ISO 18788 Management System for Private Security Companies

What is the ISO 18788 standard and why was it developed?

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has adopted a quality management system for private security companies and named it ISO 18788:2015. But the standard did not just come out of nowhere, it had a history. During the last fifteen years there were many serious incidents with human rights violations by private security companies (PSCs). The Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of State (DoS) realized that they had to reduce risks associated with private security contractor’s actions, as they directly affected the image of the United States in the Middle East.

Both accreditation and certification are essential factors when it comes to ISO and Quality Management System.

Organizations tend to confuse the two, which results in not understanding the processes necessary for each of them.

In principle, accreditation and certification are similar, yet they differ about who does the job.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) creates thousands of standards per year, covering various disciplines and topics.

It produces a group of standards known as management system standards to guide organizations in offering goods and services that are safe, resilient, environmentally friendly, and quality-made.

Some of the well-known standards include ISO 9001 (Quality Management) andISO 27001 (Information Security). There’s also the ISO 22301 (Business Continuity) and ISO 14001 (Environmental), the ISO 45001 (Health and Safety) will be launched.

There are instances where organizations are obligated to implement these standards. This is where the confusion between accreditation and certification comes through.