Certification to ISO 9001 (for quality management) and to ISO 14001 (for environmental management) increased in both cases during 2006 by 16 %.

During the same period, certification to more recent ISO management system standards for the automotive sector (ISO/TS 16949) and the medical device sector (ISO 13485) increased by more than 60 %.

These are among the principal findings of The ISO Survey - 2006 which for the first time also covered the new ISO/IEC 27001 standard for information security management systems and revealed that nearly 5 800 certificates of conformity to the standard had already been issued in 64 countries.

The above findings underline further the extent to which ISO's management system standards are now thoroughly integrated with the global economy in which they function as practical tools for achieving the organization's objectives such as the following:

• " providing assurance about quality in supplier-customer relationships;
• " operating in an environmentally sustainable manner;
• " unifying quality, environmental or information security requirements in sectors and areas of activity;
• " qualifying suppliers in global supply chains;
• " providing technical support for regulators;
• " giving organizations in developing countries and transition economies a framework for participating in global supply chains, export trade and business process outsourcing;
• " assisting in the economic progress of developing countries and transition economies;
• " transferring good managerial practice, and
• " encouraging the rise of services.

"Twenty years after the launching of ISO 9001 and 11 years after the release of ISO 14001, which have both been regularly updated in the light of worldwide experience, the latest survey results show that ISO's management system standard formula continues to win over new converts," ISO Secretary-General Alan Bryden commented. "The fact that 32 % and 27 % respectively of certifications to these standards are now in the service sector underlines the flexibility of the ISO management system approach, as does its adoption as the common core of standards for specific objectives or sectors."

Please visit http://www.iso.org/iso/pressrelease.htm for detail report on the ISO Survey 2006