What is ISO 9000? Why do I use ISO 9001?

Since we’ve been selling standards since 1982, we’ve seen the business of standards-based quality schemes (like 6 Sigma, TQM, etc.) really take off .  And the certification for ISO 9000 has been the most successful of all of these programs.  ISO states that ISO 9001:2008 is implemented by over a million organizations in 176 countries.  But for the new-comer to the standard, there are any number of questions that always come up.

The first issue that new customers have is understanding why they need to purchase ISO 9001 when they are going for ISO 9000 certification.

This is because ISO 9000 really refers to a family of standards.  The ISO 9000:2005 is an overview document, covering “Quality management systems — Fundamentals and vocabulary.”  The document number is ISO 9000, the 2005 refers to the year that it was published.

An organization actually certifies to the ISO 9001 standard.  It is called out as ISO 9001:2008, even though it was corrected and reprinted in 2009.  This document, “Quality management systems — Requirements,” provides for the adoption of a process approach when developing, implementing and improving the effectiveness of a quality management system, to enhance customer satisfaction by meeting customer requirements.  It specifies requirements for a quality management system that can be used for internal application by organizations, or for certification, or for contractual purposes.  This means that when an organization is certified to “ISO 9000,” it is actually judged against the requirements of ISO 9001.

There are additional offspring of ISO 9001 for various industries.  So, you may prefer to be certified to AS 9100, “Quality Management Systems – Requirements for Aviation, Space and Defense Organizations,” ISO/TS 16949, “Quality management systems — Particular requirements for the application of ISO 9001:2008 for automotive production and relevant service part organizations,” or ISO 13485, “Medical devices – Quality management systems – Requirements for regulatory purposes.”

If you’d like to take a look at the documents that make up the ISO 9000 family, take a look at our ISO 9000 Compendium page.  It offers a listing of the ISO 9000 standards family as of the date of the last published ISO compilation of the documents.

As always, the standards mentioned are available for sale at our Document Center Inc. website, www.document-center.com.  Or contact us by phone (650-591-7600), fax (650-591-7617) or email (info@document-center.com).  We’re open from 8 am to 5 pm California time to assist you with all your standards requirements.

The ISO 9000 Compendium – The top quality standards at a low price

The ISO-9000 Compendium 12th Edition is a real bargain in the world of standards.  You get a real cross-section of the important quality standards at a reasonable price.  Yes, it is only available in CD Rom format (Now in pdf format as well.)  But you will be able to review many more documents than you could otherwise.

Of course, there is one major problem with ordering any compilation of standards.  The documents may be revised individually while the compilation stays static.  This is certainly the case with the current issue of the ISO 9000 Compendium.  The final draft for the ISO-9004 has been approved and is now available as an authorized edition, rather than the draft included in the compendium.

So, if you need to be sure you’re meeting the ISO-9001 certification requirements but want to take a look at the balance of the collection just for informational purposes only, you may want to purchase the compendium.  Then, get notification service for the ISO-9001 document.  That way, you’ll find out right away when any changes are made to the document you use for certification.

Here’s the contents of the current  Twelveth Edition  (along with links to the current edition of each item as a solo purchase):

  • ISO 9000 : 2005 Quality management systems — Fundamentals and vocabulary
  • ISO 9001 : 2008 Quality management systems — Requirements (With Technical Corrigendum)
  • ISO 9004 : 2000 Quality management systems — Guidelines for performance improvements
  • ISO 10001 : 2007 Quality management systems — Customer Satisfaction — Guidelines for codes of conduct for organizations
  • ISO 10002 : 2004 Quality management systems — Customer Satisfaction — Guidelines for complaints handling in organizations
  • ISO 10003: 2007 Quality management systems — Customer Satisfaction — Guidelines for dispute resolution external to organizations
  • ISO 10005 : 2005 Quality management systems — Guidelines for quality plan
  • ISO 10006 : 2003 Quality management — Guidelines for quality management in projects
  • ISO 10007 : 2003 Quality management systems — Guidelines for configuration management
  • ISO 10012 : 2003 Measurement management systems — Requirements for measurement processes and measuring equipment
  • ISO/TR 10013 : 2001 Guidelines for quality management system documentation
  • ISO 10014 : 2006 Quality management — Guidelines for realizing financial and economic benefits (With Technical Corrigendum)
  • ISO 10015 : 1999 Quality management — Guidelines for training
  • ISO/TR 10017 : 2003 Guidance on statistical techniques for ISO 9001:2000
  • ISO 10019 : 2005 Guidelines for the selection of quality management system consultants and use of their services
  • ISO 19011 : 2002 Guidelines for quality and/or environmental management systems auditing
  • ISO/DIS 9004 Managing for the sustained success of an organization — A quality management approach