What is ISO 9000?

In 1987, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) established the ISO 9000 family of standards. This family comprises a system of numbers utilized in documenting a systems quality effectiveness.

Where does ISO 9000 come from?

This family of standards forms its basis on certain quality management principles known as (QMPs). In a bid to help manufacturers to effectively record the elements in a quality control system, QMPs were created. Senior management can apply these principles in order to improve the organization.

• The first is the customers focus. Here, there is a need for the organization to know the needs of their customers. Hence, making them align the goals of the organization with their customers needs and expectations. Their focus should be on the experience and satisfaction of their customer.
• Leadership is next. A goal and direction need to be set up by the organization. They should be helpful in creating a work environment that motivates people to accomplish the set goals of the organization. Finally, in order to build trust and empower employees, certain organizational values should be in place.
• Involving employees is necessary. The organization is meant to engage and motivate all employees to continually improve, learn and share information. This is needed because employees at all levels are important and their full potential would benefit the organization.
• The process approach is the next principle. In order to achieve results more efficiently, the required activities, as well as, available resources need to be managed as a process. By doing this, resources would be distributed properly and opportunities would be prioritized.
• Improvement is another important principle. The permanent goal of an organization should be to improve its performance and also capabilities. When organizations empower people, measure improvement and celebrate success in improvements, it would go a long way in positively affecting overall performance.
• Decision making based on evidence is also a principle. For more effectiveness, decisions should be made based on data collected and also its analysis. The data analysis should be supported with real-life experiences.
• The last principle is the relationship management. In order to achieve more, an organization needs to have a mutually beneficial relationship with its external providers. Since both parties rely on each other, they need to have a relationship that benefits both of them.

ISO 9000 became popular in Europe after their first publication in 1987 before extending it to the U.S. in the 1990s. With an aim at achieving quality assurance worldwide, the standards have been modified with the passage of time. Currently, quality management entails good process management which comprises both human resources and the technical part. September 2015 marked the publishing of the latest versions of ISO 9000 and 9001 apart from the previous versions created in 2000 and 2008. 

Certification  

In the ISO 9000 family, organizations can utilize the 9001 version for certification purpose. This process spans for over one year and tons of documentation are required in order to align with the ISO standard. ISO 9000 certification cannot be granted to individuals or organizations.