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ISO 9000
10/3/2001
John Hensley
Peter Hoekstra
Keith Horan
Curt Schmidgall
Don Snyder
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There has been an emergence of quality in the manufacturing industries in America over the past few decades.
Competition from overseas as well as domestic has fueled businesses to prove their product is of the highest
quality. One way companies have demonstrated this dedication is through the use of ISO 9000 standards. ISO
9000 has the potential to offer companies reduced costs, increased revenue, higher standards of excellence, and
international recognition as a quality organization. Many companies invest in other ISO programs such as ISO
9001 for its entrepreneurial standards on management quality systems. ISO 9000 is a beneficial program for
many US companies.
What is ISO 9000?
ISO 9000 is a set of standards and criteria regarding quality control for companies specializing in
manufacturing and services. Its purpose is to provide a means for a company to demonstrate a commitment to
quality to their customers.
The International Standards Organization represents 140 countries around the globe. The Organization
was founded in 1947 as a non-governmental organization to promote the development of standards in quality.
The ISO 9000 standards were introduced in 1987.
The presence of ISO can be seen in our lives every day. The consistency in dimensions of products
such as cassette tapes and credit cards are the result of ISO standards. These standards are necessary to insure
quality products that serve their purpose. Most ISO standards are measurement oriented and consist of
dimensions. The ISO 9000 differs from these standards by being more subjective. The ISO 9000 and ISO
14000 are referred to as “generic management systems standards”. They do not standardize the final product,
but the process to make the product. ISO 9000 lays down what requirements your quality system must meet,
but does not dictate how they should be met in your organization (International, 2001). This allows the
company great flexibility in the process of meeting these requirements. A number of different quality methods
can be used and still meet the criteria. While ISO 9000 gives a company direction for implementing a quality
program, being certified does not guarantee quality.
The International Standards Organization simply defines the standards to be used for certification. The
organization itself does not audit companies. Because of this, a company cannot be termed “ISO 9000
certified”. ISO would like to put an end to the use of this terminology, as it can be misleading, causing
customers to think that ISO is sponsoring the certification process. ISO also will not allow its logo to be used to
advertise certification. Private sectors take on the responsibility for auditing companies to check for compliance
to ISO 9000. Companies can be certified with a certain private company that relies on its own credentials. This
private company will check to see if the management processes relevant to quality are in line with the
corresponding ISO 9000 standards.
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Is ISO 9000 Appropriate for My Company?
Before applying for ISO certification, a company first must decide if ISO 9000 is something they need.
Issues such as customer needs, competition, and legal requirements must be examined. If a major customer
demanded an ISO certification for a product they buy, or international customers require certification, ISO 9000
would be appropriate for a company. The competition must also be brought into account. If a major competitor
of a company has ISO certification for their processes, another company may desire to obtain a certification. A
company may also pursue ISO certification for legal reasons. Europe, for example, requires an ISO
certification for many products they import from the US (Hanson).
After a company decides if ISO certification is appropriate, they must then evaluate how it will be
beneficial to their company and product. The most important benefit is that their process will be recognized as
a world-class quality system. Other benefits will be reduced waste, a higher quality products and processes, and
consistency to operations (Hanson).
Obtaining ISO Certification
The initial step for obtaining the ISO certification is to have an in-depth analysis of the company’s own
quality procedures and compare them to the ISO 9000 standards. If the company’s procedures and job training
are poorly documented and there is proof of poor communication with management, then compliance to ISO
9000 standards will be very difficult to obtain (Emporia).
Next, an external consultant is hired to assess the original procedures and take the necessary steps to
conform them to ISO 9000 standards. To ensure that these measures are kept, a quality assurance program is
created and implemented. This will often require some description of the system, evaluation of new training
needs, calibration of equipment, and a corrective/preventive system to stop recurring problems (Emporia).
The assessment process is the next step, which involves a system of audits by a third party. This
involves inspection of the organization, documentation, employees, and their knowledge of the quality system
(Emporia).
Finally, a third party registration agency will issue certification, assuming the company complies with
the standard of ISO 9000. The ISO 9000 certificate will usually expire after three years which forces
companies to annually audit their processes (Emporia).
The cost of obtaining an ISO certification will vary from among companies. An estimate of the
implementation cost can be found by brining into account factors such as
•
Employee size
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•
Multiple locations
•
Degree of “closeness” to ISO 9000 standards
•
Needed steps to re-engineer quality procedures (Cost)
ISO 9000 Variations
Although many companies strive to attain ISO 9000 certification, there are many different ISO
certifications available. ISO 9002 1994, ISO 9003 1994, and ISO 9001 are just a few variations of ISO program
that tailor to the individual quality needs of competitive companies.
The differences in versions relate to various tasks a company performs. The 9001 version covers
requirements for businesses whose operations include the entire production process, from design through
manufacturing to service. ISO 9002 is aimed toward a company that does not design its product. This version
mirrors 9001, except that the design requirements are excluded.
The most popular upgrade from ISO 9000 is ISO 9001, which has now made 9002 and 9003 obsolete.
ISO 9000 can be described as a “plant standard,” while ISO 9001 can be though of as an “enterprise standard,”
with the addition of management principles (Kymal, 2001). The enterprise standard relates different parts of a
system together so they can be better managed to perform at optimum levels for the company. Another goal of
the new enterprise standard is the idea of continuous improvement throughout the company. The following are
examples of the new management principles required to become ISO 9001 certified: (Praxiom, 2001)
•
Support quality
•
Review quality management system
o
Promote the importance of quality
•
Examine management review inputs
o
Develop a quality management
•
Generate management review outputs
system
•
Provide quality personnel
Implement your quality
•
Use competent personnel
management system
•
Support competence
Improve your quality management
•
Control realization planning
system
•
Plan product realization processes
•
Develop product realization processes
o
o
•
Define responsibilities and authorities
•
Appoint management representative
•
Support internal communications
•
Perform management reviews
European and other foreign customers are increasingly expecting ISO 9001 certification for US
companies. To get ISO 9001 certification, a third party auditor must “conduct an on-site audit of a company’s
operations against the requirements of the appropriate standard” (ASQ, 2001). Once certification is attained,
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the company receives a registration certificate that their quality system is in compliance with ISO 9001. This
process is similar to the certification program for ISO 9000.
The Use of ISO 9000 in Yellow Corp
ISO 9001 certification is mostly seen in the manufacturing industries but has been gaining ground in
transportation logistics and other service-oriented industries. Yellow Corp. is the first transportation company
to achieve certification under ISO 9001 guidelines. These guidelines concentrate on measuring results and
continuous improvement rather than the monitoring of information. For Yellow to keep their certification, they
must have each of their 350 terminals reviewed and evaluated once a year. Bob Shockley, Senior Manager of
Quality Certification at Yellow, states that a representative from the international organization audited a random
sample of terminals from the system to determine compliance for Yellow.
“ISO certification is widely regarded as proof-positive that companies have adopted and follow best-ofclass standards in their internal and external operations,” Shockley says.
The certification of Yellow has started to pay big dividends over the past few years. The new measures have
helped the company follow terminal operations. Most importantly, the certification displays a set standard for
the way Yellow does business. This makes it easier for a customer to deal with the company anywhere in the
country.
Each terminal at Yellow Corp. must adhere to an appropriate standard based on its size. There are 4
different sizes ranging from A to D. The A class is the smallest terminal and D is the largest based on the
average numbers of bills the terminal handles per day. The larger terminals must comply with many more rules
and regulations than the smaller terminals. A team of Yellow representatives goes to the larger terminals and
performs a T.O.S. (Terminal Operating System) review and records a terminal’s procedures and rates them on a
scale of 1 to 100, 100 being the best. A smaller terminal sends in their information to the corporate offices to be
reviewed on the same scale. These procedures are then checked with the standards set forth by the ISO board
and the goals that the terminal set the previous year.
Conclusion
Companies such as Yellow Freight have found many benefits from ISO 9000 certification. ISO 9000
offers many benefits to companies by focusing on quality through the management structure. Reduced cost,
higher revenue, and an international reputation for being a quality company are only a few of the benefits from
the various ISO certifications. In a world of international businesses, a competitive marketplace, and growing
economies, ISO will continue to help companies satisfy the increasing demand for quality standards.
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Works Cited
ASQ (American Society for Quality). “ISO 9000.” 9/24/01 http://www.asq.org/stand/types/iso9000.html
Emporia State University. “ISO 9000.” 9/24/01 http://www.emporia.edu/ibed/jour/jour14om/iso9000.htm
Hansen, Dexter A. “ISO 9000.” 9/24/09 home.att.net/~dexter.a.hansen/iso/trifold.htm
International Standards Organization. “The Magical Demystifying Tour of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000.” 9/24/01
http://www.iso.ch/iso/en/iso9000-14000/tour/magical.html
Kymal, Chad. President - Omnex & Joe Macko, President - AQSR. Omnex. “The Impact of ISO/TS 16949 and
ISO 9001:2000.” 9/24/01. http://www.omnex.com/news/qs_9000_dead.html
Praxiom Research Group Limited. “"WHAT" Questions about ISO 9000.” 9/24/01 http://praxiom.com/faq2.htm
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