Who Decides on the Number of the Standard?

[keyplas - 2006]

Who Decides on the Number of the Stanadrd?

I was asked this question this morning and have no idea how to answer...does anyone know how ISO/IEC comes up with their numbers?

 

[Craig H.]

Keyplas

What a great question - I have no idea, but sure hope someone here knows.

Craig

 

[energy]

Re: Who Decides on the Number of the Stanadrd?

keyplas said:

I was asked this question this morning and have no idea how to answer...does anyone know how ISO/IEC comes up with their numbers?

Who comes up with numbering schemes for our streets, license plates, ss#, etc.? They could have as well been letters. I respectively submit that the questioner has a problem with seeing the forest but for the trees, or has too much time on their hands. If you are the one responsible for providing the answer to such thought provoking questions like this, you have your hands full. Welcome to the exciting Cove!

 

[Atul Khandekar]

Guess they have a random number generator !!

 

[keyplas - 2006]

Have sent the ISO Guru's my question, let's see if they can give a "Short" "understndable" answer or if this is going to kick off a 64 page redundant document about industry sectors, international consortiums and a meeting where-in a body or group of individuals representing every nation, state, and planet gathered and voted on their favorite numbers. I'll keep everyone posted (who knows it may end up as a question on jeapordy one day and you'll be able to answer it!)

 

[Randy]

It's performed just about the same way that governments make decisions and organizations determine salary increases..

You start with a drunken, blindfolded, Chimpanzee on a rotating barstool.......

I told the mayor of our city this when we were bargaining for a pay raise, he turned purple, the audience at the City Council meeting rolled, and the council members scowled. It turned out I was right and the newsmedia ate it up!!

 

[db]

If I remember correctly.


Each digit represents something. For example the first digit "1" represents manufacturing, so all manufacturing standards would start with "1" , and on down the line. I'm not sure that manufacturing is "1", but I do believe there is an actual numbering convention. In fact, I think there is an ISO standard on it (of course).

 

[Marc]

Randy said:

It's performed just about the same way that governments make decisions and organizations determine salary increases..

You start with a drunken, blindfolded, Chimpanzee on a rotating barstool.......

I told the mayor of our city this when we were bargaining for a pay raise, he turned purple, the audience at the City Council meeting rolled, and the council members scowled. It turned out I was right and the newsmedia ate it up!!

I would have PAID to see that!

 

[Randy]

We also wound up getting about 16% instead of the 4.5 proposed by the Chief and supported by the mayor. The next year we got an additional 11%. We went up 27% in 2 years. I still have copies of the newspaper clippings (23 0r so years old now).

It was a blast

 

[keyplas - 2006]

I Have received the "Official ISO Answer"

The numbering of ISO standards has no real meaning, except to identify them. Usually they are numbered in a progressive order, where newer standards have higher numbers.

Sometimes some technical committees (the committees that develop the standards) reserve a certain range of numbers for their standards and that's why standards related to certain subjects (like Quality Management) may have similar numbers even if released in different stages.

In any case, there is no particular meaning in the number chosen for an ISO standard.
Thank you for your interest in ISO.

Yours sincerely,

Joseph Martinez
Information Officer
ISO Online: http://www.iso.org


So the mystery is solved (makes you wonder how they develop the rest of the standards eh?)