ISO 9000 Goals

ISO 9000 Goals/Principles Are Process Quality Focused

ISO 9000 addresses process quality standards, not product quality standards. It does not involve inspection to see if a part meets a specification. It addresses examining the process and the controls used during its manufacture. The idea is that if everything in the process is good, it will produce a good product.

The requirements in ISO 9001 do not call for any specific type of product inspection. It does state that if an organization includes product inspection in their production plans they must carry out the inspections as planned.

Eight ISO 9000 Goals/Principles

1) Customer Focused Organization

Take care of the customer first. Companies that focus their energies on customers outperform those that are inwardly focused. Customers don’t reward their suppliers for simply following a procedure. You depend on your customers. You should understand their requirements and expectations and work to exceed them.

2) Leadership

Top management should be leaders. Continual improvement and increased customer satisfaction are attainable when led by top management. Leaders provide direction and make sure everyone is steering the same course.

3) Involvement of people                                                     

People make quality a reality. The folks that do the work must know what their customer expects. And, everyone works toward the same goal … the customer’s satisfaction.

4) Process Approach                                                             

Plan and setup work the way it naturally flows. When operations and departments work together toward the same goals there is a structure for managing and improving. The whole must be greater than the sum of its parts.

5) System Approach to Management                                 

A company will be more effective if they manage a system of interacting processes. Managing each process as stand alone operations causes conflicts among processes because they work toward individual goals and not what the customer wants.

6) Continual Improvement                                                   

Being world class isn’t achieved by accepting the status quo. Small improvements made on an ongoing basis makes world class a reality.

7) Factual Approach to Decision Making                             

Decisions about change are based on empirical information. Wishing something better doesn’t work.

8) Mutually Beneficial Supplier Relationships                     

Make suppliers partners in your efforts and theirs. You depend on suppliers so you should work toward win-win outcomes. Everybody prospers.

9) Defect Prevention (Bonus Goal)

Controlling the input to processes through goal # 4 emphasizes the importance of good input resulting in good output. Thereby, theoretically reducing the need to rely on defect detection methods such as inspection.

Should An Organization Be ISO 9001 Certified?

In recent surveys, 52% of American midsize manufacturers said they were not certain what ISO 9000 is and they weren't interested in being certified. This is unfortunate, because midsize manufacturers earning $50 million or less are the USA's real economic base. Furthermore, ISO 9000 certification stresses many of the areas where such companies do poorly...such as long-term corrective action, preventive action and standard work methods.

There is a lot that manufacturers can gain from being certified to ISO 9001. ISO 9001 focuses on how manufacturing operations work, how they're controlled, and how they're optimized. By revealing every manufacturing area, process by process, and looking to see if it really is coordinated with the other processes. Or, if there are stand-alone departments that aren't integrate with other processes. As manufacturers document such functions under ISO 9001, they determine who's not in the loop.

Processes or functions that are out-of-the loop are prime spots for problems to develop. Being out-of-the-loop means failing to know and follow the standardized methods the company uses to reduce variation and associated problems.

Additional information on these topics:

What are Quality Management Systems?

What is ISO 9000?

What is ISO 9001?

What is ISO 9004?

What is ISO 19011?

Online ISO 9000/9001 Overview Course

Auditor Training: Online

Auditor Training Courseware

Additional Information Resources