ISO 9000 Quality Standards

In 1987, mounting concern on global quality issues led the International Organization for Standardization, or ISO, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, to establish a series of international quality standards. Called the ISO 9000 Series of Standards, the series is not specific to any one industry, but when used with proper industry-specific standards, helps build a strong foundation for a quality system. The idea behind ISO is to promote standardization which will facilitate the international exchange of goods and services.

Currently, ISO 9000 certification is voluntary and not required or mandated in any country. However, the European community has recently required that quality systems of many suppliers of products related to health, safety, and the environment be formally registered, by a third party, according to the ISO 9000 Series standard. This action has made adoption of the ISO standards a prerequisite for doing business in Europe. Countries in Asia, Africa, and South America are more and more considering adoption of these standards as a means to increased trade among themselves and the United States. Over 20,000 companies have been registered worldwide, and at least 52 nations are implementing the standards.

In the U.S., the ISO 9000 Series of Standards was adopted in precise format as the ANSI/ASQC Q90 series of standards. The series comprises five individual, but related, international standards on quality management and quality assurance, known as ISO 9000, 9001, 9002, 9003, and 9004. For a company’s quality system to become registered in one or more of these standards involves having an accredited, independent third party conduct an audit of the company’s operations against the requirements of the ISO 9000 standards. Upon successful completion of this audit, the company will receive a registration certificate that identifies its quality system as being in compliance with ISO 9000 standards.