ISO Recognition of Existing Standards

The aerospace industry, through ISO Technical Committee 20, Aircraft and Space Vehicles, has identified an approach that promotes standardization, avoids proliferation of duplicate standards, protects the interests of individual standards developing organizations (SDOs), meets the need for global standards in the aerospace industry, and acknowledges the value of ISO as the world standardization body.

TC 20 has arranged for existing de facto international standards to be recognized by ISO following a formal process. The process relies on a set of criteria by which candidate specifications are evaluated. These criteria include the following:

• Standard is currently in use in multiple aerospace programs or in multiple countries (or, if not widely used, suitable for such use);
• Standard is suitable for new/future designs;
• Standard does not duplicate another standard currently in international use;
• Standard contains no requirements that would result in a barrier to trade or to use by any nation;
• Standard is available in at least English or French;
• Originating organization agrees with submittal for ISO endorsement.

After a simplified ballot process that ensures the requisite criteria have been satisfied, standards approved (per normal Draft International Standards voting requirements) by TC 20 Participating ("P") members will be listed in a special section of the ISO catalog. This approach should result in greater visibility for the most widely used aerospace standards while avoiding the costs of creating an ISO standard that duplicates an existing standard.

If you would like more information on this procedure, or are interested in proposing a standard for ISO recognition, please contact Becky Lemon, SAE, email: lemon@sae.org.