ISO9

The ISO 9000 Standards are generic in nature, and they were designed to apply and appeal to all manners of business. Although most organizations use these generic standards, specialized compliance requirements for some industries have resulted in the development of augmented versions of the ISO 9000-based requirements. These industry-specific adaptations include ISO 13485 (medical devices), TS 16949 (automotive), TL 9000 telecommunications) and AS 9100 (aerospace).

The ISO 9000 Standards are produced by an international consensus with the aim of creating global standards of product and service quality. This set of standards forms a Quality Management System (QMS) and are applicable to any organization regardless of product, service, organizational size, or whether the company is public or private. ISO’s main objective is to facilitate international trade by providing a single set of standards of both systemic and international orientation.

In 1987, the first 9000 quality standards were published by ISO. These standards were revised in 1994, in 2000, and again in 2008. Prior to ISO 9001:2000, an organization could be certified against one of three quality system standards: ISO 9001, ISO 9002 or ISO 9003. With the publication of ISO 9001:2000, the three independent standards for ISO-compliant certification were merged into a single set of requirements. The ISO 9001:2008 update provides additional clarification to the requirements defined in the ISO 9001:2000 standard.

When determining which standard to adopt, the primary factor to consider is the expectations of your organization’s customers. If the customers of your organization would not benefit from a specific adoption of one of the ISO derivative standards, then ISO 9001: 2008 is most appropriate.

Learn more about the various ISO 9000 Standards.