OSD
SCC Support Resources
To facilitate use of the OSD by members, SCC is hosting weekly drop-in sessions to help members using the OSD to comment on draft standards. These drop-in sessions are intended to help members who have questions or are experiencing issues using the OSD. Attendance at these sessions is not mandatory and sessions are intended to provide an avenue for members to easily access live assistance with OSD issues.
Drop-in sessions are generally held on Wednesdays and Fridays, however the complete list of upcoming sessions can be found below, and additional dates will be added on an ongoing basis.
Date | Time | Link |
Wednesdays | 11:00 EST – 12:00 EST | Join the meeting now Meeting ID: 298 133 227 400 4 Passcode: gb3jf2V7 |
Fridays | 13:00 EST – 14:00 EST | Join the meeting now Meeting ID: 298 133 227 400 4 Passcode: gb3jf2V7 |
Training
We recommend looking at the information available from IEC.
For experts on working groups:
For mirror committee members:
For mirror committee chairs and vice-chairs:
We recommend looking at the information available from ISO.
For experts on working groups:
For mirror committee members:
For mirror committee chairs and vice-chairs:
SCC frequently Asked Questions
About the OSD
- What is the OSD?
The OSD is an online drafting and commenting tool that has been designed by ISO and IEC to facilitate the development of international standards and related deliverables. The tool is being implemented for use by committees on a standard by standard basis. The tool is available online and is operated by ISO and IEC directly.
- Why is SCC giving mirror committees access to the OSD now?
Although not all mirror committees have an opportunity to use the OSD yet, it is expected that over time all committees will begin using the OSD for projects.
- What types of ballots will require the use of the OSD?
Ballots related to draft standards:
- NP (New Work Item Proposal),
- CD (Committee Draft),
- DIS (Draft International Standard) CDV (Committee Draft for Vote),
- FDIS (Final Draft International Standard)
will use the OSD for commenting on the draft standard.
Ballots of other types such as questionnaires, resolutions, etc. will not use the OSD.
- Are all projects using the OSD?
All new projects initiated in January 2025 or later are required to use the OSD and current projects may also transfer to the OSD. Over time the number of projects required to use the OSD will rise. ISO and IEC expect that over time all projects will use the OSD with occasional exceptions.
As of October 2025, about one third of technical committees where Canada participates have a project at the CD stage or later using the OSD, while around one half have a project at the Working Draft stage or later. This means that some committees will not be making use of the OSD right away since they do not have any projects using it.
Using the OSD
- How do I know if a project is using the OSD?
For ISO committees: Ballots on Standards Hub for projects using the OSD will not have an attached draft standard. The attachments will include a link to the OSD instead.
For IEC committees: Ballots on Standards Hub for projects using the OSD will have a draft standard attached containing a link to the OSD.
Not all projects are currently using the OSD, you can identify projects with access by looking for the link to the OSD on the second page of the draft. First click on the attached document. Once the document is open, look at page 2 to see if there is a link to the OSD.
- Will the mirror committee still be able to submit comments using the ISO/IEC Commenting template?
No. For any project using the OSD, SCC will not accept comments using the ISO/IEC commenting template unless the project opened before YYYY-MM-DD.
- What is the process for mirror committees to comment using the OSD?
Mirror committees using the OSD to comment on a draft standard can access the OSD by clicking on the link in the ballot document for IEC committees, or by clicking on the link in the ballot information for ISO committees. The OSD can also be accessed through the projects/publications area of the committee on the IEC website for IEC or ISO projects (https://sd.iso.org/projects/my-projects) for ISO.
The following diagram shows the process for mirror committees to follow:
- What are the different roles and permissions in the OSD?
There are three main roles:
- Mirror committee members are assigned the Commenter role. They are able to submit comments, but cannot make comments national.
- Mirror committee chairs and vice-chairs are assigned the Manager role. They are able submit comments, pause commenting (prevent additional comments being submitted), and make comments national.
- SCC program officers are assigned the Voter role. They have the same permissions as managers and submit national comments as part of the Canadian vote on the ballot.
- What are the different roles and permissions in the OSD?
There are three main roles:
- Mirror committee members are assigned the National Contributor role. They are able to submit comments, but cannot make comments national.
- Mirror committee chairs and vice-chairs are assigned the OSD Voter role. They are able submit comments, pause commenting (prevent additional comments being submitted), and make comments national.
- SCC program officers are assigned the OSD Voter role. They have the same permissions as managers and submit national comments as part of the Canadian vote on the ballot.
- As a mirror committee chair, how will my role change?
As a mirror committee chair, you will be responsible for designating which comments submitted by MC members become national comments by approving them in the OSD. You continue to be responsible for coordinating the development of the national position and submitting it to SCC. You will continue to provide a response to the ballot (e.g. approve, disapprove, approve with comments) on Standards Hub.
- Is there an OSD test environment I can use to practice?
Yes, both ISO and IEC have a “sandbox” environment available for practice. The sandbox contains a fake draft standard, and provides the ability to test actions such as adding, editing, deleting comments, and also provides the ability for MC chairs to test making comments national.
The IEC sandbox can be accessed here: https://go.iec.ch/5w (IEC login required)
- How can we access draft standards for projects using the OSD?
For projects using the OSD, the ballot on Standards Hub will have links to where members can access and comment on the draft.
- Why am I unable to see comments on the OSD?
You may not be able to see comments on the OSD either because no comments have been submitted or because by default your filter is configured to only show unresolved comments. You can change your filters to see all comments.
- Why am I unable to comment on a draft?
Being unable to comment on a draft could be the result of:
- The ballot being closed.
- The chair of the mirror committee pausing national commenting to review and submit national comments.
- The SCC program officer pausing national commenting after voting on the ballot
- As a mirror committee chair, how will my role change?
Members will no longer provide comments using the commenting template, instead they will submit their comments directly on the OSD for review by the MC chair and other mirror committee members. Comments should be submitted at least 1 week in advance of the SCC due date to allow the MC chair time to make comments national. If the MC chair needs to pause commenting early, they should post a comment on the ballot in Standards Hub. SCC recommends that members comment as early as possible to allow the maximum time for the mirror committee chair and other members to review comments.
- Where can I access more information and training on the OSD?
We recommend looking at the information available from IEC.
For experts on working groups:
For mirror committee members:
For mirror committee chairs and vice-chairs:
- Where can I access more information and training on the OSD?
We recommend looking at the information available from ISO.
For experts on working groups:
For mirror committee members:
For mirror committee chairs and vice-chairs: