of two things sharing some common characteristics but one is not a type of the other: cats and dogs, operas and symphonies, cars and trucks.
However, when two things have some common characteristics, there is a possibility that one is a type of another. For example, pets and cats, musical performances and operas, automobiles and cars. As a result, the similarities between ISO management system standards and ISO CASCO standards cannot prove that ISO CASCO standards are a “type of” ISO management system standard. But those similarities do not prove they are not either.
Clearly the details of each must be considered to determine whether one is a type of another or whether these are simply different types of standards with some similarities. Some of the details of ISO management system standards and ISO CASCO standards will be reviewed in Part 2 to show, despite obvious similarities, one is not a type of another.
Read the Other Blog Posts in this Series:
ISO Management System Standards vs. Conformity Assessment Standards (Part 2)
ISO Management System Standards vs. Conformity Assessment Standards (Part 3)