What is ISO9001?
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is the specialized international
agency for standardization, at present comprising the national standards bodies of 91
countries. The purpose of ISO is to promote the development of standardization and related
world activities to facilitate the international exchange of goods and services, and to
develop cooperation in intellectual, scientific, technological, and economic activity.
The ISO9001 series is a set of five individual, but related, international standards on
quality management and quality assurance. They are generic, not specific to any particular
products. They can be used by manufacturing and service industries alike. These standards
were developed to effectively document the quality system elements to be implemented in
order to maintain an efficient quality system within a company.
There are several benefits to implementing this series. For example, it guides you to
build quality into your product or service and avoid costly after-the-fact inspections,
warranty costs, and rework. ISO9001 is the most comprehensive quality system model for
covering design, manufacturing, installation, and servicing systems.
