Outsourcing – proposed new field of work at ISO

Standards New Zealand is seeking feedback on a new field of technical activity on outsourcing. The national member body of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in the Netherlands has proposed this new field of work to ISO.

Outsourcing is a business practice where an organisation enters into a contract with an external party to perform a specific service or function. The proposed international Standard would provide overarching guidance for outsourcing and a vocabulary to enable practitioners to bring into line the principles, procedures, and vocabulary in existing and future Standards, for the benefit of the organisations engaged in outsourcing.

What's in a Standard?

As a new ISO brochure International standards and “private standards” states, 'Any organization may claim to have developed a “standard”, but not all Standards are created equal.' The brochure underscores the differences between Standards that are developed using well described and accepted principles and disciplines, and 'private standards' that are developed by industry consortia and potentially other groupings.

ISO/IEC Standard to keep laboratory testers on their toes

A new ISO/IEC Standard establishes internationally harmonised requirements to verify the competence of organisations that carry out proficiency testing of laboratories. Conformity assessment – General requirements for proficiency testing ISO/IEC 17043:2010, specifies general requirements for the competence of providers of proficiency testing schemes and for the development and operation of proficiency testing schemes.

The need for confidence in the competence of laboratories is essential for laboratories themselves and their customers, and stakeholders such as regulators, laboratory accreditation bodies, and other organisations.

Social responsibility – future Standard one step closer

The future Standard for Guidance on social responsibility ISO 26000 has just passed an important milestone with confirmation that support by ISO's national members and by participating liaison organisations is strong enough for it to progress to a Final Draft International Standard (FDIS).

ISO 26000 will provide globally relevant guidance to encourage the implementation of social responsibility worldwide. The guidance in ISO 26000 draws on best practice developed by existing public and private sector social responsibility initiatives.

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BRITISH STANDARDS

You can now purchase PDFs of British Standards from Standards New Zealand – please email enquiries@standards.co.nz or call 0800 782 632 during business hours to order PDFs. British Standard publications in hard copy format are also available for purchase from our website www.standards.co.nz by entering the Standard number and selecting the BSI button in the search panel.

IEC PUBLICATIONS

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ISO PUBLICATIONS

You can now purchase PDFs of ISO Standards from Standards New Zealand – please email enquiries@standards.co.nz or call 0800 782 632 during business hours to order PDFs. ISO Standards in hard copy format are also available for purchase from our website www.standards.co.nz by entering the Standard number and selecting the ISO button in the search panel.