RFID Tags for freight containers - ISO/TS 10891:2009

ISO-conforming RFID tags for freight containers ready for the worst

2009-03-05

A new ISO technical specification will help to ensure the functioning of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags on freight containers despite the harsh environments they may be subjected to during transport by sea, road and rail.

ISO/TS 10891:2009, Freight containers – Radio frequency identification (RFID) – Licence plate tag, provides specifications and test methods for RFID devices used for automatic identification of freight containers in supply chains.

This tag is a permanently affixed, read-only tag containing limited data relating only to physical identification and description of the container to which it is affixed. This tag is required to last the lifetime of its associated container.

The purpose of ISO/TS 10891 is to optimise the efficiency of equipment control systems including the optional usage of electronic seals in conformity with the ISO 18185 series.

ISO/TS 10891:2009 establishes:

• A set of requirements for container tags which allow the transfer of information from a container to automatic processing systems by electronic means
• A data coding system for container identification and container related information which resides within a container tag
• A data coding system for the electronic transfer of both container identification and container related information from container tags to automatic data processing systems
• The description of data to be included in container tags for transmission to automatic data processing systems
• Performance criteria necessary to ensure consistent and reliable operation of container tags within the international transportation community
• The physical location of container tags on containers
• Features to inhibit malicious or unintentional alteration and/or deletion of the information content of container tags when installed on a freight container.

Mr Frank Nachbar, leader of the ISO committee which developed the standard comments: "Containerization has reduced the time and cost of moving goods across the oceans to market and it has greatly reduced pilferage and theft in the transportation of goods, as well as leading to enormous improvements in the safety and health of transportation workers. ISO/TS 10891 will help container manufacturers, the shipping industry, customs, terminal operators, rail operators and container depot operators to achieve optimal benefits from using RFID to improve efficiency, speed up operations and enhance security in the handling and transport of freight containers."

ISO/TS 10891:2009, Freight containers – Radio frequency identification (RFID) – Licence plate tag, was developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 104, Freight containers, subcommittee SC 4, Identification and communication. It is available from ISO national member institutes (see the complete list with contact details). It may also be obtained directly from the ISO Central Secretariat, price 86 Swiss francs, through theISO Store or by contacting the Marketing & Communication department (see right-hand column).

CD Guide for Testing laboratories by ISO

New CD collection of ISO/IEC standards and guides for testing laboratories and inspection bodies

2009-03-20

A new CD is available containing all ISO/IEC International Standards and Guides for testing laboratories and inspection bodies.

ISO/IEC Pack: Conformity assessment  Laboratories and inspection bodies

• Order this Pack

 

Testing is a major conformity assessment activity and also provides the basis for other conformity assessment processes such as product certification and inspection. Conformity assessment is the process used to demonstrate that products, services, materials, management systems, personnel and organizations meet specified requirements.

ISO Secretary-General Rob Steele comments: "It has been estimated that standards and related conformity assessment activities have an impact on about 80 % of world commodity trade, which gives an idea of the importance of the conformity assessment standards and guides developed by ISO and its partner, the International Electrotechnical Commission."

The ISO/IEC Pack:Conformity assessment – Laboratories and inspection bodies, contains 10 standards and guides (plus a corrigendum). They include the general requirements for laboratories in order for them to be considered competent to carry out testing, calibration and sampling. These criteria are contained in ISO/IEC 17025:2005, General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories. An estimated 40 000 laboratories worldwide are accredited to ISO/IEC 17025.

Inspection bodies examine a huge range of products and processes, installations and plants. The overall aim is to reduce risk to the buyer and consumer of the item being inspected. As many laboratories also operate inspection activities, the CD also includes ISO/IEC 17020:1998, General requirements for  the operation of various types of bodies performing inspection activities.

The use of ISO/IEC standards and guides on conformity assessment procedures allows for harmonization of good practice-based processes throughout the world. This not only facilitates international trade between countries, but also facilitates trade within countries giving the purchaser of the product or service confidence that it meets the requirements. The standards and guides in the new ISO/IEC Pack have been developed by ISO/CASCO , the ISO policy development committee on conformity assessment.

The CD, ISO/IEC Pack: Conformity assessment: Laboratories and inspection bodies(bilingual – English and French; ISBN 978-92-67-01169-1) is available from ISO national member institutes (see the complete list with contact details). It may also be obtained directly from the ISO Central Secretariat, price 742 Swiss francs, through theISO Store or by contacting the Marketing & Communication department (see right-hand column).

Energy efficiency focus by ISO

Increased international cooperation on standards for energy efficiency needed

2009-04-01

Cooperation on International Standards to promote energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions was given a major boost by a workshop in Paris, France, on 16-17 March 2009, which brought together 290 experts from the public and private sector.

The workshop was jointly organized by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).

The workshop confirmed that key players in the energy sector consider International Standards essential instruments to support the implementation of energy efficiency practices. The experts underlined their commitment to contribute to and collaborate in the development of these standards.

The workshop provided an opportunity to develop an overview of work that has to be done on energy efficiency and for technical experts and public sector decision makers to exchange information and map out the path forward. In particular, the importance of energy efficiency standardization was emphasized and how it can support carbon emissions reduction by providing internationally agreed metrics.

Presentations and discussion panels provided insights on the requirements and challenges related to energy efficiency and related standardization work in a variety of fields: industrial systems, power generation, buildings, electrical and electronic appliances, networks and data centres, transport and energy management.

The IEA and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) predict that the world energy demand will increase by 45 % between now and 2030 without remedial action. Pieter Boot, Director of the IEA's Directorate of Sustainable Energy Policy and Technology said: "Energy efficiency is here, but not easily seen. However, once metrics are developed, it becomes possible to give visibility to energy efficiency. Making energy efficiency visible is the first task to giving it commercial value, but this is only partly complete. Technical standards allow efficiency to be defined, measured and evaluated. They are the foundation of all policy and private sector actions to reduce energy intensity."

ISO Secretary-General Rob Steele emphasized the importance of standardization for energy efficiency: "Today's trends in world energy demand give the sense of urgency. We need to act now with available solutions, which need to be applied and International Standards are part of the solution. ISO, IEC and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) provide standards that offer performance definitions, measurement and test methods, codification of best practices and management systems, design checklists and guides, interoperability, state-of-the-art knowledge formalized by recognized experts through double levels of consensus, amongst stakeholders and across countries."

Commenting on the event, IEC General Secretary & CEO Aharon Amit said: "IEC has a long experience of working on electrical efficiency standards. We need to be able to generate, transmit, and distribute more electricity with reduced impact. And we need to use electricity more intelligently. While the IEC continues to issue the standards for existing technologies, including energy efficiency for industrial and domestic uses, it is also working on new areas including ultra high voltage transmission and integrated smart grids, while continuing to maximize the potential from renewable energies."

Among the main recommendations of the workshop were the following:

• Highlight and promote the complementary relationship between public policies and technical standards, communicating clearly that standards provide technical solutions
• Encourage participation from the earliest stages in the standards development process of all stakeholders (particularly representatives of public authorities and consumers) having relevant interests in promoting energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions.
• Improve coordination and optimize involvement of experts in on-going standardization work at the sectoral, national, regional and international levels, ensuring exchange of information and promoting the use of already existing standards.
• Adjust standardization processes and deliverables to be more adaptive in addressing fast-moving technologies and evolving usage contexts of products and services.

A fuller report of the workshop including its more detailed recommendations and PowerPoint presentation made by participants will be made available on the ISO Web site under "Hot topics", "Energy".

counterfeiting, fraud and unsafe Products

ISO standards will tackle goods' counterfeiting and fraud

2009-04-02

Participants at the first meeting of ISO/PC 246 in Saint-Denis, France, March 2009

ISO has set up two new committees to develop standards respectively for tackling counterfeiting of material goods and fraud.

ISO/PC 246, Anti-counterfeiting tools, held its first meeting in March 2009 in Saint-Denis, France. ISO/TC 247, Fraud countermeasures and controls, has only just been approved and is expected to meet for the first time later this year.

ISO/PC 246 was established following a request from AFNOR (ISO member for France). According to the proposal, the last decade has experienced a boom in counterfeited products, which is no longer limited to luxury goods, and currently estimated to represent up to 10 % of world trade.

Counterfeited products do not offer the same guarantees in terms of safety and/or compliance with environmental measures and regulatory requirements. Therefore, not only do they distort competition, violate interests and intellectual property rights of legitimate producers, undermining fair trade and distorting tax revenues, but they also generate risk for consumers, users and the distribution chain. This is particularly dangerous for instance, when affecting medical or food products.

Today, there are hundreds of devices and systems that can be used to authenticate genuine products, but there is no global standard available to help compare the different systems, establish performance criteria or ensure interoperability.

An ISO International Standard would increase market transparency regarding the reliability and robustness of authentication tools. It would help businesses to make an informed choice when selecting the best tools for establishing the authenticity of a product. The standard would also help vendors of anti-counterfeiting systems, whether simple or complex, to improve the solutions they offer.

“Specifying performance criteria of authentication devices is crucial at both national and international level, to nurture greater confidence among consumers, empower and secure the distribution circuits and help public authorities deploy preventive and punitive measures” says Jean-Michel Loubry, Chair of ISO/PC 246.

The future standard, ISO 12931, Performance criteria for authentication tools for anti-counterfeiting in the field of material goods will be applicable to all material products.

Among the issues to be addressed are criteria for data processing, interoperability of anti-counterfeiting systems, capacity to facilitate controls, authorization of data access, reliability and efficiency to detect counterfeited products, as well as security including tracking. The standard will look at the entire life-cycle of a product to facilitate integration of anti-counterfeiting concepts in product design.

The first meeting of ISO/PC 246 was attended by ISO members representing Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the USA. The United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute participated as an observer.

The newly created ISO/TC 247 will complement the work of ISO/PC 246 by focusing on fraud. This initiative was proposed by ANSI, the ISO member for the USA, which will hold the Secretariat of the committee.

ISO Secretary-General Rob Steele commented: “Together, the standards produced by ISO/PC 246 and ISO/TC 247 will provide harmonized, consensus-based, reliable solutions to help prevent the loss of earnings and jobs by companies victims of fraud and counterfeiting, as well as protect consumers from inadequate and unsafe products. The creation of these project committees once more underlines ISO's capacity for developing practical tools to tackle contemporary international concerns.”