The ISO
The International Organisation for Standardisation, established in 1947, is an international non-governmental organisation concerned with the development of standardisation to facilitate both the international exchange of goods and services and developing cooperation in the spheres of intellectual, scientific, technological activity.
The transportation, communications and other export-minded industries have long been aware of the need for standardisation that crosses national boundaries. As we edge nearer to the conceptual global village that need is now more acute than ever.
The ISO, made up of delegates from over 130 countries, has been instrumental in the implementation of global standards as varied as freight containers to paper size and wire ropes to camera film speed.
Management Standards
Prior to 1987 all the ISO standards were highly specific and referred to specific products, materials or procedures. However in 1987 the ISO introduced the 9001 series and in 1996 they added the 14000 series. Both these standards are termed generic management standards and refer to specific aspects of an organisations management system and include related supporting standards on terminology and specific tools such as auditing.
The ISO 9001 series of standards is concerned with quality management systems. These standards define quality as all the features required by the customer. Therefore quality management is how an organisation ensures that the product conforms and develops to meet the customers requirements. ISO 9001 state requirements for what the organization must do to manage processes influencing quality of their products.
ISO 14000 is concerned with environmental management. This refers to what procedures an organisation has in place to minimise any harmful effects on the environment as a result of their product or activities.
Quality Assurance via ISO 9002
ISO 9002 represents an international consensus on good management practice that ensures the delivery of a quality product. The standard dictates what quality requirements must be met without specifying how they are met. However ISO 9002 is a fully audi table system that allows an organisations clients to be assured that an recognised quality monitoring system is operating effectively.
ISO 9002 is the generic management standard for companies not involved in design and development. ISO 9002 sets out the requirements for an organization whose business processes include production, installation and servicing.
ISO 9002 is a quality assurance model made up of 19 quality system requirements. These requirements cover areas such as management responsibilities, quality and review, process control, inspection and testing, documentation, corrective and preventive action, handling, storage and delivery, training, servicing and the control of non-conforming products.
Revision of ISO 9002
As with all ISO standards, ISO 9002 is reviewed at least every five years, at which point they are confirmed, revised or withdrawn. The ISO 9001 series was revised in in 1994 and is currently being reviewed by ISO's Technical Committee for publication later this year.
The 2000 revision of ISO 9002 will emphasise the need to monitor customer satisfaction, promote clearer documentation and ensure the standards guidelines and requirements are consist ant. As with all previous revisions the year 2000 revision promotes the use of generic quality management principles by all certified organizations.
The 2000 revision of the ISO 9001 series of standards is based upon eight quality management principles of current thinking. The principles are customer focus, leadership, involvement of people, process approach, system approach, factual approach, continual improvement and a mutually beneficial supplier relationship.