|
|
|
ISO is the International Standards Organisation. ISO 9001/2000 is a set of criteria which define a Quality Management System (QMS). An ISO 9001/2000 compliant QMS sees an organisation as a set of interrelated processes (this is very similar to CMM®, CMMI® and SPICE).
Each process must be planned, that is:
- it must have defined goals
- it must have a defined set of interrelationships with other processes
- the process must be continually measured, under continuous review and improvement.
ISO 9001/2000 is the latest version of the standard and is generally acknowledged to be an improvement on the earlier versions. The Standard covers the whole process of developing a QMS including how to plan processes, implement, measure and improve them.
Business benefits of achieving an ISO 9001/2000 compliant QMS are:
- Reduced Cost resulting from reduced scrap and rework
- Reduced employee turnover as their satisfaction improves
- Increased productivity as less work is wasted
- Increased market by operating an internationally recognised QMS (many organisations will only deal with ISO compliant organisations)
- Increased customer satisfaction resulting from higher quality products and services
- Increased profits resulting from reduced costs, increased market share and better customer retention
|
