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So what is new about ISO9001:2000 ?

The new revision to the ISO9001 standard has been promised for some time. At last it is here but is it worth the wait?

The series of quality management standards ISO9000, unlike many other emerging standards, is recognised worldwide. The value of a company being certified to ISO9000 is recognised globally, so much so, that many businesses outside manufacturing (such as the service industry), where the standard initially focused, are gaining certification. Being certified to ISO9001 means that a supplier can demonstrate (through documentation) its ability to design & supply conforming product.In essence certification enhances an organisation's credibility and is a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

December 2000 saw the publication of ISO9001:2000 which replaces ISO9001:1994. Companies wishing to retain ISO9001 certification will have to change to the 2000 version before the beginning of 2004when the 1994 standard becomes obsolete.

Part of the ISO philosophy is to revise the ISO standard every few years. In reality the standard was in need of revision in order to keep up with a changing world. In practice there are too many standards in the ISO9000 series for example the only difference between ISO9001 and ISO9002is the design section of ISO9001, which hardly merits a different standard. In addition there is duplication and/or incompatibility with other standards such as the environmental standard ISO14001.However, one of the main criticisms of ISO9001:1994 is that a key part of any business "the customer" or more specifically "customer satisfaction" is ignored. In essence a company with the1994 version could have an excellent quality system in place but could be losing business because the product supplied does not meet the requirements of customers active in a changing world. In addition, ISO9001:1994 over emphasises documentation and many companies have had the opinion that it was documentation for documents sake with no real focus on whether the documents "added value" to the process. Furthermore, ISO9001:1994 has a very strong manufacturing bias, so much so that businesses in the service industry trying to meet the requirements of the standard are finding it increasingly difficult to comply. For example, in some businesses the morning post is the only"incoming goods", in these cases it does not make good business sense to have a "testing & inspection" protocol.

The revised standard ISO9001:2000 tries to overcome these criticisms, in fact the new standard tries to align and integrate Quality management with Business management and in this sense the new version is more like a business management system rather than a quality management system. Previously many saw ISO as separate from the business.However the emphasis on leadership, management & decision-making in the new version should help to change this viewpoint. The new quality system tries to measure business performance through identified key measurements reflecting business performance. The new standard has a distinct customer focus clause 5.2 states that top management shall ensure that customer requirements are determined and are met with the aim of enhancing customer satisfaction . For the first time the standard expects businesses to be proactive dealing with customers by specifically asking for monitoring of information relating to customer perception . In practical terms this term is vague, however well meaning, leaving wide interpretation and difficulties in auditing. In addition, the role of top management is key with management creating and maintaining the internal environment in which people can become fully involved in achieving the organisation s objectives and the vision should be translated into quality objectives that are measurable and consistent with the quality policy e.g. production rates, % yield, number of customer complaints etc.

In the new standard there is less emphasis on documentation the new philosophy is based on the fact that everything is a process. The focus therefore is on correctly identifying key processes within the business organisation and identifying training needs to successfully complete these process. This removes the need to have a documented procedure for every task, which in reality were never referred to until the morning of an audit! For organisations that are already certified to ISO9000:1994 this change will require a significant change in mindset to restructure their existing quality system to one in which activities are managed by process.

In all eight quality management principles have been identified that can be used by top management in order to lead an organisation towards improved performance.

  1. Customer focus
  2. Leadership
  3. Involvement of people
  4. Process approach
  5. System approach to management
  6. Continual improvement
  7. Factual approach to decision making
  8. Mutually beneficial supplier relationships

Many individuals see quality as something to endure rather than an integral part of the business. ISO9001:2000 aims to change this by integrating quality management into the business rather than a system outside the main function of the business. Certainly the philosophy is in place to bring this about, however, as few companies have been certified to date it will take some time before the true effectiveness of the new system can be assessed. For companies that want to meet the requirements of ISO9001 for the first time it will require much planning. For those already certified with the1994 version it will require a change in philosophy to comply, regardless of current certification status a significant commitment of resources will be necessary. In many cases the new standard will be more difficult to audit as auditing for effectiveness is vague, however if the correct philosophy is taken on board by businesses it is difficult to see how the new version of the standard will not have a positive impact on running of any business.

For further information see www.iso.ch


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