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ISO or the International
Organization for Standardization is a non-governmental
organization that was established in 1947. ISO
includes a network of 146 national standards bodies
(as of 12/31/02) from the world’s leading industrial
nations. One of the main goals of ISO is to develop
worldwide standardization by promoting adoption of
international quality standards. By doing so, barriers
of trade are eliminated.
ISO has created 13,736 standards as
of 12/31/02 in a variety of industries. Examples of
standards ISO has created include the standardized
codes for country names, currencies and languages,
standardized format of worldwide telephone and banking
cards, as well as sizes and colors of road signs, and
automobile bumper heights.
ISO includes 2,937 technical
working bodies (as of 12/31/02), in which some 30,000
experts from industry, labor, government, and
standardization bodies in all parts of the world
develop and revise standards. ISO has created
standards for the automotive, manufacturing,
mechanics, packaging, and health care fields amongst
many others.
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