Q&As ON ISO 9000

These are some of the most frequently asked questions about ISO 9000 standards.

Q.1. What are the ISO 9000 Standards?

A. The ISO 9000 Standards are a series of quality assurance and quality management standards, three of which, IO 9001, 9002 and 9003, are used as criteria for certification. The standards represent international consensus on good management practices aimed at ensuring the organization can conitently deliver stated products and services that meet the customer quality requirements and expectations.

Q.2. Who developed the ISO 9000 Standards?

A. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ISO is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies, from over 115 countries. The ISO 9000 Standards were first published in 1987 by ISO's Quality Management and Quality Assurance Technical Committee (IO TC 176).

Q.3. What led to the establishment of ISO Standards?

A. The need for customer confidence in a company's ability to consistently maintain acceptable product quality led to the establihment and success of the ISO 9000 standards. The advantage of a set of universally accepted quality standards became obvious.

Q.4. Are the ISO 9000 Quality System Standards only for countries that are exporting?

A. This is a common misconception. Any company which implements a quality system to an ISO 9000 standard stands to gain significant benefits for its operation even if the company is not involved in export. This is true regardless of its size, product or service. The ISO 9000 standards indicate basic conditions which a company must satisfy for compliance. The standards are generic, and therefore do not give specific details on how the company will attain compliance.

Q.5. Does ISO specify levels of product quality?

A. No. ISO 9000 provides criteria and guidelines for attaining quality assurance through effective quality management systems. It enables a company to consistently supply a product or service of predetermined quality. That quality is defined in a product or service standard.

Q.6. What does it take to implement and maintain an ISO 9000 Quality system?

A. Firstly, there needs to be a basic understanding of the requirements of the standards and of the level of commitment that the project demands. Responsibilities and authority must be assigned to key personnel who will develop the processes and documentation which comprise the quality system. Each task that affects quality of the product or service must be performed by suitably trained personnel.

Once the system has been implemented, the company maintains it by review of activities related to identified and reported system failures.

Q.7. Is an ISO Quality Management System worth the effort?

A. The answer is unquestionably YES!!! The ISO 9000 standards are voluntary, but as a result of their worldwide acceptance, ISO 9000 certification has increasingly become a pre-requisite for market accesses. Maintenance of a quality management also helps to optimize business processes by promoting efficiency and a greater level of corporate communication.

ISO 9000 is also an invaluable aid for in-house training of new employees.

Q.8. How do I become ISO certified?

A. The appointed third-party registrar will process the completed application and then assess the quality manual for compliance with the applicable standard. This is followed by a quality system audit on the company's site. The certificate is awarded when the manual audit and quality system satisfy all requirements of the standard.

Q.9. Where can I obtain copies of the ISO 9000 Standards?

A. These can be purchased from the Antigua and Barbuda Bureau of Standards.

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