The specification for barcodes on medication packaging has just been updated. The correct identification, labelling and tracking of medicinal products throughout the whole supply chain is essential to prevent fraudulent pills from sneaking onto the market. International machine-readable coding of product packaging is an effective way of achieving that, and [...]
The International Standard for IBAN has just been updated. Long gone are the days where money wired overseas took days to arrive, and sometimes didn’t arrive at all. The International Bank Account Number (IBAN) allows for the safe and rapid transfer of money all over the world, as it represents [...]
A new standard for language learning services just published With more than seven thousand different languages across the world, it’s no wonder that learning a new language is both appealing in the job market and useful for discovering new lands and cultures. Most languages take many hundreds of hours of [...]
Some 700 participants from national standards bodies of 141 countries attended a special virtual event organized by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) on 24 September 2020, in lieu of the General Assembly which was due to take place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. This has been described as the largest virtual [...]
The ISO committee for rubber products wins top ISO award. With some 29 million tonnes of rubber consumed around the world each year, the multibillion-dollar rubber industry touches all of us, everywhere. The ISO committee of experts that develops hundreds of standards to support it has just been honoured with [...]
A new ISO document for occupational health and safety metrics has just been published. Some 2.78 million people die as a result of work-related accidents or illness each year, on top of the hundreds of millions who suffer with injuries. The cost to all of society, therefore, is huge, giving [...]
No need to sink or swim as the ISO series of standards for lifejackets just got updated. Safety on the water is the name of the game when it comes to lifejackets, but only if they are fit for purpose and actually worn. Performance, safety and comfort, therefore, are paramount. [...]
2020 signals a 10-year countdown to the United Nations global goals, which is one reason why the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has chosen the theme of ‘sustainable shipping for a sustainable planet’ for this year’s World Maritime Day. The IMO has been instrumental in the adoption of sustainability measures that will cut [...]
A new standard for artichokes just published. Technically a flower that hasn’t yet bloomed, the humble artichoke has had a somewhat tumultuous history. Having been around since the Roman times, it was, for many centuries, banned from female consumption because of its so-called aphrodisiac properties. These days, however, it takes [...]
Health and safety at work not only save lives, they are essential to effective business performance. ISO 45001 is the first and only International Standard for occupational health and safety (OH&S) management, a result of agreed good practice from around the world. A new handbook has just been published to [...]