Food Control 18 (2007) 10771085 www.elsevier.

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Implementation of a quality management system (QMS) according to the ISO 9000 family in a Greek small-sized winery: A case study
D. Aggelogiannopoulos, E.H. Drosinos , P. Athanasopoulos
Department of Food Science and Technology, Laboratory of Food Quality Control and Hygiene, Agricultural University of Athens, 75, Iera Odos Street, Votanicos, GR-118 55 Athens, Greece Received 10 February 2006; received in revised form 28 June 2006; accepted 3 July 2006

Abstract In this article we will review the planning and the implementation of a quality management system (QMS) according to ISO 9000 standards for a small-sized winery in Paros Island. Top Management of the organization seeks to gain all the internal and external beneWts from the certiWcation of its QMS according to the requirements of the International Standard ISO 9001:2000 and also to increase the share market and inWltrate into new markets. We will discuss the documentation of the QMS, the obstacles and the problems that the organization faced during the implementation of the QMS, and the cost elements. 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: ISO 9001:2000; QMS; Winery

1. Introduction 1.1. Short overview of ISO 9000 family In recent years, the quality of manufacturing products has become one of the most important factors that inXuence national and international business and economic patterns. Numerous quality standards have been developed and adopted over the years, with the ISO family of standards representing an international consensus on good management practices with the aim of ensuring that an organization can deliver products or services that meet the customers quality requirements. ISO 9000 standards originated in 1987 with a bulletin from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) (Ferguson, 1996). Its purpose was to provide a series of international standards dealing with quality systems that could be used for external quality purposes. Another important consideration was the

Corresponding author. Tel.: +30 210 529 4713; fax: +30 210 529 4683. E-mail address: edh@aua.gr (E.H. Drosinos).

desire to provide information to organiz- ations about how to design their own quality systems based on individual company marketplace needs. The standards in the ISO 9000 series intend to be generic standards for quality management and quality assurance. The standards are to be applied to any type of organizations; independent to the size of the organizations or the kind of products manufactured or services provided, in private and public organizations, including government services. The original ISO 9000 series consisted of Wve standards: ISO 9000, 9001, 9002, 9003 and 9004, plus ISO 8402 (which was published in 1986 and it focused on terminology). The ISO 9000 series was the fastest growing standards in history and was very popular from the start (Bergman, 1994). By 2004 more than 136 countries had adopted the series as national standards, and more than 650,000 facilities had been certiWed by third-party organizations to ISO 9001:2000. Since 1987, were the ISO 9000 family was issued, it is unlikely that any other standards had more impact on international trade, on the relationship between suppliers and their customers and on the management of quality. All ISO standards are evaluated on a Wve-year schedule to

0956-7135/$ - see front matter 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.foodcont.2006.07.010

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determinate whether they remain suitable for their application or if they need to be revised or withdrawn. At the annual meeting of ISOs Technical Committee 176 in 1990 it was agreed that the series of ISO 9000:1987 should be revised and that the revision should be done in two phases (Tsiakals, 2002). This approach was adopted because a great numerous of organizations were familiar with the 1987 standards and would likely be resistant to major structural changes. The results of these processes were a small revision of the ISO 9000 family in 1994 and a greater and more important revision with major changes to structure and content of the standards in the year 2000. After the 2000 revision ISO 9000 family consisted of the following three standards: ISO 9000:2000, ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 9004:2000. ISO 9000:2000 is the general standard that serves as an overall guide to the other standards. Its purpose is to provide deWnitions of terms and a basic explanation of the ISO 9000 standards. ISO 9001:2000 consolidates the former ISO 9001/9002/9003 standards into a single document and is the only standard to which certiWcation is currently assessed. ISO 9001:2000 is written for all types of organization, including service organizations. DiVerent industries may have their own terminology, but the standard is written using universal, generic terms. Whether an organization is fabricating, assembling, manufacturing, arranging, consulting, or providing services, it will beneWt from the implementation of the QMS requirements contained in this standard. The 2000 version of ISO 9001 is written to be more user-friendly to small businesses and service organizations and yet to remain useful to large manufacturing organizations. The standards generic controls and terminology allow it to be used by all organizations; it is not speciWc to any one particular organization. In all cases where ISO 9001:2000 was adopted by an organization, the QMS must be customized to Wt organization needs. ISO 9004:2000 provides further guidance for continuous improvement of internal quality management systems. The results of several studies showed that the most important reasons for using the ISO 9000 family of quality standards are: customer or marketing demands, needs for improvement in process or systems, desire for global deployment and lack of focus inside the organization. The adoption of a QMS according to the requirements of ISO 9001:2000, should be a strategic decision of an organization. The design and implementation of an organizations quality management system is inXuenced by varying needs, particular objectives, the products provided, the process employed and the size of the organization. 1.2. Management systems for the food and drink industry In the last decade, consumers have become very critical about food quality and food safety due to several incidents of contaminated food (Spiegel, Luning, Ziggers, & Jongen, 2003). In order to build and maintain the trust of consumers in food quality and food safety, quality assurance and food hygiene is of major importance in the food sector.

Quality, food safety and environmental management systems in the food and drink industry, a combination of which, as well as with the support of the top management of the organizations oVers an integrated system in the food and drink industries that includes quality, productivity and safety of the products. ISO 22000:2005 is a HACCP-type standard based on and Wts very well with ISO 9001:2000 especially developed to assure food safety. Total quality management (TQM) and ISO 9000 focus more on management aspects and also aim to improve total quality. Furthermore, food manufactures are obliged by legislation to apply HACCP, while the other systems are applied voluntarily in the food industry. The assurance of safe production and the supply of safe food products appear to be the main aims of the food and drink industry. These aims can be attained by adopting a systematic and organizational structure, controlling activities, processes, procedures and resources according to the standards which constitute the basis for the quality and hygiene systems, including HACCP, ISO 9000 and 14000 series (Early, 1995). The implementation of a QMS, according to ISO 9000 series in the Weld of food products, is related to ensuring quality procedures for the food companies and reinforcing legislative requirements (Bolton, 1997). Many food processing and packaging companies can start on the journey towards world class quality by building a solid structure using together GMP, HACCP and the ISO 9000 family (Surak & Simpson, 1994). From this point of view, the organization can add the principles of TQM which include modern leadership and human resource principles, customer focus, strategic planning, fact-based decision making process, and modern process control techniques. With this foundation the organization can incorporate a high quality strategy into their business that allows to enhance their competitiveness by continuing to improve the value towards their customers and by systematically improving all of the companys operational performances. These principles can eVectively transform the company into a customer-driven organization which can compete in the global marketplace. ISO 9001:2000 focuses on customers needs and expectations. One of the most important customer expectations is to have safe food products. ISO 9001:2000 allows an organization to integrate its quality management system with the implementation of a food safety system. The most common, in the food and drink industries, is the simultaneous operation of a QMS and a food safety system such as HACCP. The application of HACCP within an ISO 9001 QMS can result in a food management system that is more eVective than the application of either ISO 9001 or HACCP alone, leading to enhanced customer satisfaction and improving organizational eVectiveness (Sparling, Lee, & Howard, 2001). In 2001, in order to facilitate the implementation of HACCP and ISO 9001 in food and drink organizations, ISO published ISO 15161:2001 which provided guidelines on the application of ISO 9001:2000 for the food and drink industry. ISO 15161:2001 includes sourcing, pro-

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cessing and packaging of food and drink products and it explains the possibility to link the commonalities and the communication between the two systems. It is important to consider that ISO 15161:2001 is not a standard for the implementation of HACCP and cannot be a reference document at certiWcation, but these guidelines are intended to provide a clear management system supporting HACCP controls for an eVective food safety system, under the recognized framework of an ISO 9001 QMS. The eVective integration of these two systems will improve the performance of the organization and decrease the amount of paper work for the eVective operation of the systems. Efstratiadis and Arvanitoyannis (2000) mentioned that HACCP as a part of a quality system not only manages to provide safety to the products, but also assure a better and more aVective implementation of the whole quality system. The new standard ISO 22000:2005 oVers an alternative to food enterprises that they do not implement ISO 9001 and they want to have an eVective food safety management system. The quality of the wine is usually related to the products appearance, acceptability, taste, Xavor, color and components (alcohol, acid), characteristics important for consumer acceptance (Christaki & Tzia, 2002). Winemaking is a very sensitive procedure and for that reason the assurance of the quality during the whole processes is signiWcant for the acceptance by the consumers. The implementation of a QMS according to ISO 9001:2000 and the adoption of a food safety system such a HACCP in the wine sector will provide a suitable frame to the organization to ensure the quality characteristics and the safety of the Wnal products. 2. Materials and methods The following case study covers a small-sized traditional winery in a Greek island named Paros. The winery founded in 1917, occupies twelve permanent personnel while the annual production of the organization does not exceed 600,000 bottles of wine. Top management of the winery seeking to improve the interior operation of the organization, to inWltrate in new markets and increase the market share, decided that the implementation of a quality management system according to the requirements of ISO 9001:2000 will yield the desirable results. None of the members of the organizations top management had previous experience in plan and design of a quality system and had limited knowledge about the ISO 9000 family. The Wrst action of top management was to purchase the three main documents which consists the ISO 9000 series (ISO 9000/ 9001/9004), to purchase ISO 15161:2001 which provides the necessary guidelines on the application of ISO 9001:2000 to food and drink industry and to obtain as much more information about ISO 9000 family. After a short period of time top management realized that it was very diYcult to design an appropriate quality system with the resources that were allocated to the organization, and for that reason they hired

an external quality consultant who had the know-hows required for the design and application of the QMS. 3. Results The winery that is being examined, due to its small size, has some particular characteristics which are presented in Table 1. The development and the implementation of the QMS was the result of a well planned programme of procedures with its Wnal goal the eVective operation of the quality system and its complete incorporation in the daily operation of the organization. In Table 2 are presented the procedures that took place from the time that the top management decided to apply a QMS according to ISO 9000 family up to the certiWcation audit that took place from an external registrar. Top management plays the key role in ensuring that the QMS works as planned and applied. By its deWnition, it is conWrmed that the QMS is a management responsibility. It is conceived and driven by top management. The main top managements responsibilities for an eYcient QMS are as follows: Top management shall be the recognized leader of the QMS. Top management must create an environment in which the QMS can be eVective. Top management must assure compliance with a documented QMS. Top management must supply the resources, training and support for employees implementing the QMS. Top management must continually review the compliance performance of the organization. Top management must recognize the successful eVorts of the workforce (Wilson, 2002).
Table 1 Singularly characteristics of the organization Direct management from the chief executive (owner of the winery) Instant contact between the personnel and the top management Simple and eVective system for internal communication Short number of permanent personnel Great number of seasonal personnel Great number of suppliers in grapes Direct contact with the organizations customers Short-range planning

Table 2 QMS certiWcation process Decision making and commitment of the top management Allocation of the available resources Initial assessment of the organizations structure IdentiWcation and analysis of the organizations processes Documentation of QMS Training of personnel Trial of the system for a small period Internal audit CertiWcation audit

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Fig. 1. Documentation of QMS.

The documented QMS identiWes the basic methodology by which the winery operates. The quality management system documentation includes documented statements of the organizations quality policy and the quality objectives, the quality manual, the quality procedures manual, the work instructions manual, documents needed to ensure the eVective planning, operation and control of the winerys processes and records required by ISO 9001:2000. The extent of the QMS documentation is deWned according to the size and the type of winerys activities, the complexity and interaction of processes, the competence of personnel and the needs of the quality plan. The structure of the documentation is shown in Fig. 1. Quality records constitute the foundation of QMS, while the quality manual constitutes the most substantial document. Quality procedures manual contents the documented procedures established for the QMS and the quality assurance forms. The work instructions manual describes the most important personnel and management activities for the QMS operation, such us individual hygiene of the personnel, cleaning and sanitation of facilities and equipment, evaluation and selection of grape suppliers. The organization has established and maintained a quality manual that covers ISO 9001:2000 requirements and includes, between others, the scope of the QMS, including the details and the justiWcation of any exclusions from ISO 9001:2000, the documented quality policy, the organizational chart, reference to documented quality procedures, description of the interaction between main processes of the QMS, and a processes map. The organizations QMS has been designed and implemented in a way that covers the requirements of ISO 9001:2000 and the following scope Production and marketing of red wine and retsina in the Greek and international market. The QMS is excluded from ISO 9001:2000 requirement 7.5.4 Customer property, as no customer property (asset, product, material, proprietary information) is used in the product realization process.

One of the most important aspects of the 2000 revision of ISO 9001 was the adoption of the process approach to quality management systems (Hooper, 2002). ISO 9001:2000 promote the adoption of a process approach when developing, implementing, and improving a QMS. The process approach is one of the eight quality management principles upon which the entire ISO 9000 series of standards is based. The process approach is a powerful way of organizing and managing how work activities create value. Whereas a more traditional structure organizes and manages work activities vertically by function, with quality problems frequently occurring at the boundaries of the functional departments, the process approach organizes and manages work horizontally the way work activities create customer value. This horizontal linkage between suppliers and customers is a remarkable way to manage and continually improve the eVectiveness, the amount of value created from the customers, and the eYciency of the process. Once the processes needed for the QMS and their sequences and interactions have been identiWed, it is necessary to establish management responsibilities and accountabilities for the performance of these processes. Furthermore top management shall establish suitable performance indicators for each of the main processes of the organization in order for them to be monitored and measured (Geraedts, Montenarie, & van Rijk, 2001). Top management of the winery has identiWed the main processes needed for the QMS and their application throughout the organization, has determined the sequence and interaction of these processes (Fig. 2), has determined criteria and methods needed to ensure that both operation and control of these processes are eVective, has set the appropriate mechanisms for monitoring, measuring and analysis of these processes and has implemented the necessary actions to achieve planned results and continual improvement of these processes. For all of the main processes of the organization, top management has identiWed the inputs and outputs of these processes, the criteria through which these processes become acceptable, the control measures and monitoring, and the performance indicator for each process. All the above elements are presented in a suitable processes map (Table 3). The perceived requirement for an excessive number of documented procedures (20) has been one of the most criticized aspects of ISO 9001:1994. ISO 9001:2000 gives to the organization much greater Xexibility. In ISO 9001:2000 the requirement for documented procedures occurs for just six processes: (1) control of documents (clause 4.2.3); (2) control of records (clause 4.2.4); (3) internal audit (clause 8.2.2); (4) control of nonconforming products (clause 8.3); (5) corrective action (clause 8.5.2) and (6) preventive action (clause 8.5.3). These mandatory documented procedures are thought to cover topics so critical to the nature of a successful QMS that an organization cannot function properly without having them available in writing for users. Other QMS procedures may or may not be documented at the discretion of the user organization. The usual criterion for

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Fig. 2. Interaction of winerys main processes.

determining whether a procedure needs to be documented is whether it must be in written form or not, for the proper operation of the QMS. Almost all organizations have determined that some level of discretionary written procedures is necessary to consistently maintain the intended operation of the QMS. Procedures that aid in the deployment of the policies and objectives of the organization or the satisfaction of the customers requirements and other interested parties, as well as regulatory requirements (i.e.: identiWcation and traceability), are obvious candidates for being presented in written form. Documented procedures should always be written with the reader and user in mind and should use simple language. Most procedures should be relatively short documents and should include only information that is relevant to the process being described. Every organization has the Xexibility to select the format and structure of the documented procedures that best suit their needs. Each procedure normally has administrative elements to provide for document control. These normally include a title of the procedure, code number to identify the document, revision status, editors name or signature and approval. For each of the documented procedure the writer should answer the following questions: What is required to be done? How will it to be done? Any special facility or equipment needed? Who has the authority? Which records are essential?

Winerys top management besides the six mandatory documented procedures has documented ten more proce-

dures according to the special needs of the organization. Documented procedures of winerys QMS which are included into the quality procedures manual are presented in Table 4. All documented procedures of the winerys QMS are written in the same form. They include the scope of the procedure, the Weld of application, the responsible individuals for the establishment, implementation, and maintenance of the procedure, the relevance to the procedure documents and the analytic description of the procedure. In addition to the quality manual and the documented procedures that describe the overall processes of the QMS, organization is speciWcally required to prepare other documentation needed for control of processes. The type and extent of these documents is determined by the organizations needs and special features. These documents are called work instructions. Work instructions are to be used by the workforce to aid in performing detailed tasks. Since these tasks must be performed in the same manner each time, often with intervals between applications, written work instructions for proper performance are necessary. The extent of details in this type of document is usually based on the training and experience level of the personnel of the organization. Work instructions should exist when the process is complex, when the skill level of the workers is low and when the absence of such instructions would compromise the organizations ability to meet requirements. Similar considerations apply to the detail needed. If the process is simple and the workers are highly trained, work instructions probably need less detail. Top management of the winery decided that due to the low skill level of its workers the work

1082 Table 3 Processes map Inputs Management responsibility Process performance and product conformity. Results of audits. Results from previous management reviews. Nonconformities. Results from corrective and preventive actions. Customer feedback Resource management Needs of personnel training. Maintenance needs of plant facilities and equipment. Calibration and maintenance needs of monitoring and measuring devices Outputs

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Acceptance criteria Solving customers complaints. Achievement of quality objectives. Ascertainment of continual improvement of the QMS

Monitoring process control Performance indicators Review of the QMS a time per year. Control of review realization via proceedings. Control of supervisors meetings via proceedings Monitoring and control of realization of training programmes. Monitoring and control of calibration programmes. Monitoring and control of maintenance programmes Maintenance of ISO 9001:2000 certiWcate for three years

Decisions on changes of the QMS. Changes of the quality policy and the quality objectives. Provision of resources. Corrective and preventive actions

Decisions for the realization of training programmes. Maintenance of mechanical equipment. Calibration of monitoring and measuring devices

Trained personnel. Calibrated monitoring and measuring devices according to accredited procedures. Maintained and well functioning equipment

Number of trained personnel on the total. Number of calibrated monitoring and measuring devices on the total

Ordering procedure Customers requirements (by personal contact, telephone or fax). Products lists and price lists for services and products Purchasing SpeciWcations and characteristics of raw materials, secondary materials and packaging materials. List of evaluated suppliers Product realization Customers requirements. SpeciWcations and characteristics of Wnal products. Work instructions Sales distribution to customer Final products. Distributions schedule. Accompanying documents

Customers orders. Schedule of orders. Planning of product realization

ConWrmation of telephone Monitoring and control orders. ConWrmation of orders from sales of orders via fax manager. Maintenance and control of the appropriate records Purchased products according to speciWcations Quality and quantitative inspection of purchased products. Evaluation and scoring of suppliers

Number of achieved orders on the total

Receiving of raw materials, secondary materials and packaging materials

Number of disqualiWed products per purchased supply. Percentage of suppliers that has been marked as excellent, on the total of suppliers Number of nonconforming products

Final products

SatisWed quality inspection Monitoring of control of Wnal products measures during productive procedure and inspection of production records On time distribution to customers Quality and quantitative inspection of the order before it is forwarded to the customer. ConWrmation by the customer that received the products in even condition, and in the determined time Control of questionnaires sending. Evaluation of answered questionnaires by top management

Orders. Distribution of Wnal products to customers

Number of customers complaints as for the quality of products and the delivery time

Customer satisfaction Contact between the customers Corrective and preventive Written down and actions. Resolved complaints. worked out customers and the organization. SatisWed customers complaints Customers satisfaction questionnaire. Customers complaints

Percentage of very satisWed customers on the total of answered questionnaires

instructions should in written form. Work instructions as documented procedures; include the scope, the Weld of application, the responsible individuals and an analytical

description of the instruction. The written work instructions that consist the work instructions manual, are presented in Table 5.

D. Aggelogiannopoulos et al. / Food Control 18 (2007) 10771085 Table 4 QMS document procedures Code SOP-4.2/01 SOP-4.2/02 SOP-5.6/01 SOP-6.2/01 SOP-6.3/01 SOP-7.1/01 SOP-7.2/01 SOP-7.2/02 SOP-7.4/01 SOP-7.5/01 SOP-7.5/02 SOP-7.6/01 SOP-8.2/01 SOP-8.2/02 SOP-8.3/01 SOP-8.5/01 Title Control of documents Control of records Management review Personnel training Plant and equipment maintenance Planning of product realization Customer communication Management of customers complaints Control of suppliers and purchasing Storage of supplies and Wnal products IdentiWcation and traceability Control of monitoring and measuring devices Customer satisfaction Internal audit Control of nonconforming product Corrective and preventive action

1083

SOP: standard operation procedure. Table 5 QMS work instructions Code W.I-1 W.I-2 W.I-3 W.I-4 W.I-5 W.I-6 W.I-7 Title Good agricultural practice Selection of winegrower Collection of grapes Cleaning and sanitation of plant facilities and equipment Personal hygiene Duties and responsibilities of seasonal personnel Distribution of Wnal products

W.I: work instruction.

4. Discussion 4.1. Problems and obstacles during the implementation period A number of organizations have reported substantial problems during the planning and the implementation of a QMS according to ISO 9000 family. The most critical problems concern the documentation process, the lack of ISO 9000 knowledge and experience, the lack of time and resources, the commitment of top management and personnel and the creation of system ownership (Pallet, 1994; Stevenson & Barnes, 2002). These obstacles, undoubtedly, are more obvious in small companies with the issues of productive time, Wnancial and human resources being the most critical. It is recognizable that small companies are not in position to qualify a satisfactory number of employees during and after the ISO 9001 realization project, nor they can Wnance the cost of preparation, development and registration (Aldowaisan & Youssef, 2006). After the initial assessment of the winerys structure it was obvious that the organizations structure was far from ISO 9001:2000 requirements. The results of the assessment showed main nonconformities in critical issues such as control of documents and records, internals audits and calibration of equipment. As mentioned previously, none of the winerys top management had previous experience in the

implementation process of a QMS. Nevertheless due to lack of Wnancial recourses, top management decided that it would be better to design the QMS with its own human recourses. After a short period of time it was clear that this was a very time-consuming process with questionable results, and for these reasons it was essential the collaboration with an external quality consultant to ensure the right documentation and the initial operation of the QMS. Lack of ISO 9000 experience and knowledge, regarding all personnel, was another important obstacle for the organization to overcome. This problem was overcome by conducting both internal and exterior training programmes. Internal training was conducted by the winerys quality manager and the quality consultant in the form of seminars. All the employees trained in two areas. First, they had an overall understanding of ISO 9000 vocabulary, the role of the documents and records of QMS, individual responsibilities and the beneWts that will be derived from the implementation of the quality system. Second, they were trained in understanding the actual day-to-day process of upgrading and improving processes and procedures. Furthermore seminars concerning food safety hazards and food hygiene and also cleaning and sanitation of plant facilities and equipment were organized. Another important action that helped the organization, was the visits that were realized by the quality manager to wineries which already had a certiWed QMS according to the requirements of ISO 9001:2000. Productive time and recourses was another important area. Finally, another problem that faces the organization, even now, is the training of the seasonal personnel. As it is familiar, winemaking is a very complicated procedure. During the grape harvest and collection season (September, October) the amount of work increases greatly and so the recruiting of extra workers is essential. This problem is overcome with the conduct of a short-period seminar and the proper work instructions. As it is known, ISO 9001 implementation requires a substantial amount of time, resources and eVort. Productive time was, and still is, a very critical issue for the organization. The planning and establishment process, including the certiWcation audit, took about twelve months and during that period all of the winerys personnel worked overtime. Financial and human resources, and also infrastructures were issues that produced many problems to the organization to deal with. The organization, due to its small size, could not aVord to isolate employees or departments to the exclusive responsibility of quality activities. Therefore the responsibilities for the operation and the maintenance of the QMS and other quality responsibilities were included among other responsibilities of the personnel. Lack of Wnancial resources by the organization for the wage of quality consultant and third-party certiWcation was another considerable issue. The solution for this issue came from the Greek Ministry of Development, via a blueprint for the increase of competitiveness in SmallMedium Greek Enterprises (SME). SpeciWcally, this blueprint Wnancially supported SMEs with implementing and certifying a quality

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management system according to ISO 9001:2000 requirements. Another obstacle was that of gaining workforce commitment to QMS implementation as the eVective systems implementation requires the commitment and cooperation of the workforce. To help gain this commitment, top management ensured that all employees were informed of how the QMS would beneWt them. Top management, informed the personnel of how the QMS would help the organization in critical areas such as the reduction of defective products, the improvement of internal communication, the increase of customers satisfaction, the increase of share market and the opportunities for inWltration in new markets. 4.2. Cost of the QMS planning, establishment and certiWcation process There were four factors that appeared to be the primary concerns regarding the cost of the winerys QMS planning, establishment and certiWcation. The main elements which constituted the total cost are the expenses of the quality consultant, the training costs, the registration fees and the costs in employee time. Secondary elements that endorsed the total budget were, among others, the investments in equipment, the collaboration with exterior laboratories for conducting essential chemical analyses and some functional modiWcations. As mentioned a quality consultant was hired to assist the organization in the design and the establishment of the QMS and also to conduct a ten hour seminar. The cost of the consulting service was estimated at D10,000. Registration fees were estimated at D6000. This amount included the registration cost of the CertiWcation Body (D2000), and the cost of the initial audit (D4000). A great part of both registrations and consultants fees were covered, as reported, by the Greek Ministry of Development. Training cost was an important part for the total expenses of the QMS implementation. Training courses were conducted by the quality manager and external trainers. The total training cost including trainers fees were estimated at D4000. During the twelve months period that was required for the QMS planning and establishment, winerys quality manager occupied exclusively to that purpose. For that reason qualitys manager annual salaries (D18,000), were included to QMS design and application cost. The compliance to ISO 9001:2000 requirements obliged the organization to invest in new equipment and to make some functional modiWcations. The organization realized the following actions: Upgrading of the Wre Wghting system. Improvement of the lighting system. Upgrading of the winerys laboratory. Establishment of programs for the elimination of rats and insects. Purchasing of working clothes and equipment for the safety of the personnel. Collaboration with an external laboratory.

The cost of the above actions was estimated at D10,000. Finally there was a cost of about D500, which included the purchase of the ISO 9000 standards, and the international standard ISO 15161:2001 Guidelines on the application of ISO 9001:2000 for the food and drink industry. 4.3. BeneWts of the QMS QMS would help the organization in critical areas such as the reduction of defective products, the improvement of internal communication, the increase of customers satisfaction, the increase of share market, the opportunities for inWltration in new markets and global deployment. Moreover, implementation of the QMS gives additional beneWts to winery such as decrease of the cost of quality and mistakes; higher quality of the wine, waste reduced, late delivery reduced, productivity improved, returns down and advertising potential. The understanding of these beneWts will be the motivation force for the winery to continue its journey towards quality improvement. Acknowledgments The authors would like to express their gratitude to the owner of the winery for providing the appropriate information for the conduct of this case study. References
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