ISOfocus, the magazine published by ISO.org, has just hit the electronic newsstands with its latest edition.

In their words, the magazine “is your gateway to International Standards…”

It comes out six times a year, and the November-December edition holds up to a close look; with fifty pages of articles, sharp images, clever graphics and competent writing.

Here’s the table of contents, with a quick summary of each article:

• Social feed – one page summary of all things related to ISO’s social networking; Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube.
• The new cyber warfare – results from a recent study on information security breaches are used to highlight the [increasingly scary] problem, while ISO 27001 is presented as part of the solution.
• Making it –  Quality Assurance Officer at the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), and the winning author of the ISO/DIN contest for young standardizers in developing countries, Amwayi Omukhweso William shares his story of beating the odds.
• Clearing the air on cookstoves – a well-made graphic used to illustrate the need behind  the creation of a new ISO technical committee developing standards for eco-friendly appliances.
• The reason for rail –  An interview with Dr. Yuji Nishie, Chair of the new ISO technical committee on railroad applications, explores how International Standards can contribute to high-speed rail’s safety record and global growth.
• From Russia with love – The highlights from the recent ISO General Assembly in St. Petersburg, Russia.
• IT training competes for quality – An IT training company discusses its path to ISO 29990 to make sustained improvements in the quality of its services.
• A day in the life of Rob Steele – Rob Steele is the Secretary-General of ISO.
• Bridging the disability divide – Another interesting set of statistics, these used to show how the wide-ranging portfolio of ISO standards on accessibility aims to improve safety and quality of life.
• From mother to son – “Pedram Honari lost his mother to International Standards at a very early age. It was only when he needed to investigate the field for a research paper at school that Pedram was finally reconciled with the importance of standardization“
• Are you a #standards geek? – Nine signs that you, or your friends, may be standards geeks. I have at least eight of them, and the fact that I can think of several more than nine should grant me a special category.
• Energy boost for Costa Coffee – A look at how a large coffee company used ISO 50001 to cut energy use and to increase production.

There are also small sections, labeled “Buzz” with interesting tidbits, and an article about the recently awarded “ISO Prize” – these are interspersed between the main articles.

I’m looking forward to giving this issue a closer read on my next flight. Back issues can be found here.

Enjoy your Friday. Go forth, and calibrate thyself already!

Sal