Iso 9000

Introduction In order to stay competitive, businesses have to be the best at what they do. Company's must be efficient and presise in all aspects of the job. (Metcalfe 1). ISO 9000 is made up of management's responsibility, the producers involved in the Quality Management System, the contract review, the design control, document and data control, purchasing, process control, inspection and testing, control of non-conforming product, corrective action, handling, storage, packaging and delivery, internal quality audits, training, servicing and statistical techniques (Prasanna 1). Quality control and quality assurance is very important there are certain requirements that take time and money to be met but in the end there are benefits. Types of specifications are very significant and the documentation of those is even more. Manufacturers and purchasers have major responsibility in the process of being successful. The quality of a product is so important, especially to the customer. A company's quality management system must become the documented proof of a firm's commitment to quality management. A plan put together with quality procedures and work instructions is provided to help companies design their own quality management system. After completing the quality procedures, companies are audited and then determined if they should be certified for ISO 9000 or not (Parsanna 2). ISO: International Organization of Standards Founded in 1947 in Geneva Switzerland, ISO developed international standards and helped exchange goods and services worldwide. It is made up of over 90 countries including the US, which is called the American National Standards Institute. The name ISO came from the Greek word, "isos," meaning equal (Henkoff 2). ISO was created by business men (Henkoff 2). These business men knew what businesses needed to become more competitive and how they could get higher customer satisfaction, so ISO was developed. ISO is not government regulated, but is ran by organizations like the US Registrar Accreditation Board. Such organizations authorize registrars which issue ISO certificates (Barrier 2). In Europe some organizations are government regulated. The American National Standards Institute runs the ISO in the US and authorizes the US Registrar Accreditation Board (Barrier 2). ISO's job is to set standards for companies all over the world so that their products come out efficiently and to the best quality. This helps the customers who receive the exports know exactly what they are getting and are satisfied with the product. Setting these standards is done by ISO members at assembly meetings. Proposals are developed by the ISO Council, which is like the board of directors in a business. These meetings are held three times a year and the membership is rotated to allow more representatives in (iso online). Standards are developed by technical committees. 30,000 experts participate to give comments, feedback and to vote in meetings which are held15 times a day electronically. The experts are chosen by an ISO member of that country (iso online). ISO 9000 The ISO 9000 series was published in 1987 (iso online). It is a standardization system that was developed by ISO. It is obtained by 130 countries, but it's main office is in Geneva, Switzerland where the system is coordinated and the finished standards are published (iso online). These ISO standard are rules and guidelines that ensure the product that a manufacturing business produces is safe, reliable and efficient (iso online). These standards makes sure that businesses are living up to their promises. An ISO 9000 certificate is given to a business when it maintains the quality management requirements determined by ISO (Henkoff 1). ISO 9000 helps a business to get certified by telling it what requirements it should meet and how it will meet them. It provides a framework for a company. It sets standards worldwide and help export goods to other countries. However, the company must have good strong leaders for it to thrive. The success of ISO 9000 on a business largely depends on the business's organization. Planning, training, setting and achieving goals are all key to improvement or success of a business (Henkoff 5). ISO 9000 makes sure a company is doing what it says it is doing and helps them do it. However, that doesn't mean it is running the company and telling it what to do (USAToday 1). The business is still an independent business it is just getting advice on how to manufacture things and earning a certificate that is appealing to customers. However, that also doesn't mean that ISO 9000 promises the quality of a company's product will be great; Richard Buerow, director of corporate quality at Motorola states: "With ISO 900 you can still have terrible processes and products. You can certify a manufacturer that makes life jackets from concrete, as long as those jackets are made according to the documented procedures and the company provides the next of kin with instructions on how to complain about defects. That's absurd (Henkoff 3)." Its steps and procedures will help a manufacturer's product become better produced. ISO 9001, 2 & 3 ISO 9000 is divided into three equally ranked quality systems which a business can chooses by what quality system will cover their business process (iso online). ISO 9001 is for a business whose processes range from design and development, to production, installation and servicing. ISO 9002 is for a business that does not carry out design and development but anything else that is under ISO 9001. ISO 9003 is for a business whose process does not include design control, process control, purchasing or servicing, but uses inspection and testing to ensure that final products and services meet specified requirements. Elements of ISO 9000 Element 4.1: Management Responsibility "The responsibility of executive level management in regard to quality policy, goals, commitment and implementation of the company quality system (Stimson 99)." Here management must have a Quality Policy and have it understood throughout the business. It is then management's responsibility to gather resources and have trained employees to do the work. The Quality System is then monitored by management representatives who report back to management to be reviewed (iso online). Element 4.2: Quality System "A Quality System must be used to ensure the product conforms to specifications. The system will be described in documentation of sufficient detail to include structure, processes, and procedures that ensure product quality (Stimson 116)." This system must be fully documented to fit ISO 9000 standards in a quality manual. This manual should contain a table of contents and history of the company (Stimson 168). This manual should also include customer's specifications and requirements (Stimson 165). The system should