The International Organization of Standardization grants the ISO 9000 certification. This certification is a highly respected quality management system being used in several hundred companies worldwide. The requirements for this certification are generic; therefore, they can be applied to any organization, regardless of type and size. Organizations that want to obtain this certification must upgrade quality in all operations. Then the company must undergo an extensive assessment test by third-party auditors to determine whether or not they?ve met ISO standards. The quality process focuses on one objective: meeting customer expectations and requirements. Therefore, customer satisfaction is the basis for all quality improvement decisions made. A well-designed, well-implemented, and carefully managed ISO 9000 quality system provides confidence that the output of the process will meet customer expectations and requirements. This paper will focus on the ISO 9000 certificatio!.
n requirements, and the benefits a company gains when attaining certification. .
ISO 9000 Introduction.
Is your company looking for a way to improve productivity, reduce costs, gain market share, and improve customer satisfaction? If so the ISO 9000 certification may be a step in the right direction. This certification is a model for a quality system that focuses on preventative action rather than corrective, which ultimately has a profound impact on improving customer satisfaction. The ISO 9000 model is expressed in three standards: ISO 9001, ISO 9002, and ISO 9003. Each standard is comprised of 20 sets of quality system requirements that must be completed by a company pursuing the ISO 9000 certification. All three standards adopt a philosophy that can be expressed in the following statements: 1) top management is responsible for the quality system; 2) employees must understand the authority they are given and their responsibilities; 3) employees should have adequate instructions and skills to do their jobs; 4) the cause of quality system problems must be eliminated; and 5!.
