ISO to Develop New Management System Standard for Improving Road Safety on Global Level

ISO has just approved the creation of a new project committee to develop an international standard for road traffic safety managment systems

The secretariat of the project committee, ISO/PC 241, Road safety management, has been assigned to SIS Swedish Standards Institute, and its first meeting is expected to be held in Stockholm, 16-19 June 2008.ISO/PC 241 will bring together stakeholders including representatives of organizations responsible for road traffic infrastructure, public authorities, government departments, the transport sector, manufacturers, emergency services, health services and the variety of associations concerned by aspects of road safety (e.g. prevention of accidents, protection of children, care of and rights of accident victims).

The committee's job will be to develop a standard following the generic management system approach pioneered by ISO 9001:2000 for quality management and since applied to other objectives, including ISO 14001 (environmental management) and ISO 28000 (supply chain security).

ISO Secretary-General Alan Bryden commented: "As was highlighted at the 2nd United Nations Stakeholder Forum on Global Road Safety, in which ISO participated, in April 2007, road crashes kill more than 1.2 million a year, and for every single death there are 20 to 50 serious injuries. Road traffic injuries also impede economic development, with costs to emerging economies from fatalities and disabling injuries estimated at 1-2 % of GNP

"ISO already contributes to many aspects of road safety with more than 200 standards related to this field. The new standard to be developed by ISO/PC 241 will provide a structured, holistic approach to road safety that will complement government and industry programmes and initiatives. Backed by international agreement, it will help to fulfil the UN's objective of improving global road safety, e.g. by providing public services and private companies operating fleets of vehicles, includingfor transportation services, freight and car rentals,with a specific and globally recognized safety management system standard."

The future standard will be applicable to all actors with an influence on road safety, including companies and organizations involved in:

• the design, building and maintenance of roads and streets
• the design and production of cars, lorries and other road vehicles, including parts and equipment
• the transport of goods and people
• generating significant flows of goods and people
• having personnel working in road transport systems responding to road traffic accidents (emergency and first aid services
• rehabiliation of accident victims.

Potential users of the standard include transport and haulage companies, rental car companies and local government organizations responsible for the transport of goods and people.

The standard will provide a holistic approach to road traffic safety.

The intention is to help organizations:

• improve their performance in relation to road safety
• contribute to reducing accidents
• better meet regulatory requirements and societal expectations regarding road safety
• employ a process approach, including the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle and continual improvement, to set and achieve road safety objectives.

In addition, the standard may provide an internationally harmonized tool useful for organizations involved in:

• auditing the effectiveness of road safety programmes
• analysing accident black spots
• providing funding or awarding prizes for road safety.

ISO/PC 241 will work in the area of management system standards only. It will not encroach on regulatory responsibilities but seek to be complementary to the road safety work of intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the World Health Organization. In particular, it will work in close collaboration with the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration, of which ISO is already a member.

ISO/PC 241 will work in the area of management system standards only. It will not encroach on regulatory responsibilities but seek to be complementary to the road safety work of intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the World Health Organization. In particular, it will work in close collaboration with the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration, of which ISO is already a member.

Source: ISO Press Release 2008-02-18 Ref. 1113

http://www.iso.org/iso/pressrelease.htm?refid=Ref1113

All ISO Standards for Food Safety Management Systems Included on One CD

ISO has launched a new CD that contains the ISO 22000 series of standards developed to help operators in the food chain to implement food safety management systems. The CD also includes related standards for conformity assessment professionals involved in the certification of food safety management systems and in the accreditation of bodies carrying out such certification.

ISO 22000:2005, which gives the requirements for a food safety management system, is implemented by more than 700 organizations in some 60 countries. It and the supporting standards in the series can be used by any type of organization in the food chain, ranging from feed producers, primary producers through food manufacturers, transport and storage operators, including also subcontractors to retail and food service outlets.

The CD is designated the ISO Pack on Food Safety Management Systems and it includes the following standards and related documents:

• ISO 22000:2005, Food safety management systems - Requirements for any organization in the food chain and its corrigendum ISO 22000:2005/Cor1:2006 give the basic requirements for a food safety management system to ensure food safety along the food chain, up to the point of final consumption.
• ISO/TS 22004:2005, Food safety management systems - Guidance on the application of ISO 22000:2005 gives guidance on the use of ISO 22000, which is based on the principles of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system developed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and is designed to be applied together with relevant standards published by that organization.
• ISO 22005:2007, Traceability in the feed and food chain - General principles and basic requirements for system design and implementation gives the principles and specifies the basic requirements for the design and implementation of a feed and food traceability system.
• ISO/TS 22003:2007, Food safety management systems - Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of food safety management systems and ISO/IEC 17021:2006, Conformity assessment - Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems, have been developed for certification bodies and the accreditation bodies that approve them as competent. Certification of a food safety management system to ISO 22000 is not a requirement of the standard, but is one means of providing assurance that an organization has implemented a system for the management of food safety in line with its policy.

François Falconnet, Chair of ISO technical committee ISO/TC 34, Food products, which is responsible for the ISO 22000 series, comments: “As the introduction of food safety hazards can occur at any stage of the food chain, adequate control throughout the food chain is essential. That is why this ISO CD is very useful to harmonize good food safety practice worldwide, giving advice on how to implement a food safety management systems, facilitating traceability and building confidence in certification throughout supply chain”.

The ISO 22000 series was developed in collaboration with other interested organizations, for example, Codex Alimentarius and the ISO Committee on conformity assessment (ISO/CASCO), which is also responsible for ISO/IEC 1702.

At the publication date of the Quality News, we were still awaiting confirmation on pricing and where to purchase the ISO Pack on Food Safety Management Systems on CD (bilingual, English and French) formats. If you are interested in this information, please contact our office.

Otherwise, you can purchase the CD pack directly from ISO in Swiss francs.

Source: ISO Press Release 2007-12-11 Ref. 1095

http://www.iso.org/iso/pressrelease.htm?refid=Ref1095H

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