The Standard in Quality and
Environmental Consulting
Since 1985.
The Standard in Quality and
Environmental Consulting
Since 1985.
ISO 9000
ISO 9000 consists of a complete series of documents. These are all associated with the subject of Quality Assurance; although, some are not formal ISO standards. Instead, they are Technical Specifications and Technical Documents. These documents are produced by the same committees, but because they are not standards, (and thus theoretically are not used for conformance) they have relaxed voting and maintenance requirements.
ISO 9001 is the contractual, or requirements, standard and is designed to be used by customers who want to contractually bind suppliers to a defined standard of quality assurance. In practice suppliers comply with the requirements of the standard and then get this verified by an independent registrar who audits their organization. This "proof" is then used to assure customers of the quality of their management system.
These standards explicitly require achievement of customer satisfaction through meeting agreed upon requirements and through implementation of an organized approach to quality assurance. Where companies fail to do this, it is not the fault of the standard but of the company itself in choosing not to adhere to the good principles of customer satisfaction. Sometimes companies make life too difficult for themselves, choosing to adhere to the principles of ISO 9000 with lofty objectives or complicated processes.
It must be remembered that ISO 9000 is simply a guide to the organization of good quality assurance principles. Most companies already demonstrate good principles by satisfying and continuing to satisfy customers. Consequently, the application of ISO 9000 should be simple and quick.
The 2000 version of ISO 9000 demands very little in the form of documented procedures. There are only six processes that must be documented. However, all of the other processes must still be carried out, requirements met, and proof must exist that demonstrates conformance. Clearly one approach is to document some of these processes at an appropriate level so that they can be communicated and carried out consistently. The standard requires processes for monitoring customer satisfaction, analysis of data, and for continual improvement as well as processes for the more familiar business processes such as design, sales, purchasing, and product/service provision..
The standard recommends a process approach to structuring the management system. Cavendish Scott has been using this approach since 1985 and fully understands the approach and requirements. Our approach focuses on the needs of the business rather than pandering to the requirements of the standard. Our approach should ensure that more organizations get the maximum out of their ISO 9001 implementation. It approach requires organizations to define their processes, identify inputs, outputs and controls for them, define objectives and demonstrate improvement of those processes. This is sometimes fairly new thinking for organizations.
Cavendish Scott provides all types of training, consulting and assistance to companies wishing to develop systems in compliance with ISO 9000.
So you’ve decided to comply with ISO 90000, what next? Consider the pros and cons of different approaches.
Also See
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Services and Standards Index |  |
The Cavendish Scott Approach |
