ISO 22326:2018

Overview - ISO 22326:2018 (Monitoring facilities with identified hazards)

ISO 22326:2018 is an international guideline within the security and resilience - emergency management series that defines how to establish and operate hazard monitoring at facilities with identified hazards. The standard describes the full monitoring lifecycle - from planning and implementation to operation, control and continual improvement - and supports emergency management, prevention, mitigation and response by delivering timely, reliable monitoring data.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Monitoring process: Defines the end-to-end process steps - receipt, integration, generation, analysis, transfer and output of monitoring data.
• Critical indicators: Identifying quantitative, qualitative or descriptive measures to detect hazard development and early signs of escalation.
• Data characteristics: Guidance to ensure data are accumulated at the facility, have agreed characteristics, are easily analysed, transmitted via secure channels and are integrable to support decisions.
• Data analysis & display: Requirements for prioritised, comprehensible displays (text, graphics, audio, video) so recent and relevant indicators are clearly visible to decision-makers.
• Progressive notification: Systems should support at least three escalation levels (normal, caution, emergency) to trigger pre-planned responses.
• Implementation & interoperability: Emphasis on agreed arrangements between facility owners, authorities and stakeholders; commissioning, testing and ensuring sender/receiver interoperability.
• Operation, training & security: Roles, qualifications, training, authorization and security clearances for personnel operating monitoring systems.
• Review & improvement: Use incident statistics and forecasting models to refine monitoring systems and preparedness.

Practical applications and users

ISO 22326:2018 is generic and applicable to any organization operating facilities with identified hazards. Typical users include:

• Facility owners and operators of plants, buildings, transport units and infrastructure
• Engineers, system integrators and contractors involved in design, installation and maintenance of monitoring systems
• Public authorities and emergency services responsible for prevention and incident response
• Insurers, regulators, legislators and researchers seeking standardized guidance on hazard monitoring and decision support

Practical uses: design of hazard-resistant monitoring systems, defining data sharing and escalation procedures, selecting critical indicators, testing commissioning processes, and integrating monitoring outputs into emergency response plans.

Related standards

• Normative reference: ISO 22300 - Security and resilience: Vocabulary
• Prepared under ISO/TC 292 (Security and resilience); complements other emergency management and continuity standards in the ISO 22300 series.

Keywords: ISO 22326:2018, hazard monitoring, monitoring facilities, emergency management, security and resilience, critical indicators, data analysis.