ISO (9000& 14000 Series)

ISO (9000& 14000 SERIES)

The International Organization of Standardization (ISO) is a worldwide federation consisting of member bodies from 91 countries, which promotes the development of international manufacturing, trade and communication standards.

ISO 9000 is a set of international standards on quality management and quality assurance developed to help companies effectively document the quality system elements to be implemented to maintain an efficient quality system. They are not specific to any one industry and can be applied to organizations of any size.

ISO 9000 can help a company satisfy its customers, meet regulatory requirements, and achieve continual improvement. However, it should be considered to be a first step, the base level of a quality system, not a complete guarantee of quality.

ISO 9000 refers to a generic series of standards published by the ISO that provide quality assurance requirements and quality management guidance. ISO 9000 is a quality system standard, not a technical product standard. The ISO 9000 series currently contains four standards – ISO 9001, ISO 9002, ISO 9003 and ISO 9004. Firms select the standard that is most relevant to their business activities. However, these four standards will be revised in late 2000. More information is provided later in this paper under ISO 9000:2000.

ISO 9000 Series standards

The ISO 9000 family contains these standards:

• ISO 9001:2015: Quality management systems – Requirements
• ISO 9000:2015: Quality management systems – Fundamentals and vocabulary (definitions)
• ISO 9004:2009: Quality management systems – Managing for the sustained success of an organization (continuous improvement)
• ISO 19011:2011: Guidelines for auditing management systems

ISO 9000 principles of quality management

The ISO 9000:2015 and ISO 9001:2015 standards are based on seven quality management principles that senior management can apply for organizational improvement:

• Customer focus
• Understand the needs of existing and future customers
• Align organizational objectives with customer needs and expectations
• Meet customer requirements
• Measure customer satisfaction
• Manage customer relationships
• Aim to exceed customer expectations

• Leadership
• Establish a vision and direction for the organization
• Set challenging goals
• Model organizational values
• Establish trust
• Equip and empower employees
• Recognize employee contributions

• Engagement of people
• Ensure that people’s abilities are used and valued
• Make people accountable
• Enable participation in continual improvement
• Evaluate individual performance
• Enable learning and knowledge sharing
• Enable open discussion of problems and constraints

• Process approach
• Manage activities as processes
• Measure the capability of activities
• Identify linkages between activities
• Prioritize improvement opportunities
• Deploy resources effectively

• Improvement
• Improve organizational performance and capabilities
• Align improvement activities
• Empower people to make improvements
• Measure improvement consistently
• Celebrate improvements

(6) Evidence-based decision making

• Ensure the accessibility of accurate and reliable data
• Use appropriate methods to analyze data
• Make decisions based on analysis
• Balance data analysis with practical experience
• See tools for decision making.

• Relationship management
• Identify and select suppliers to manage costs, optimize resources, and create value
• Establish relationships considering both the short and long term
• Share expertise, resources, information, and plans with partners
• Collaborate on improvement and development activities
• Recognize supplier successes

Why Consider ISO 9000 Registration

There are several benefits to implementing this series in your company. There is also a strong belief that having a documented quality procedure gives a firm a strong advantage over its competitors. For example, it will guide you to build quality into your product or service and avoid costly after-the-fact inspections, warranty costs, and rework.

Most importantly, more contractors are working with ISO certified customers every year as the certifications are more widely used and accepted in the United States.

ISO14000

ISO 14000 is a family of standards related to environmental management that exists to help organizations

(a) minimize how their operations (processes, etc.) negatively affect the environment (i.e. cause adverse changes to air, water, or land);

 (b) comply with applicable laws, regulations, and other environmentally oriented requirements; and

 (c) continually improve in the above.

ISO 14000 is similar to ISO 9000 quality management in that both pertain to the process of how a product is produced, rather than to the product itself. As with ISO 9001, certification is performed by third-party organizations rather than being awarded by ISO directly. The ISO 19011 and ISO 17021 audit standards apply when audits are being performed.

The ISO 14000 series of environmental management standards are intended to assist organizations manage the environmental effect of their business practices. The ISO 14000 series is similar to the ISO 9000 series published in 1987. The purpose of the ISO 9000 series is to encourage organizations to institute quality assurance management programs. Although ISO 9000 deals with the overall management of an organization and ISO 14000 deals with the management of the environmental effects of an organization, both standards are concerned with processes, and there is talk of combining the two series into one.

Both series of standards were published by ISO, the International Organization for Standardization. The purpose of ISO is to facilitate international trade and cooperation in commercial, intellectual, scientific and economic endeavors by developing international standards. ISO originally focused on industrial and mechanical engineering standards. Now, it has ventured into setting standards for an organization’s processes, policies, and practices.

The requirements of ISO 14001 are an integral part of the European Union’s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). EMAS’s structure and material are more demanding, mainly concerning performance improvement, legal compliance, and reporting duties. The current version of ISO 14001 is ISO 14001:2015, which was published in September 2015.

ISO 14000 refers to a series of standards on environmental management tools and systems. ISO 14000 deals with a company’s system for managing its day-to-day operations and how they impact the environment. The Environmental Management System and Environmental Auditing address a wide range of issues to include the following:

• Top management commitment to continuous improvement, compliance, and pollution prevention.
• Creating and implementing environmental policies, including setting and meeting appropriate targets.
• Integrating environmental considerations in operating procedures.
• Training employees in regard to their environmental obligations.
• Conducting audits of the environmental management system.