What is ISO 21384-3:2023 ?
ISO 21384-3: 2023 is the international standard governing safe commercial drone (UAS) operations. This drone specific standard was first introduced in 2019 to provide a framework against which the operational procedures for UAS organisations - both large and small - can be developed and reliably assessed.
This industry standard incorporates a broad range of requirements, including but not limited to:
- Safety and Security (including safety policy, safety risk management, safety assurance and safety promotion)
- Data Protection
- Operator Documentation (including general documentation, operations manual and deployment specific documentation)
- Insurance
- Airspace Information
- Facility and Equipment
- Operations (including flight planning, flight preparation, communication, in flight operations, handovers, deployment specific considerations, journey logging, oversight, operator fitness and competence)
- Maintenance (including hardware, software and configuration management)
Critically, this standard aims to provide a benchmark for organisation best practice in UAS operation, complementary to the more overarching requirements of the CAA and their international equivalents.
Who is it for?
Certification is available for any organisation who deploy drones as part of their operation who wish to verify their compliance against the latest standards of UAS operation.
This can include newer organisations intending to use the process by way of building compliance from the ground up but also more established organisations who would achieve commercial and/or operational benefit from confirming the compliance of their existing protocol.
Successful organisations receive IQ Verify Certification which provides independent 3rd party confirmation of organisational compliance with the full requirements of ISO 21384-3:2023
ISO 21384-3 Certification: How Does it Work?
- ISO 21384-3 is an Operational Standard, and can be certificated under the umbrella of ISO 17065: 2012.
- ISO 17065: 2012 sets out the requirements for Certification Bodies certificating products processes and services.
- Compliance against BS ISO 21384-3 is measured under our ISO 17065:2012 procedures framework against which the requirements of ISO 21384-3 can be assessed.
- Included within the assessment are key elements of ISO9001 and ISO45001 alongside more overarching privacy requirements as identified within the Surveillance Code of Practice.
- UKAS have confirmed that the ISO 21384-3 standard is not currently an area they are looking to accredit certification bodies to deliver. This may change in the future and IQ Verify will keep up to date with any movement on this,
- With the above in mind, IQ Verify continue to provide the highest quality audits against ISO 21384-3 parallel with the our accredited policies and procedures - providing assurance of quality and impartial service delivery. Successful audits will result in an IQ Verified certificate.
Additional drone certifications
Quality Management: ISO 9001:2015
Privacy and Surveillance functionality for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS): ISO9001 is the internationally recognised standard for Quality Management Systems (QMS). Surprisingly, there were very few UAS specific ISO9001 certification schemes on the market and those that do exist are extremely usage specific.
IQ Verify are therefore proud to announce a fresh approach to ISO9001 that has been tailored to the privacy requirements integral throughout the entire UAS industry. It is the first ISO9001 certification scheme that has been developed to recognise and accommodate a range of UA purpose.
Get in touch today for more information.
Data and Privacy: The Surveillance Camera Commission Code of Practice
It may come as a surprise to hear that the UK Surveillance Camera Code of Practice has been expanded to capture the data and privacy considerations essential for information captured as part of drone deployments.
This Home Office linked code of practice provides a framework against which best practice in drone footage data management can be assessed and importantly evidenced. Certificated organisations are listed as code compliant on the publicly available government website and can use this to reassure new clients and the public alike of the appropriateness of organisational data management when deploying drones.
In the words of Fraser Sampson, the UK Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner, certification allows organisations to objectively demonstrate that their drones are "being used proportionately, effectively, transparently and in pursuit of a legitimate aim." Organisations can use their Code of Practice certification to evidence that all data obtained is in line with best practice UK privacy and surveillance guidelines (inclusive of points 20 through 25 of the Drone Code)
Requiring just a one day annual audit to achieve and maintain this certification, and with an additional 20% discount available for members of ARPAS UK, click here for more information about the code of practice or alternatively take a read of the article shown below.
