Seasoned ISO experts may or may not know what ISO means in Greek. Isn't it interesting to know the root of words we use everyday? Most do know that ISO was founded in 1947 and its headquarters is in Geneva Switzerland. For the record, Switzerland is very beautiful.
The word ISO in Greek means equal. To add to this is to increase the level of Standards by intending to keep getting better. Now after 74 years ISO are experts at leading the efforts of new Standards. As Standards are revised, they increase in requirements. For example, in the newer versions of the Management System Standards, the concept of risk analysis and mitigation was brought to the forefront. Naturally, we think of risks in our personal lives with the choices we make. It's always amazing to think of how a group of people (experts in their fields) come together to decide on what is going to describe a level of Standard for a product or raw material.
When I was first introduced to the ISO Standards as a corporate buyer and I took the time to read through ISO 9001, I was extremely grateful of such expectations on corporations providing products. What most don't also know is that ISO Standards are intended for not only manufactured products but for also services. It's so great to see more service-oriented companies adopting the ISO requirements whether if they are pursuing ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 for protecting our environment. In fact, another cool fact is that MSI began as wanting to implement the ISO 14001 Standard in the southern California region. Soon realized more support and expertise was needed in the ISO 9001 Standard. Now with over 23 years over 70 companies, we have assisted to certification.
