ISO 9001
Quality Management
In today's highly competitive market environment, clients – local and abroad – are becoming increasingly demanding and sophisticated. Companies that can demonstrate an ability and commitment to delivering quality services will excel. Establishing an effective and efficient quality management system has become an indispensable component of modern competitiveness.
Developed by the International Standards Organization in the 1980s and initially published in 1987, the ISO 9000 Quality Management System standard series sets forth a model to establish, document and maintain an effective and efficient management system, which could demonstrate a company's commitment to quality and its ability to satisfy customers’ requirements.
Over time, the ISO 9000 standard series has been revised to reflect the best practices and changing market expectations of progressive organisations and businesses. On 15 December 2000, the ISO 9000 Year 2000 Edition was officially released with three main standards –ISO 9000, ISO 9001 and ISO 9004. ISO 9001 is the standard used for certification intent. In September 2015, it was upgraded to ISO 9001:2015.
Certification Standard
ISO 9001 was developed under an international consensus of countries with the aim of creating global standards for quality management. ISO 9001 provides a framework and systematic approach to managing business processes to produce a product/service that conforms to customer expectations.
It is a generic management system model designed to be applicable to any organisation regardless of size, nature of business and industry sector.
Since the Year 2000 Edition, a quality management system structure of a series of inter-related processes, propelled by the Plan-Do-Check-Act improvement cycle, has been emphasised.
Fundamental Quality Management Principles
The cycle is driven by seven fundamental quality management principles:
1. Customer focused organisation
2. Leadership
3. Involvement of people
4. Process approach
5. Continual improvement
6. Factual approach to decision making
7. Mutually beneficial supplier relationship
System Requirements
ISO 9001 Quality Management Process Model has four categories of requirements:
1. Management Responsibility
2. Resource Management
3. Product Realisation
4. Measurement, Analysis and Improvement
Benefits of Certification
· Connection of quality to organizational processes
· Greater orientation toward continually improvement and customer satisfaction
To help evaluate the gap existing between the current practices and the certification requirements, organisations can make use of our Gap Assessment service. Furthermore, our customised In-house Training services are useful in ensuring organisations implement their systems with a clear understanding of the requirements.
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