ISO and ISO 9000
Jennifer G. Simpson and Tara Moses
Why standardization?
Imagine driving up to an ATM and finding that your card is too big to fit in the slot, or
going to buy a replacement screw in a hardware store only to find that no two screws in the bin
are the same. These kinds of problems would be an every day reality if it weren't for standards.
Standards are "documented agreements containing technical specifications or other precise
criteria to be used consistently as rules, guidelines, or definitions of characteristics, to ensure that
materials, products, processes, and services are fit for their purpose" (www.iso.ch). In today's
global economy, it has become imperative that things like bank cards are not only standardized in
the US but also internationally. The organization that is responsible for trying to create these
global standards is ISO.
What is ISO?
ISO (or the International Organization for Standardization) is a non-governmental
organization comprised of over 130 member countries that sets standards by international
agreement. The members can be divided into three categories: member bodies, correspondent
members, and subscriber members. There is only one member body in each country, and it is
responsible to represent the country's interests during negotiation, vote on standardizations, pay
membership dues for the host country, and inform the organizations within the country that are
interested in ISO about standardizations. The member organization in the United States is ANSI,
the American National Standards Institute. Correspondent members are found in countries that
have little national standards activity and therefore they do not participate in policy development
work. Subscriber members are found in economically small countries with an interest in
international standardization but are unable to pay full dues (www.iso.ch).
How does ISO work?
The standards that ISO defines are created by 2,850 different committees, subcommittees,
and working groups appointed by the Secretariat. These groups are comprised of experts from
around the world, therefore much of their work is done by correspondence. Final proposals for
new standards are reviewed at the ISO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and then sent to all of
the member countries for approval. Seventy-five percent of the member countries must approve a
standard proposal before it becomes an international standard. ISO is currently responsible for
more than 12,000 international standards. Some examples include telephone and bank cards,
freight containers, the SI measurement system, paper sizes, automobile control symbols, and
metric screw threads. The only disciplines that ISO is not responsible to set standards for are
electrical applications and electronic engineering. These standards are set by IEC (www.iso.ch).
What is ISO 9000?
Industrially, ISO's greatest contribution to date is ISO 9000. After 8 years of
development, it was first published in 1987. ISO 9000 is a series of five individual standards on
quality assurance and quality management for corporations. The standards are general enough
that they can be applied to both manufacturing and service industries, but their application is
specific enough that it takes from seven months to two years to put ISO 9000 into practice
(www.asq.org/standcert/iso.html).
ISO 9000 guides interested parties on how to select the appropriate sections of its four
sub-standards for their particular business. The four sub-standards are (www.isoeasy.org):
ISO 9001: Quality systems model for design, development, production,
installation and servicing (this is the most comprehensive standard).
ISO 9002: Quality systems model for production, installation, and modeling.
ISO 9003: Quality systems model for final inspection and testing.
ISO 9004: Quality management model for "internal use by a producer developing
its own quality system to meet business needs and take advantage of
opportunities" (www.asq.org/standcert/iso.html).
It is important to note that ISO 9000 Series standards do not qualify the technology to be
used for implementation. Therefore, there are many independent "firms" that consult companies
on the implementation of ISO 9000. These companies will charge anywhere from $4,000 to
$40,000 to help a business implement ISO 9000 and to prepare a business to be certified
(www.iso9000usa.com/info.html). One company, Global QA, simply sells a software package to
aid companies in preparing for certification, while companies like Quality Resource Center will
work for a company for more than seven months to prepare the company for certification and
leave the normal employees to complete their regular tasks.
The steps that a company must go through to implement ISO 9000 are as follows
(www.qrccentral.com/timeline.htm):
1. Write a Quality Policy Manual
2. Write out Quality Operating Procedures
3. Write work instructions for all jobs
4. Implement the documented policies and processes
5. Audit the implemented processes
6. Correct all of the nonconformities found during the audit
7. Audit again to make sure that all nonconformities have been corrected
8. Be audited again for Certification by an outside company
When a business reaches the eighth step, it must choose an auditor for certification. Because
auditors are also independent of ISO, it is important to make sure that the auditor you use is
accredited by ANSI. Other things to consider when choosing an auditor are
(www.asq.org/standcert/iso.html):
•
knowledge of the particular industry to be audited
•
knowledge in auditing quality systems
•
number of similar firms they've audited
•
re-audit schedule (should be every 3-4 years)
•
mutual recognition status
Why be ISO 9000 Certified?
After looking at all of these requirements, the question arises, "If it takes so much time
and money to implement ISO 9000, why on earth would a company bother to become certified?"
The answer is simple: to remain competitive. Surveys of companies that have implemented ISO
9000 have revealed that certified companies have (www.qrccentral.com/whyiso.htm):
•
Increased sales
•
Increased market shares
•
Reduced costs
•
Increased profits
•
Shorter cycle times
•
Reduced scrap and rework
•
Improved product reliability
•
Improved customer satisfaction
Because of the improved quality that results from implementing ISO 9000, many ISO 9000
certified companies will only work with companies that are also certified. Another reason that
ISO 9000 certified companies desire to work with other certified companies is because their
continuing certification depends on it. One of the requirements of ISO 9001 and ISO 9002 is that
suppliers must select subcontractors " 'on the basis of their ability to meet subcontract
requirements including the quality system and any specific quality-assurance requirements' "
(www. qrccentral.com/whyiso.htm). This is because in ISO 9000, a company is responsible for
all of the materials used in a product that affect its quality.
Conclusion
It is clear that through ISO 9000, ISO is realizing its goal of making global commerce
possible through standardization. Consumers can now expect the buy quality products from any
company that is ISO 9000 certified, and companies can expect to find “going global” a little bit
easier.
References
www.asq.org/standcert/iso.html
www.iso.ch
www.isoeasy.org
www.iso9000usa.com/info.html
www.qrccentral.com/timeline.htm
www.qrccentral.com/whyiso.htm