The extension of formal business planning to ISO Technical Committees (ISO/TCs) is an important measure, which forms part of a major review of business. The aim is to align the ISO work programme with expressed market needs and to allow ISO/TCs to prioritize between different projects, to identify the benefits expected from the availability of International Standards and to ensure the adequate resourcing of projects through their development stages in the ISO/TCs. Your role in the implementation of the Business Planning concept will contribute significantly to the overall effectiveness of international standardization.

　

We express our sincere appreciation and thanks for your time in reviewing this Business Plan.

The foremost aim of international standardization is to facilitate the exchange of goods and services through the elimination of technical barriers to trade.

　

Three bodies are responsible for the planning, development and adoption of International Standards: ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is responsible for all sectors excluding electrotechnical, which is the responsibility of IEC (International Electrotechnical Committee), and most of the Telecommunications Technologies, which are largely the responsibility of ITU (international Telecommunication Union).

　

ISO is a legal association, the members of which are the National Standards Bodies (NSBs) of some 130 countries (organizations representing social and economic interests at international level), supported by a Central Secretariat based in Geneva. Switzerland.

　

The principal deliverable of ISO is the International Standard.

　

An International Standard embodies the essential principles of global openness and transparency, consensus and technical coherence. These are safeguarded through its development in an ISO Technical Committee (ISO/TC), representative of all interested parties, supported by a public comment phase (the ISO Technical Enquiry). ISO and its Technical Committees are also able to offer the ISO Technical Specification (ISO/TS), the ISO Public Available Specification (ISO/PAS) and the ISO Technical Report (ISO/TR) as solutions to market needs. These ISO products represent lower levels of consensus and have therefore not the same status as an International Standard.

　

ISO offers also the Industry Technical Agreement (ITA) as a deliverable which aims to bridge the gap between the activities of consortia and the formal process of standardization represented by ISO and its national members. An important distinction is that the ITA is developed by ISO workshops and fora, comprising only participants with direct interest, and so it is not accorded the status of an International Standard.

　

Standardization in the field of mechanical vibration and shock and condition monitoring and diagnostics of machines, including:

　

The scope of current work under the auspices of ISO/TC 108 and its subcommittees covers the general area of mechanical vibration and shock and their effects on humans, machines, vehicles and structures. More specifically, current activities in ISO/TC 108 include: terminology and nomenclature; vibration generators, sensors and associated measurement and analysis instrumentation: signal processing methods, vibration and shock reduction and control methods; and, finally, the measurement and evaluation of the exposure of humans, stationary structures, vehicles and machines to mechanical vibration and shock. In addition, standard methods of data processing, data acquisition, diagnostic measurement methods, transducer calibration, and condition monitoring of machines and structures are actively being developed for the areas pertaining to mechanical vibration and shock.

This section establishes a sequential development of thoughts regarding the market for which the ISO/TC aims to fulfill the needs. Details in relation to the market analysis are given in the Guidance document on ISO Business Planning. The sequence of thoughts starts from a description of the current market situation relevant to the product or product grouping under consideration by the ISO/TC, continues on to an analysis of the different factors motivating/influencing the activities of the ISO/TC, to come to clear description of objectives and expected benefits resulting from the work of the ISO/TC, together with an accompanying strategy how to reach those objectives. Finally, a general 'risk analysis' is included highlighting issues that may delay or stop the ISO/TC achieving its set objectives.

Political, economical, social, technical, legal and international factors that either directly require some or all of the standardization activities proposed by the ISO/TC, or significantly influence the way these activities are carried out are the following:

　

　

This technical committee is generally concerned with the effects of time-varying forces in the form of the forces of nature and the forces created by man on complex systems, e.g. vehicles, stationary structures, machines and humans. The forces of nature include storms giving rise to wind and wave-induced vibration and shock, earthquakes and the effects of gravity on moving systems over rough terrain. Man-made mechanical forces include those generated by machines and vehicles and range from sinusoidal to impact excitations. With this in mind, the market for standards on mechanical vibration and shock can be broadly summarized as the industries and consumers of products that produce or are critically subject to these dynamic forces. Where public safety and the environment are issues, or as a consumer, Government can be included in the mix. Because of its fundamental role in all aspects of life, a case can be made that mechanical vibration and shock standards impact all major sectors of the economy. Although its economic impact is impossible to directly measure, its core constituencies involve the Government, the manufacturing sector, the consumer, labor and the public at-large. All have a major stake in the standards produced in this technical area from the basics of vocabulary and nomenclature to the basics of measurement, analysis, evaluation, diagnostics and prognostics.

　

For example, consider the public health and public safety issues involved in the area of human exposure to vibration and shock and the assessment of that exposure. Human activities using machinery and vehicles in and outside the working environment means exposure to mechanical vibration, shocks and motions. The result can be seen in increased workplace injuries and human loss of mobility and function. A need has arisen to develop standards for exposure and assessment of vibration and shock in humans in order to design control systems that are targeted appropriately.

　

In summary, the international standards produced in this technical committee are deeply tied to the economies of all nations in the form of trade, jobs, manufacturing and quality of life. Details are provided below.