International standards are standards developed by international standards organization

Standards organization

A standards organization, standards body, standards developing organization , or standards setting organization is any organization whose primary activities are developing, coordinating, promulgating, revising, amending, reissuing, interpreting, or otherwise producing technical standards that are...

s. International standards are available for consideration and use, worldwide. The most prominent organisation is the International Organization for Standardization

International Organization for Standardization

The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...

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International standards may be used either by direct application or by a process of modifying an international standard to suit local conditions. The adoption of international standards results in the creation of equivalent, national standards that are substantially the same as international standards in technical content, but may have (i) editorial differences as to appearance, use of symbols and measurement units, substitution of a point for a comma as the decimal marker, and (ii) differences resulting from conflicts in governmental regulations or industry-specific requirements caused by fundamental climatic, geographical, technological, or infrastructural factors, or the stringency of safety requirements that a given standard authority considers appropriate.

International standards is one way of overcoming technical barriers in international commerce caused by differences among technical regulations and standards developed independently and separately by each nation, national standards organisation, or company. Technical barriers arise when different groups come together, each with a large user base, doing some well established thing that between them is mutually incompatible. Establishing international standards is one way of preventing or overcoming this problem.

Standards organisations

There are many standards organisations that establish and implement standards. Some of most prominent are:

• American Petroleum Institute
  American Petroleum Institute
  The American Petroleum Institute, commonly referred to as API, is the largest U.S trade association for the oil and natural gas industry...
  
   (API)
• American Society for Testing and Materials
  ASTM International
  ASTM International, known until 2001 as the American Society for Testing and Materials , is an international standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services...
  
   (ASTM)
• British Standards Institution (BSI)
• European Computer Manufacturers Association
  Ecma International
  Ecma International is an international, private non-profit standards organization for information and communication systems. It acquired its name in 1994, when the European Computer Manufacturers Association changed its name to reflect the organization's global reach and activities...
  
   (ECMA), List of Ecma standards
• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
  Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
  The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is a non-profit professional association headquartered in New York City that is dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence...
  
   (IEEE)
• International Electrotechnical Commission
  International Electrotechnical Commission
  The International Electrotechnical Commission is a non-profit, non-governmental international standards organization that prepares and publishes International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies – collectively known as "electrotechnology"...
  
   (IEC), List of IEC standards
• International Organization for Standardization
  International Organization for Standardization
  The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
  
   (ISO), List of ISO standards
• Telecommunications Industry Association
  Telecommunications Industry Association
  The Telecommunications Industry Association is accredited by the American National Standards Institute to develop voluntary, consensus-based industry standards for a wide variety of ICT products, and currently represents nearly 400 companies...
  
   (TIA)
• International System of Units
  International System of Units
  The International System of Units is the modern form of the metric system and is generally a system of units of measurement devised around seven base units and the convenience of the number ten. The older metric system included several groups of units...
  
   (SI Units)
• International Telecommunication Union
  International Telecommunication Union
  The International Telecommunication Union is the specialized agency of the United Nations which is responsible for information and communication technologies...
  
   (ITU), ITU-R Recommendations, ITU-T Recommendations
• Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards
  OASIS (organization)
  The Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards is a global consortium that drives the development, convergence and adoption of e-business and web service standards...
  
   (OASIS)
• Universal Postal Union
  Universal Postal Union
  The Universal Postal Union is an international organization that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system. The UPU contains four bodies consisting of the Congress, the Council of Administration , the Postal Operations Council and the...
  
   (UPU)
• Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers
  Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers
  The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE , founded in 1916 as the Society of Motion Picture Engineers or SMPE, is an international professional association, based in...
  
  (SMPTE)

External links

• American National Standards Institute
• American Petroleum Institute
• American Society for Testing and Materials
• Automotive Industry Action Group
• British Standards Institution
• Bureau of Indian Standards
• European Association for Standardizing Information and Communication Systems
• European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation
• European Computer Manufacturers Association
• German Institute for Standardization
• Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
• Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits
• International Electrotechnical Commission
• International Media Grid Standards Organisation
• International Organization for Standardization
• International Telecommunication Union
• Internet Engineering Task Force
• Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards
• Society for Automotive Engineers
• Telecommunications Industry Association
• Universal Postal Union