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New project on Resilient Infrastructure

ISO/TC 292 has recently launched a new project: ISO 22372, Security and resilience — Resilient infrastructure — Guidelines. New experts are invited to join and help out developing the project.

Today, more people than ever are dependent on the services delivered by infrastructure systems, covering energy, transport, water, wastewater, waste, and digital communications. Social infrastructures, such as health and social care, education, public security, fire, and emergency services, rely on these critical services. There is a need to strengthen the resiliency of our national infrastructure systems as these systems and the services they provide are increasingly affected by natural and man-made hazards, including the impacts of climate change.

This proposed new standard will provide guidance for developing, implementing, monitoring, and improving infrastructure resilience. It will help governments, regulators, operators, investors, designers and contractors and service providers to work together to help ensure the continuity and effective outcomes of critical services.

This project has been assigned to WG5 on Community Resilience and the Project Team held its first meeting on Nov. 14 – 15, 2022. The Project Team is currently developing a Working Draft based on the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s (UNDRR) principles for resilient infrastructure and other supporting guidance, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Sendai framework and relevant ISO standards.

Liz Varga, Professor of Complex Systems at University College of London (United Kingdom) is the Project Leader, and she explains the need for such guidance,

“The current approach to infrastructure planning, financing, design, development, operations, and decommissioning, does not fully take into account either the interdependent nature of infrastructure and services, or the increasingly complex nature of risks and the cascading impacts that a disaster can have across the whole infrastructure system. This new standard will set a common basic understanding and approach to “Think Resilient Infrastructure,” encouraging a more comprehensive way of looking at risks and interlinkages, adaptable to specific national risks to resilience.”

How can you get involved?

If you are interested in participating in this new project, please contact your national member body to apply to be nominated as a working group expert. In particular, the Project Team would like to engage experts from the infrastructure community, including representatives from owner/ operators. As infrastructure resilience impacts a wide range of technical and societal sectors, the project team is also looking for liaison members from other ISO committees or international associations.

For more information about the project, please contact: Helen Ng, Project Team Secretary: helen.ng2@gmail.com