ISO 9000

What is it and why use it?

What is ISO 9000? Brief history of ISO Why use ISO 9000? How to implement ISO 9000 Drawbacks to ISO 9000

What is ISO?
An

internationally accepted management model that makes a company document their processes to maintain consistent practices Method that dictates how a company should produce their products through a rigorous documentation process

This prevents repetitive errors from occurring and allows for improvement Focuses on ensuring a quality product

ISO: A Brief History

ISO 9000 created by the International Organization for Standardization International standardization began with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in 1906

This led to the development of the International Federation of National Standardizing Associations (ISA) in 1926 a cheaper product less waste greater interoperability between products improved usability ease of maintenance

The reasons for international standards are:

ISO: A Brief History

But

with the start of World War II the war in 1946

ISA operations was put on hold in 1942 A delegation of 25 countries met in London and decided to start over and form an organization "the object of which would be to facilitate the international coordination and unification of industrial standards" ISO was formed the following year in 1947 and published its first standard in 1951

After

ISO

9000 was conceived in 1987, updated in 1994, and again in 2000

Why use ISO 9000?

Working

for a company that does not have a formalized method of management creates a chaotic working environment
Time,

money, and work hours go into wasteful utilization higher likelihood of errors and faults appearing in a product
ISO

9000 is a preventive measure so time, money and work hours arent wasted fixing those errors

Why use ISO 9000?

Provides
An

a highly organized structure of operation

extensive documentation of processes Clearly defined responsibilities

Offers

a competitive edge for companies

Companies

with ISO certification are preferred over ones that are not Sometimes is the main determinant for clients

Why use ISO 9000?

Required

for mere survival

Clients may require that companies convert to ISO 9000 or lose their business Better to get certified before being forced to

Customer

satisfaction

A more organized procedure adapts to last minute changes better Confidence and trust is fostered with client Good relationship built with client means increased business with referred customers as well as returning ones

Why use ISO 9000?

Employee

confidence

Employees are happier when they know exactly what they should be doing and who to report to Increased communication allows an employee to be full informed at all times during a project As a result, employees are more efficient in their work

All

previous points lead to one thing

increased

profits and knowing that a product of higher quality is being produced

How to implement ISO 9000

1. Decide whether to do it or not
There

are many success stories of companies using ISO 9000 But this does not mean its guaranteed to boost profits An assessment of whether ISO will benefit a company is required before proceeding If a company decides to do it they need to commit to it

How to implement ISO 9000

2.

Select a quality manager

Find someone to be in charge of quality control He/she should have an unbiased view of quality and the ability to communicate problems to the chief executive

3.

Set up the ISO 9000 group

Traditionally a committee of all the managers from every department of the company grouped together to analyze processes, come up with better solutions and document them

How to implement ISO 9000

4.

Foster employee confidence

Very important to the success of ISO 9000 Staff needs to be motivated to accept ISO otherwise it wont work Executives should set example by being excited about it

5.

Write a Quality Policy

A mission statement stating the companys commitment to the ISO standard and signed by the chief executive

How to implement ISO 9000

6.

Define employee responsibilities

Responsibilities

must be clearly defined and stated for each employee Employees that know exactly what they should be doing reduces confusion and inefficiency
7.

Create a manual
manual needs to be compiled of all the companys processes and contain the best practices

How to implement ISO 9000

8.

Get audited
A companys procedures are checked and allows for refinement and correction of errors Competent auditing firm is required so all problems can be worked out

9.

Get certified
Find an internationally well-known and credible group to certify the company Allowed to announce certification to clients after this step

How to implement ISO 9000

10.

Maintain certification

ISO

is not a one shot deal, it is a continuous improvement program Maintain quality systems and gauge client satisfaction Pursue continuous improvement and have an ISO 9000 maintenance team Anticipate biyearly surveillance audits, there is the possibility of losing certification

Drawbacks to ISO 9000

No

process is perfect and ISO does not guarantee profitable results Bureaucratic processes

Could require intensive documentation

In

addition, ISO is not cheap, in time and money

Company time spent on projects need to be halted for the implementation of ISO 9000 Can take between 6 months to 2 years to reach certification Costs can range between $3,000-$100,000

The Market Impact of ISO 9000 Importance to Marketing and Sales Reasons and Benefits Examples What we learned

Market Impact Of ISO 9000

The

customer is the focal point for all businesses to survive in any market locally, nationally, and globally Customers needs and requirements are important ISO 9000 establishes a set of rules and regulations to avoid poor-quality products and services for a variety of customers

Product" applies to services, processed material, hardware and software intended for, or required by, your customer

Importance to Marketing and Sales

The

degree of positive impact depends on the degree of involvement in the certification process Customers can be confident in a company that knows the importance of quality assurance

They can offer a good quality product and/or service

stepping stone to improve quality products and true customer focus

Reasons for Companies to Comply

A study conducted by Rayner and Porter:

10% - Other reasons 35% - Pressured by customers

10% - Improve quality

15% - Access new markets

15% - Gain competitive advantage

15% - Need to anticipate registration

80%

of the firms considered marketing as the main reason to be certified by ISO 9000

Other reasons:
Comply

with public projects Government requirements

Some government organizations (Australia) require their suppliers to be ISO 9000 compliant

Overseas

trade and market Pressure from larger businesses Reduce time failure Reduce costs of customers claims Improve customer service and customer loyalty To get things done right the first time

Benefits from Certification

A

study conducted by McAdam and McKeown

Northern Ireland/Europe 37% - Increased productivity 23% - Internal benefits (i.e. reduced cost) 14% - Greater control 37% of the businesses received benefits within the first year of ISO 9000 Certification

Other benefits:
Quality

improvement Enhance competitiveness of company Cost reduction Sales increase More systematic record keeping Improved internal communication and performance Continual improvement of operation

Here are two examples

Example 1

A metal parts fabricating company used ISO 9000:2000 to develop a plan to implement their quality management system. They prepared a quality manual and quality system procedures, excluding the requirements covering product design and development because their products are designed by their customers. Later, in order to bid on the supply of parts to a major automotive company, they adapted their quality system to meet the sector of specific requirements

Example 2

A welfare agency decided to establish a quality improvement strategy. It adopted ISO 9004:2000 as the basis for planning and implementing its system. The agency found that ISO 9000:2000 provided very useful additional guidance and plans to seek certification to ISO 9001:2000 to gain more credibility.

What we learned
International

Organization of Standardization ISO does not stand for International Standards Organization as many believe ISO is the short form of the name - not IOS
Derived

from the Greek word isos, meaning equal The meaning of equal is similar to the word standard Also, it is the same in all languages without translating International Organization of Standardization
into an acronym
e.g. IOS in English, OIN in French for Organisation internationale de normalisation

What we learned
ISO
It

9000 is not just for software that we originally thought

more of a management model or plan that ANY industry can use to improve quality systems Motivation to strictly follow documented processes should start from top management to encourage employees to follow at every level more than 140 countries have adopted the ISO 9000 series as their national quality standard

ISO 9001
generally

stated deals with:

design

input and output verification changes development production installation servicing.

does

not deal with the design process

itself

ISO 9002
primarily

deals with production operations and assembly

ISO 9003
primarily

deals with final inspection and testing to assure quality in the products that the company receives from other companies

ISO 9004
gives

guidance to organizations that provide services to customers that may or may not have a product to offer Some software organizations usually support the products they supply instead of designing or manufacturing the products.

Differences
Differences

vary within individual companies and the activities that they do The only differences between 9001 and 9003 is:
9001

has twenty quality system requirements and ISO 9003 only has twelve for demonstrating compliance

ISO 9000:2000

Revised from ISO 9000:1994 Requires organizations that are already certified to update their quality systems to comply with the new standards Differs from ISO 9001:1994 in terms of quality models (e.g. 20 elements are no longer required) Emphasizes continual improvement, management responsibility, and resources management Is broader so that more industries can apply the quality standards to their areas Not overwhelming who are already well organized and managed after implementing the previous version