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ISO is the International Organization for Standards and produces international standards. The ISO is made up of standards institutes from 163 countries. Since the ISO is the world’s largest developer of standards, it would be beneficial to follow these standards.
What is ISO 9000?
ISO 9000 is a group of standards from ISO for quality management systems (QMS). This standard began as a standard specifically for manufacturing but has been used in other businesses. If a business wants to sell a product or do business internationally, being ISO 9000 certified will mean that it adheres to a high level of quality standards that are understood the world over and will attract more clients.
The importance of customer service and meeting quality requirements are characteristics of a company that is ISO 9000 certified. It provides a set of rules that have been followed successfully over time to manage organizational processes to turn out a successful end product. The standard describes what requirements for quality a company must adhere to in order to be effective. To ensure ISO 9000’s success, audits can be conducted internally by a company or by outside sources or clients.
ISO 9000 Principles
Eight principles make up ISO 9000. The first is based on customer satisfaction. Being able to better utilize the resources available at a company improves efficiency and therefore customer satisfaction. The second principle recognizes how important leadership is in an organization. Leadership merges the processes and people so that the production cycle is streamlined. The third principle involves the people who make up a company. Everyone in the organization needs to feel they own their position and are able to freely talk about any issues they may be having. Communicating with those performing the work can lead to process improvements.
Process approach is the fourth principle. The cycles of manufacturing a product have to be made into a consistent process. The more effective the process becomes, the faster it will be and more cost effective. The fifth principle builds upon the fourth, taking the processes and building them into one large system. All processes that have a common end result should act as one. This will build consistency and better efficiency in production. Principle six is improvement continuation. Nothing will be achieved instantaneously. Goals should be set in order to achieve Continual Process Improvement. The seventh principle is to focus on facts when making decisions. Information needs to be analyzed and decisions made from what is found. The final principle is to have a mutually advantageous relationship with suppliers. This aids in speed in ordering and lowering of costs. Taking these principles in order will help an organization become more streamlined in its processes.
Benefits of ISO 9000
ISO 9000 adherence will guide a company to improve their quality management systems. Adhering to the standard will help gain business for the company using it since it is so well-known for quality. Customers will know that they are the focus of a business if it is ISO 9000 certified. Some clients may not even consider doing business with a company that is not ISO 9000 certified. ISO 9000 compliance can oftentimes be attributed to an increase in sales. Having better access to markets internationally is another attraction of the standard’s adoption. Processes are all documented, which lends to improved efficiency. From increased improvements comes buy-in from employees, who become more involved in the processes and overall quality of the systems and improved communication occursEmployees begin to take ownership of their roles in the company due to the improvements from ISO 9000 adoption, thus becoming more involved in the processes and communications.
Roger Hug is the Vice President of Sales Engineering of Maloya Laser, leaders in <A href=”http://www.MaloyaLaser.com”>contract manufacturing</a> and <A href=”http://www.maloyalaser.com/turnkey_products.php”>turnkey manufacturing</a> servicing aerospace, medical, machinery, scientific and transportation needs with Laser Cutting technologies.
