May 6, 2015

Quality Management Systems: An Overview


ISO is a worldwide federation of national standards that was founded in 1947. ISO has a membership of over 100 countries, with one standard-setting body representing each member country (e.g. The American National Standards Institute represents the US). According to the federation, ISO is not an abbreviation, but a word derived from the Greek term “isos”, meaning “equal”.

ISO is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it publishes thousands of international standards to help companies do business with one another more efficiently. The 27-page ISO 9001 standard in particular, focuses primarily on defining the basic business practices for the production and delivery of a company’s products and services by implementing a formal quality management system, or QMS.

The manufacturing requirements stated in ISO 9001 help providers ensure that the products and services they provide fully meet industry needs and, in turn, satisfy customers. Any problems a manufacturer might experience from improper procedural methods can affect the business significantly, which is why having standard requirements in place is a key focus of the ISO QMS.

For business owners, bringing the company up to a standard, such as ISO 9001, requires a significant investment of time and effort, as well as the involvement of an ISO registrar to audit and certify the manufacturing process.

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