ISO 9001
The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) maintains standards for quality management systems which were originally designed for the manufacturing sector. In recent years, the standards have redefined the word “product” to include services and software as well as physical objects.
The ISO 9001 standard is used by businesses to improve their quality management systems. The requirements that the framework include are varied and comprehensive. Businesses and organisations have to develop a set of procedures that will sufficiently reach and monitor all key processes. Adequate record-keeping is also a requirement of the standards. There must be reviews of product output for any type of defect as well as plans in place to address and correct those defects when and if they occur. There must also be processes in place for review all individual processes and facilitating continual improvement.
In terms of employee involvement in this process, the ISO 9001 standard requires that each and every employee have measurable objectives to work towards. Records are also a major focus of the process. When raw materials are involved, it is important the sufficient records exist to enable staff to track them back to their source should the need arise. This can be extremely important when problems occur with the quality of product that has already been produced and sold to consumers.
Customers are another focus of the ISO 9001 standard in that requirements need to be put into place to communicate with them about product information, inquiries, contracts, orders, feedback and complaints. Product testing at all stages of development is another important issue that the standards require. If a business or organisation would like outside validation pertaining to their quality system developments, they have the option to hire an independent quality system certification body to obtain an ISO 9001 certificate of conformity. This has become increasingly popular as the value of these standards has become clear around the world.