Standards

• ISO 9001:2000: Your Comitment to Quality (93KB E-Brochure in PDF)

ISO 9001:2000

Background on ISO

ISO is the International Organization for Standardization, founded in 1947 and based in Switzerland. ISO is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies comprising 140 members. The object of ISO is to promote the development of standardization and related activities around the world, in order to facilitate the international exchange of goods and services, and to develop cooperation in the spheres of intellectual, scientific, technological and economic activity. The results of ISO technical work are published as International Standards, the best known being the ISO 9000 family of standards.

ISO 9001:2000 is likely the most widely recognized international standard. It is a generic standard that affords any organization the ability to demonstrate a commitment to quality and customer satisfaction.

The ISO 9000:2000 Family of Standards

The ISO 9000:2000 Family consists of three core documents:

• ISO 9000:2000 – terminology;
• ISO 9001:2000 – the requirements that must be met. Organizations are audited and certified against this document.
• ISO 9004:2000 - guidelines on the elements of quality management and a quality system.

In essence, the ISO 9000 family represents an international consensus on good management practices, with the goal of ensuring that organizations subscribing to it can deliver product or services that meet their client's quality requirements. These good practices have been distilled into a set of standardized requirements for a quality management system, suitable for any kind of organization (small/large, public/private, for profit/not for profit).

Foundation of ISO 9001:2000

ISO 9001:2000 is a generic standard for the management of quality in any organization. It is built on eight quality management principles:

1. Customer focus: organizations depend on their customers and therefore should understand current and future customer needs, should meet customer requirements and strive to exceed customer expectations.
2. Leadership: leaders establish unity of purpose, direction, and the internal environment of the organization. They create the environment in which people can become fully involved in achieving the organization’s objectives.
3. Involvement of people: people at all levels are the essence of an organization and their full involvement enables their abilities to be used for the organization’s benefit.
4. Process approach: a desired result is achieved more efficiently when related resources and activities are managed as a process.
5. System approach to management: identifying, understanding and managing a system of interrelated processes for a given objective contributes to the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization.
6. Continual Improvement: a permanent objective of the organization is continual improvement.
7. Factual approach to decision making: effective decisions are based on the logical or intuitive analysis of data and information.
8. Mutually beneficial supplier relationships: the ability of the organization and its suppliers to create value is enhanced by mutually beneficial relationships.

Whether your organization is a manufacturer or service provider; small or large, ISO 9001:2000 certification through AQSR can give your customers confidence that you actively comply with the highest quality standards.

Benefits

• Provides a framework and systematic approach for managing business processes.
• Provide for the improvement of business processes
• Reduce waste and rework, shortened cycle times, improved problem tracking and resolution
• Better supplier relations.
• Demonstrate commitment to quality and continual improvement
• Improved consistency
• Qualify for new customers
• Enter global markets