DRONE MARKET SET TO TAKE OFF WITH NEW ISO STANDARD
Estimated to grow from USD 4 billion to USD 40 billion in the next five years [1], the global commercial drone market has skyrocketed in recent years and shows no signs of abating. Yet, where the pace of technology outruns regulations, International Standards are essential to ensure a minimum level of safety and quality. A new ISO standard has just been published to keep everyone in the industry on the same plane.
From delivering parcels to surveying cows in faraway pastures, the application of drones, also known as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), has expanded into a wide number of uses. These include solutions to many of the world’s problems. Surveying or detecting forest fires, monitoring the status of water bodies and traffic jams, these are just some examples where they are proving their unique worth.
Ensuring everyone in this fast-growing industry is on the same page, however, is essential to ensure minimum safety and quality, not to mention coordination and organization in the airspace.
ISO 21384-3, Unmanned aircraft systems – Part 3: Operational procedures, has just been published to meet that need. It is the first International Standard for UAS and specifies internationally agreed and accepted requirements for safe commercial operations.
John Walker, Chair of the ISO subcommittee that developed the standard, said there are hundreds of applications for small UAS alone that will benefit from this standard, including construction, safety, security, mining, maritime operations and more.
“The range of applications is growing fast, but at the same time, the industry is very much in its infancy, and there are a number of key obstacles to overcome before large-scale commercialization is achieved,” he said.
“ISO 21384-3 will help resolve those challenges through providing an airworthiness framework for the global UAS industry, allowing for safer and more widespread use.”
The committee is also working on several complementary standards that will address other aspects such as safety, quality and terminology. These include ISO 21384-2, Unmanned aircraft systems – Part 2: Product systems, ISO 21384-4, Unmanned aircraft systems – Part 4: Vocabulary, and ISO 23665, Unmanned aircraft systems – Training for personnel involved in UAS operations.
“Together, these standards will enable the development of new applications for UAS far beyond that which we see now,” said Walker.
ISO 21384-3 was developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 20, Aircraft and space vehicles, subcommittee SC 16, Unmanned aircraft systems, whose secretariat is held by ANSI, ISO’s member for the USA. It can be purchased from your national ISO member or through the ISO Store.
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NEW INTERNATIONAL STANDARD FOR AUDITORS WILL IMPROVE DATA COLLECTION PROCESS
The plethora of accounting packages and/or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in the market means auditors need more time and understanding to get all the information they need. A new standard has just been published that will help to make audit data collection more efficient and reliable for the entire industry.
ISO 21378, Audit data collection, aims to help auditors access and decipher audit data by standardizing the process of identification, classification and collection. It will facilitate the accessibility and transparency of audit data, standardize the collection process and avoid duplication of work. This should increase the efficiency of auditors, saving them valuable time and effort, as well as improving the effectiveness of the audit.
ISO 21378 defines a common framework for accounting data elements and provides the necessary information to extract what is relevant. It also provides a way of expressing the information consistently, regardless of the accounting package or ERP system used. It is applicable to data being extracted in areas such as general ledger, accounts receivable, sales, accounts payable, purchase, inventory, and property plant and equipment.
The new standard will come in useful for governments, internal and external auditors, auditees and related stakeholders, such as vendors of ERPs and accounting software.
ISO 21378 was developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 295, Audit data services, whose secretariat is held by SAC, ISO’s member for China. It is available for purchase from your national ISO member or through the ISO Store.
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PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR IMPLEMENTING IT SERVICE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORKS AND STANDARDS JUST OUT
Saving money, pleasing customers and getting the most out of technologies are just some of the benefits of an IT service management system (SMS). A new handbook provides guidance on how to get the best out of an SMS, in particular using ISO/IEC 20000.
ISO/IEC 20000, IT service management – Service management – A practical guide mainly relates to ISO/IEC 20000-1, Information technology – Service management – Part 1: Service management system requirements, the industry’s key International Standard for an IT SMS. It provides an easy-to-use overview of what is required to implement the standard effectively and proposes other standards and frameworks that can be used to fulfil the requirements.
Dr Suzanne Van Hove, who was involved in the development of the guide, said it is intended for those less familiar with the standard and who would benefit from clear information in non-technical language.
“Implementing an SMS in a structured way brings many benefits to an organization such as greater efficiencies and improved customer relations, but it should not be an added burden,” she said.
“This new handbook shows how ISO/IEC 20000 is relevant in today’s digital environment and how it fits nicely with popular SMS methodologies such as Lean, Agile and DevOps.”
ISO/IEC 20000, IT service management – Service management – A practical guide enables the implementation of practices that are beneficial and add value to an organization in a clear and proficient manner. It is descriptive and inclusive, as it takes into account the specific needs of an organization and allows them to adapt it how they see fit.
The handbook features three main sections: a practical guide to the implementation of ISO/IEC 20000-1; ways of measurably improving an organization’s service management processes including aspects such as process maturity, company culture and communication; and guidance on the use of other standards and frameworks in combination with the ISO/IEC 20000 series.
It was developed by ISO and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) joint technical subcommittee ISO/JTC 1/SC 40, IT Service Management and IT Governance, whose secretariat is held by Standards Australia, ISO’s member for Australia. It is available for purchase from your national ISO member or through the ISO Store.
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INTERNET OF MEDIA THINGS TO TAKE OFF WITH NEW SERIES OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
The Internet of Things has revolutionized our world by making everyday objects connected, intelligent and interactive. The Internet of Media Things allows media such as video and audio to join the party. A new series of ISO and IEC International Standards will enable the harmonized synchronization that is essential for this phenomenon to grow.
Internet of Media Things (IoMT) has the potential to change our world through massive-scale data exchange. But synchronization and interoperability are vital for this to work. ISO/IEC 23093, the series of International Standards for the Internet of Media Things developed by ISO and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), provides the requirements and common language to enable media devices, applications and services to work together, outlining an architecture and specifications for the effective flow of data between media things.
The series provides a framework that can be used across technologies and national boundaries, enabling communication, storage, analysis, interpretation and retrieval of media big data emerging from large-scale IoMT devices. These standards therefore make it possible to realize large-scale interoperable IoMT applications.
The first two standards in the series have just been published and specify application programming interfaces (APIs) and the tools for use when it comes to the exchange of data between applications.
ISO/IEC 23093-2, Information technology – Internet of media things – Part 2: Discovery and communication API, specifies the APIs to discover media of things in the network, and communicate between them, along with APIs to facilitate transactions.
ISO/IEC 23093-3, Information technology – Internet of media things – Part 3: Media data formats and APIs, contains the tools to describe the data exchanged between media things, such as media sensors and analysers for their APIs.
A further two standards in the series, due to be published next year, will cover, respectively, architecture and reference software and conformance.
Teruhiko Suzuki, Chair of the ISO and IEC technical committee that developed the series of standards, said there are many areas where this technology can reduce costs and improve quality of life for people.
“In healthcare, for example, smart glasses that help the visually impaired to see better, or body sensors that help diabetics to better monitor their insulin levels, are just some of the many applications of this revolutionary technology,” he said.
Other examples of where the development of this technology can help improve the world include intelligent firefighting with Internet Protocol (IP) surveillance cameras and various aspects of smart manufacturing.
The ISO/IEC 23093 series of standards was developed by ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology, subcommittee SC 29, Coding of audio, picture, multimedia and hypermedia information, the secretariat of which is held by JISC, ISO’s member for Japan.
ISO/IEC 23093-2 and ISO/IEC 23093-3 are available from your national ISO member or through the ISO Store.
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