ISO 9001 is an International Quality System Standard. It started out as a European Standard but has become a global quality standard that applies to any business or country in the world. ISO 9001 is rapidly becoming the most popular quality standard in the world. Thousands of organizations have already adopted this important standard, and many more are in the process of doing so. ISO 9001 applies to all types of organizations. It doesn’t matter what size they are or what they do. It can help both product and service oriented organizations achieve standards of quality that are recognized and respected throughout the world.

When you purchase a product or service from an organization that is registered to the appropriate ISO 9001 standard, you have important assurances that the quality of what you receive will be as you expect. In addition, with the year 2000 revision of the standard, quality objectives, continual improvement, and monitoring of customer satisfaction provide the customer with increased assurances that their needs and expectations will be met. Here’s how it works. You decide that you need to develop a quality system that meets the ISO 9001 standards. You choose to follow this path because you feel the need to control the quality of your products and services, to reduce the costs associated with poor quality, or to become more competitive. Or, you choose this path simply because your customers expect you to do so or because a regulatory body has made it mandatory.

You then develop a quality system that meets the ISO 9001 quality system requirements. In the course of doing so, you also consider ISO’s many guidelines. Once your quality system has been developed and implemented, you carry out an internal audit to make sure your system is working properly. Then you invite an accredited external auditor (registrar) to evaluate the effectiveness of your quality system. If your auditors like what they see, they will certify that your quality system has met all of ISO’s requirements. They will then issue an official certificate to you and they will record your achievement in their registry. You can then announce to the world that the quality of your products and services is managed, controlled, and assured by a registered ISO 9001 quality system.