What is ISO 9000?
ISO 9000 is a group of standards from ISO for quality management systems (QMS). This standard began as a standard specifically for manufacturing but has been used in other businesses. If a business wants to sell a product or do business internationally, being ISO 9000 certified will mean that it adheres to a high level of quality standards that are understood the world over and will attract more clients.
ISO 9000 certification means that a company can meet requirements related to the quality of a product and also customer service. It provides a set of rules that have been followed time and again successfully to manage the various processes of an organization to turn out a successful product. The standard explains what requirements for quality a company must meet to be effective. An organization can conduct self-audits or checks on itself to ensure that ISO 9000’s steps to success are working or it can obtain someone from outside the organization to perform an audit, or even a client.
ISO 9000 Principles
ISO 9000 is based on eight fundamental principles. The first is based on customer satisfaction. Being able to better utilize the resources available at a company improves efficiency and therefore customer satisfaction. Leadership importance makes up the second principle. Leadership is important because it brings together people and processes to streamline the whole production cycle. The third principle involves people in the organization. Everyone in the organization needs to feel they own their position and are able to freely talk about any issues they may be having. Communicating with those performing the work can lead to process improvements.
The fourth principle is process approach. The cycles of manufacturing a product have to be made into a consistent process. Better process efficiency leads to increased speed and more cost effectiveness. The fifth principle builds upon the fourth, taking the processes and building them into...