The 9000 Resource

The ISO 2007 Survey is Released

The ISO Survey of Certifications – 2007 reveals certification activity around one or more of ISO's management system standards in 175 countries, up from 170 in 2006 – "a clear demonstration", according to the survey, " that they have become essential tools of the world economy".

ISO Secretary-General Alan Bryden comments: "The survey illustrates in a very concrete manner the extent to which ISO management system standards are meeting the organization's strategic objective of 'global relevance' – in other words, adding value for the organizations that use them all over the world."

Here is a brief summary of the findings, with the complete press release available here:

ISO 9001:2000 (quality management) Up to the end of December 2007, at least 951 486 ISO 9001:2000 certificates had been issued in 175 countries and economies. The 2007 total represents an increase of 54 557 (+ 6 %) over 2006, when the total was 896 929 in 170 countries and economies. Services again accounted for 32 % of all certificates issued.

 

ISO 14001:2004 (environmental management)

Up to the end of December 2007, at least 154 572 certificates had been issued in 148 countries and economies. The 2006 total represents an increase of 26 361 (+ 21 %) over 2006, when the total was 128 211 in 140 countries and economies. The service sectors accounted for 29 % of certificates issued, up from 27 % in 2006.

 

ISO/TS 16949:2002 (quality management for automotive suppliers)

Up to the end of December 2007, at least 35 198 ISO/TS 16949:2002 certificates had been issued in 81 countries and economies. The 2007 total represents an increase of 7 199 (+ 26 %) over 2006 when the total was 27 999 certificates in 78 countries and economies.

 

ISO 13485:2003 (quality management for medical devices)

Up to the end of December 2007, at least 12 985 ISO 13485:2003 certificates had been issued in 84 countries and economies. The 2007 total represents an increase of 4 959 (+ 62 %) over 2006 when the total was 8 026 in 81 countries and economies.

 

The survey results continue to shed light on the evolution of the global economy, with newly emerging economies such as China, India, Brazil and the Russian Federation appearing among the leading countries for totals of certificates issued, or growth during 2007. Countries other than the established industrialized economies showing intensive certification activity include Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Thailand and Turkey.

© 2008 ISO

ISO to Issue Comparison of 9001:2000/2008

The ISO technical committee is preparing a document which clearly shows the difference between ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 9001:2000 and when this document is approved by ISO, they will be published in the website, probably by October 2008. ISO and IAF are keen to implement a smooth transition to ISO 9001:2008 and have taken international quality system and auditor certification bodies for consultation to this effect.

It is proposed by ISO that the ISO 9001:2008 not to have any major changes but will only introduce some clarifications to the existing terms of ISO 9001:2000. It is estimated that about a million certificates have been issued for companies in about 170 countries. It has been decided by ISO that no certification will be issued to the companies till the ISO 9001:2008 is published and audit conducted in accordance with the terms of ISO 9001:2008.

It has also been declared that all certifications issued after the release of ISO 9001:2008 will be ISO 9001:2008 certificates and two years after the publication of ISO 9001:2008, certification of ISO 9001:2000 will not be considered valid.

ISO 9000 in Education

Recently, especially in the UK, education institutions have come under increasing pressure to improve and adopt a market-based, quality management system such as ISO 9000. There is pressure from ISO, pressure from the changing global environment and diminishing resources, and pressure for educators to meet the needs of industry with a better-skilled, quality workforce.

In addition, education institutions face financial accountability from state and institutional supporters. ISO 9000 implementation is occurring in most countries around the globe. For example, ISO 9000 is being implemented in private schools in Thailand, in the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, in private education institutions and higher education in Turkey, in primary schools in the United Kingdom, in universities, colleges of further education, in vocational education in the USA, and also in the education system of Hong Kong.

However, as ISO 9000 was originally intended as a quality system for the manufacturing industry, the transition of ISO 9000 to education has been far from smooth. Filled with controversy, the information surrounding ISO 9000 in education is immense and confusing as education institutions at every level and in every country are experimenting with the standards.

ISO is Consistency: Say what you do, do what you say, etc.

Please keep in mind that ISO 9000 doesn’t really care about HOW it is documented, just that it is clearly documented and all parties “sing form the same songbook”.  If you want to call your department Procedures a Quality Manual, then you may do so – it really doesn’t matter. ISO 9000 just wants a few simple things:

1. Say what you do. (document your processes = procedures)
2. Do what you say. (follow procedures)
3. Be consistent – if your processes are designed to meet certain goals/objectives, then if followed they should meet them every time.  Like a recipe for cookies.
4. Ensure that everyone knows their role and what is expected of them. (people are trained on processes and have been tested to ensure the training was effective)

And all of the above must be customer driven…you must be meeting or exceeding customer expectations. You could follow #1-4 above, but if you are designing CONCRETE life jackets your customer will be disappointed, even though you are making them consistently to the specification.

I should be able to walk into your facility and ask anyone WHY they are doing a particular task, and HOW they know to do it this way.  An employee should be able to say:

• I was trained on this procedure/task/work instruction (and there should be a record of it) on 4/11/06 (for example)
• I have a document (that the employee can quickly reference) that outlines the procedure/task/work instruction next to me/in my filing cabinet/on my PC
• The procedure is the current revision

Remember, this isn't rocket science - it's just good business practice.

Does ISO 9001 = AS/NZS 9001?

The short answer is Yes, ISO 9001:2000 = AS/NZS 9001:2000, they are the same.

Each country (or at least many of them) has their own entity that is licensed to manage the Copyrighted material from ISO, and ISO provides a list of them here: http://www.iso.org/iso/about/iso_members.htm

In the US it’s ANSI (American National Standards Institute) and some people in the US call it ANSI 9001:2000, but ISO 9001:2000 is an international Standard. For our 'mates' down under it’s AS. But they are both the same ISO 9001:2000 document.

We (The 9000 Store) are not allowed to sell an actual copy of the standard, as we are not licensed, but there are 3rd party webstores that sell them. We refer people to various organizations depending on their location.  In the US, we've found Tech Street very easy to deal with.

Step-by-step ISO 9001 Workbook

Step-by-step ISO 9001 Workbook

If you are wondering where to begin to build your ISO 9001 system, you can find out exactly how to do it by working through a set of step-by-step checklists that make up the ISO 9001 Workbook.

The first step in your ISO 9001 project is to define and build a Quality Management System (QMS) according to the requirements of the ISO 9001 standard.      

• Checklists and Exercises
  The ISO 9001 Workbook is a series of detailed checklists, exercises and instructions that take you through 28 systematic tasks for your organization to consider and complete.
• View list of workbook contents
• Training Presentations
  The Workbook includes a set of 3 ISO 9001 PowerPoint training presentations designed to be a companion to the Workbook. Use these to train everyone in the company on the ISO 9001 implementation and system.

Your business is unique in its specialty and in its approach to processes and to quality. You will be able to tailor your QMS to work for your particular business while ensuring that you meet the requirements of ISO 9001.

The Workbook is part of our do-it-yourself-workshop approach along with the ISO 9001 Documentation Package.

These products are all integrated to work together to help you achieve certification. This is an effective method that is well suited to small and medium size enterprises.

The identified workbook tasks and exercises are conducive to a very hands-on approach and the work can be systematically and successfully completed with a small multi-tasking staff.

This workbook has been used successfully around the world in a variety of industries.

US $49

If you are wondering where to begin to build your ISO 9001 system, you can find out exactly how to do it by working through a set of step-by-step checklists that make up the ISO 9001 Workbook.

The first step in your ISO 9001 project is to define and build a Quality Management System (QMS) according to the requirements of the ISO 9001 standard.      

• Checklists and Exercises
  The ISO 9001 Workbook is a series of detailed checklists, exercises and instructions that take you through 28 systematic tasks for your organization to consider and complete.
• View list of workbook contents
• Training Presentations
  The Workbook includes a set of 3 ISO 9001 PowerPoint training presentations designed to be a companion to the Workbook. Use these to train everyone in the company on the ISO 9001 implementation and system.

Your business is unique in its specialty and in its approach to processes and to quality. You will be able to tailor your QMS to work for your particular business while ensuring that you meet the requirements of ISO 9001.

The Workbook is part of our do-it-yourself-workshop approach along with the ISO 9001 Documentation Package.

These products are all integrated to work together to help you achieve certification. This is an effective method that is well suited to small and medium size enterprises.

The identified workbook tasks and exercises are conducive to a very hands-on approach and the work can be systematically and successfully completed with a small multi-tasking staff.

This workbook has been used successfully around the world in a variety of industries.

US $49

ISO 9001 vs CMM (Softare Industry)

Organizations concerned with ISO 9001 certification often question its overlap with the Capability Maturity Model (CMM). Let’s compare the two and answer a few questions.



>ISO 9001 targets the manufacturing process, although it also includes manufacturing services and software development.

>CMM offers a model for judging the software processes of an organization and for identifying key practices required to increase the maturity of these processes. It establishes a successful means for modeling, defining, and measuring the maturity of the processes used by software professionals.

>ISO 9001 and the whole ISO process approaches software from a manufacturing standpoint.

>CMM approaches it from a development standpoint.

The CMM model was designed with five levels of maturity. ISO does not have them.

>CMM standards are more stringent than ISO standards.

>ISO does not say you have to have certain standards, but CMM says you must meet the prescribed standards.

>CMM was designed to ensure bug-free development.

>ISO is designed to put quality into the manufacturing process.

Their purposes are different. However, some versions of CMM and ISO have been merged together.

ISO plans to release ISO 9001:2008 in Oct/Nov 08

well I guess it's final...The "TAGs" aligned and the long awaited release of ISO 9001:2008 is coming together.  The proposal doesn't add requirements compared to the 2000 revision, and does not change the intent of ISO 9001:2000.  So it appears that you won't need to change anything in your QMS.Read the ISO press release here: http://www.iso.org/iso/pressrelease.htm?refid=Ref1138

Did you know? ISO 9001 in the IT Industry

Trends in IT industry

Until recently, ISO 9000 has been used primarily by the manufacturing industry but now more and more large IT companies are demanding that their business partners become ISO 9000 certified. The use of ISO 9000 standards is growing exponentially, especially in Europe.

ISO 9000 is important because it certifies that management is controlling a large set or sets of processes that deal with every function inside the business. It is not just about service or product quality; it's about management quality. Although ISO 9000 is designed to help companies run smoothly and efficiently, companies don't always implement ISO 9000 standards by choice. Many large companies are requiring their smaller business partners to comply with the standard. The standard is used primarily in Europe, as well as in certain states, including technology hot spots California and Texas.

ISO and IEEE

ISO and IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc) have signed agreement to cooperate in developing international standards to serve the global market place.. The initial focus would be on information technology, transport systems and health informatics to provide “new opportunities to adopt and jointly develop international standards to serve the global marketplace.” The aim of this agreement is to optimize the resources to develop the standards and to shorten time-to-market.  It also focuses on joint development of standards and to adopt each other’s standards. The ISO secretary is optimistic that this kind of partnership is its strategic objective and will help in reinforcing the collection of ISO international standards in a consistent manner. The Managing Director of IEEE opines that this will provide innovative solutions for the benefit of the community.