What is ISO 9000 and Should I Care?

The ISO 9000 series of standards

ISO 9000 consists of a series of Quality Management System standards that are designed to facilitate the establishment of business processes aiming to ensure that customer requirements are met or exceeded. They can be applied in any manufacturing industry or service sector.

Why should an organization implement ISO 9001?
Without satisfied customers, an organization's future is at risk! To keep customers satisfied, the organization needs to meet and/or exceed their requirements. The ISO 9001 standard provides a universally recognized, tried and tested framework for taking a systematic approach to managing the organization's processes, so that they consistently turn out product that satisfies customers' expectations.

The 5 main clauses of ISO 9001:2008

* Quality Management System
* Management Responsibility
* Resource Management
* Product Realization
* Measurement, Analysis and Improvement

Industry specific variations of ISO 9000

A number of different industry sectors have adopted ISO 9001, added supplemental requirements which are specific to their own industry, and modified the title of the standard. The most notable of these are:

* ISO/TS 16949 - Automotive
* AS9100, 9110 and 9120 - Aerospace
* ISO 13485 - Medical Devices
* TL 9000 - Telecommunications

Application of the standards

The standards are not designed to tell you how to run your business, but rather to allow you to be compliant with the standard in a manner that best suits the way you decide to run your business. There are some “shalls” which are non-negotiable requirements if you wish to be certified by an independent certification body, also known as registrars.


source : www.qualitydigest.com