FREE online courses on What is ISO 9000 - How does the ISO 9000 family of
standards work
The requirements for a quality
system have been standardized – but most of us like to think our business is
unique. So how does ISO 9000 allow for the diversity of say, on the one hand, a
"Mr. and Mrs." enterprise, and on the other, to a multinational manufacturing
company with service components, or a public utility, or a government
administration?
The answer is that ISO 9000 lays
down what requirements your quality system must meet, but does not dictate how
they should be met in your organization – which leaves great scope and
flexibility for implementation in different business sectors and business
cultures...as well as different national cultures.
So, the ISO 9000 family includes
standards that give organizations guidance and requirements on what constitutes
an effective quality management system. ISO 9004-1 (and the other parts of ISO
9004) are the standards giving guidelines on the elements of quality management
and a quality system.
The family also includes models
against which this system can be audited to give the organization and its
clients assurance that the system is operating effectively. The three quality
assurance models are ISO 9001, ISO 9002 and ISO 9003.
Lastly, the family includes a
standard on terminology, and other standards, which can be described as
"supporting tools", that give guidance on specific aspects, such as auditing
quality systems.