International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)

The International Organization for Standardization, ISO for short, is a central authority in the field of global trade and industry. It was founded on 23 February 1947 with the aim of facilitating international trade by helping to ensure the quality, safety and efficiency of products, services and systems. This non-governmental organization brings together experts from over 160 countries, each representing the standardization bodies of their own country. Together they develop and publish internationally valid standards, the ISO standards. Since its foundation, ISO has published more than 25,000 international standards covering almost all areas of technology and manufacturing, including critical sectors such as IT, healthcare, agriculture, and energy. These standards are designed to ensure that products and services are safe, reliable and of good quality. By providing transnational standards, ISO plays a key role in both simplifying the modern globalized business world and making private life better by ensuring that the products and services used every day meet strict quality and safety standards. 

The only areas of industry that have their own organizations for standardization are electrical and electronic engineering and telecommunications. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) are responsible for this. However, there are also standards, such as the ISO/IEC 2700 series for the certification of information security management systems (ISMS), which are developed and published across organizations. 

On the one hand, ISO develops technical standards such as ISO 15745 (Industrial automation systems and integration: Framework for the integration of open systems into applications) that are relevant for the certification of products. In addition, the ISO formulates procedural standards, e.g. quality management in accordance with the ISO 9000 series of standards, according to which companies can be certified in order to be able to provide proof of certain quality standards to third parties. 

In a world characterized by globalization and international cooperation, standards play a decisive role across all branches of industry. The work of the ISO supports the comparability and interoperability of processes, systems and services and thus forms an important pillar in the development and operation of industrial plants. Regardless of the specific application, modern industry is characterized by the interaction of complex machines, plants and systems. Common standards are essential for this. 

The relevance of standardization becomes particularly clear in the example of industrial communication - i.e. the exchange of data between field devices and programmable logic controllers (PLC) via fieldbus and Ethernet systems - in automated production plants. The manufacture of complex products requires thousands of sensors, drives, robotic systems and controllers, all of which must communicate seamlessly with each other to enable a smooth production process. If there were no internationally applicable standards and norms according to which these components were developed and designed, plant manufacturers would have to go to exponentially greater lengths to integrate the various machines and systems in a production plant with one another and at the same time establish certain levels of safety and quality.

For companies, ISO certification is a strategic investment in the future of an organization. It signifies a commitment to continuous improvement and adherence to best practices necessary to maintain long-term customer relationships and remain competitive on a global scale. Certification from the International Organization for Standardization builds credibility and trust with consumers, customers and business partners, which is particularly valuable in today's international marketplace. 

Due to the enormous variety of different components and diverse fieldbus and Ethernet communication protocols, a whole series of ISO standards are relevant to the field of automation technology and industrial communication. The following is an exemplary, incomplete list of relevant standards from ISO or IEC: 

ISO 15745 - Industrial automation systems and integration - Open systems application integration framework: This multi-part standard defines the framework for the integration of applications in industrial environments and contains communication profiles that are important for achieving interoperability. 

ISO/IEC 8802-3 - Telecommunications and exchange between information technology systems - Requirements for local and metropolitan area networks - Part 3: Standard for Ethernet: Widely known by its former name IEEE 802.3, it is the working specification for Ethernet, a key technology in industrial communication. 

IEC 61158 - Industrial communication networks - fieldbus specifications: This standard defines the general fieldbus concept. The standard is divided into several parts, including an overview and guidance for the series (IEC 61158-1), the specification of the physical layer and the definition of services (IEC 61158-2) as well as other parts that deal with different layers and services within the fieldbus architecture. 

IEC 61784 - Industrial communication networks - Profiles: This standard defines a series of communication profile families (CPF) for the design of devices used in communication within factory production and process control and specifies protocol-specific communication profiles based on the IEC 61158 series. It also specifies general concepts, terminology and guidelines for declarations of conformity and the structure of CPFs. 

IEC 62443 - Industrial communication networks - Network and system security: This multi-part series of standards was created to protect networked industrial control systems from cyber threats. This comprehensive framework covers both technical and procedural aspects of cyber security and protects critical industrial infrastructures from potential vulnerabilities and attacks. There is a close link to the ISO/IEC 27000 series, particularly in the second part of the standard, which deals with the management of industrial IT security. 

ISO/IEC 27000 series - Information security management systems: The six-part series of standards (27000 - 27005) holistically describes all aspects that are important for an information security management system. Such a system has already become the standard in large parts of the manufacturing industry and is already defined by law as a basic requirement in critical industries. 

From netX SoCs to embedded modules, PC cards and other hardware and software solutions for industrial networks: Hilscher's products and services stand for maximum flexibility and market-leading technology for networking industrial components of all kinds in automated environments. The use of technical standards is essential for maintaining high quality and interoperability. Both the International Organization for Standardization and the IEC make a significant contribution to global cooperation between automation manufacturers and the development of safe, efficient and innovative production systems through their norms and standards. 

By implementing the process engineering standards ISO 9001 (quality management) and ISO 14001 (environmental management), Hilscher emphasizes its high standards in terms of quality and sustainability across the entire company structure. The standards enable cross-company comparability of internal organizational process structures. The respective certificates attest to Hilscher's functioning management system in both areas and ensure a high level of trust with partners.