The ISO/IEC JTC1 SC17 Plenary and last Working Group meetings for the year are fast approaching! These are the annual meetings held for ISO/IEC tests and standards related to Cards and Personal Identification. The SC17 Plenary is held directly after the working group meetings. For standardization of the ISO/IEC tests that Card Testing Intl perform, this is an important time of the year. The CTO, Steve DeDera will be attending both the WG1 meeting and SC17 meetings.

Working Group 1 evolves and develops standards related to physical characteristics and test methods for ID-cards while SC17 is the sub committee that approve the standards drafted by the eight working groups. Working Groups each consist of a panel of international experts working in the industries of card manufacture, testing, issuance & reader hardware. The meetings offer a forum for discussion on developing international standards, pertaining to card compliance, interoperability and durability, so are the 'front line' when it comes to standard development. For more information on SC17 and the working groups involved, please visit the wiki page

During this WG1 meeting, Steve anticipates ongoing discussions on the next revision of the Peel Strength Method (see article: Latest ISO/IEC 10373-1 Delamination Development), improvements to the calibration method for Dynamic Bending Stress, new ESD methods (10373-1) and ongoing development of the first revision of 24789. At high level, the revised standards aim to make current testing more precise while introducing new tests that move with the technology.

The SC17 plenary provides an opportunity to observe the summaries of the other working groups. Steve says "This helps CTI better understand the latest changes in standardization, and to ensure accurate understanding of the standards as ISO/IEC intends".

For more information on standardization, please don't hesitate to contact us