Seven Basic Quality tools documents
Definition of Quality Management -- it is a method for ensuring that all the activities necessary to design, develop and implement a product or service are effective and efficient with respect to the system and its performance. It is also a principle set by the company to endure the continuous advocacy of quality services and products, or the further improvement of it.
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ISO 9000
Companies today
compete on a global scale. In order to
remain competitive, organizations must be able to adapt to the corporate
climate. One obstacle many companies are
facing today is the ever-increasing
standards of quality customers expect from their respective firms. To overcome this obstacle, many organizations
have begun or completed the implementation of ISO 9000.
ISO 9000 is a quality system. It is a set of rules that can be followed by
an organization in order for a company to understand the wants and needs of
their customers. ISO 9000 is a generic
system, allowing the standard to be applied in virtually any situation. ISO is not an acronym. Formed in 1947, in Geneva, Switzerland, ISO
is a nickname used for the International Organization for Standardization. The word “isos” means, “equal” in Greek, and
that is what ISO 9000 attempts to establish.
The ISO 9000 standard is used in order to create organizations that are
equal when it comes to customer service and meeting customer needs.
ISO 9000 is a European standard,
however, it is being adapted throughout the world. The International Organization for
Standardization believes there are two main points that should be understood in
order to undertake ISO 9000 implementation.
One is to promote development of standardization to facilitate
international exchange of goods and services.
Basically, this is to allow international companies to compete on the
same level in regards to goods and services.
The second is to promote cooperation in intellectual, scientific,
technological, and economic activity.
Sharing information allows companies to grow, and has been a key point
in discussions from Robert C. Camp. His
ideas of benchmarking are those of sharing information in order to allow both
parties to benefit.
A commitment to ISO 9000
is necessary in order for it to be successful.
Once a commitment is made, it is only a matter of time until the
organization is compliant with ISO 9000.
Once the commitment is made, the organization must come up with a plan
in order to see what is feasible.
Implementation of the plan will commence, and then, once completed, an
ISO 9000 certificate can be issued.
Once ISO 9000 is implemented, it will
benefit the organization in many ways.
Customers will recognize the certification, as it holds an important
place when most companies are looking to purchase from others. This will allow increased sales, while the
actual implementation is contributing to higher quality and service. The organization on a whole will benefit, as
it will allow the employees to operate in a more efficient way, and has shown
to increase morale and team work efficiency.
ISO 9000 has a series of
parts in which guidelines and rules are presented in order to achieve ISO 9000
certification. Specifically, ISO 9000
and 9004 are the guidelines, while ISO 9001, 9002, and 9003 are the categories
in which an organization can apply in order to achieve ISO 9000 certification.
In part one of ISO 9000
documentation, ISO 9000 is the “Quality
Management and Quality Assurance Standards – Guidelines for Selection and Use” section. This section is an overview of ISO 9000
certification and allows a company to decide which category they can apply for
in order to achieve ISO 9000 certification.
ISO 9001 is the “Quality Systems – Model for Quality
Assurance in Design/Development, Production, Installation, and Servicing” category
within ISO 9000. This category is for
use by companies within the manufacturing sector or organizations involved in
the creation and delivery of a service.
ISO 9002, “Quality Systems – Model for Quality
Assurance in Production and Installation” is the category for companies who
perform many functions, with the exception of design and development, to
implement. A job shop would be an
example of a company who would apply for ISO 9002.
ISO 9003, “Quality Systems – Model for Quality
Assurance in Final Inspection and Test” is used by non-manufacturing firms,
such as distributors and warehouses.
This standard is not being used as much as it was in the past, as more
quality is now being built directly into a product. ISO 9003 is expected to be dropped from the
ISO 9000 certification sometime in the future.
ISO 9004, “Quality Management and Quality System
Elements – Guidelines” are the guidelines a company use to implement and
interpret what category to apply for within ISO 9000. It helps the company seek direction and
achieve what ISO 9000 has set out to create: quality and unity.
ISO 9000:2000 is an ISO 9000 update. Some of the changes include the integration
of ISO 9001, 9002, and 9003, and important issues within ISO 9000 being
clarified. Another related standard is
ISO 14000, which is an extension of ISO 9000 into environmental
certification. The support for ISO 14000
is not as great as ISO 9000, as integrating ISO 14000 can cause conflicting
interests within an organization, due to opinions over environmental issues.
ISO 9000, as stated previously, can be implemented
virtually anywhere. An organization just
needs to determine which section of ISO 9000 implementation to proceed with,
and from there is it simply a matter of following through with the standard.
Companies such as IBM, Motorola, Exxon-Mobil, and Fed-Ex have all implemented
some type of ISO 9000 standards. Once a
company’s basic structure and goals have been identified, the implementation
can begin. Taking a small manufacturing
business as an example, the following paragraph describes the process involved
in ISO 9000 implementation.
ISO 9001 would be the choice of the
small manufacturing business, as ISO 9001 is the category for which
manufacturing operations should choose to implement. Costs would break down into two parts:
implementation and registration. The
implementation costs include: Multiple Locations, Design, Non-existence of a
Quality Program, and Significant Corporate Changes. The registering costs include: Design
Responsibility, Number of Locations, and Size of Facility in Terms of Employment
(Employees). There can also be
additional costs, which do not register in dollars and cents, such as employee
morale.
ISO
9000 is an important standard in the industry today. When companies choose to implement ISO 9000,
they must think of not only the short-term transition period, but also the
long-term future of the organization.
Too often, companies do not see this, and implement ISO 9000 simply to
remain competitive due to outside pressure.
This can lead to failure of the implementation, and even to the point of
failure of the company due to the loss in quality that may have existed before
the implementation.
For
additional information, many sources can be utilized. The Internet is a place that can be very
helpful in learning more about ISO 9000.
A good site to visit would be the International Organization for
Standardization (http://www.iso.ch/).
Also, the resources in the library or a specialized engineering library
will be very helpful in obtaining ISO 9000 information. Finally, contacting a company directly to see
a first-hand account of ISO 9000 implementation can be very informative.
Works Cited
Arnold,
Kenneth L. The Manger’s Guide to ISO
9000. The Free Press. New York, NY.
1994.
Clements,
Richard B. Quality Manager’s Complete
Guide to ISO 9000. Prentice
Hall.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ. 1993.
Foster,
Jr., S. Thomas. Managing Quality: An
Integrative Approach. Prentice
Hall.
Saddle River, NJ. 2001.
Harrington,
Dr. H. James and Mathers, Dwayne D. ISO
9000 and Beyond: From
Compliance to Performance Improvement.
McGraw-Hill. New York, NY. 1997.
“ISO
9000 and ISO 14000”. ISO 9000 and ISO
14000. 16 January 2001.
17 February 2001. <http://www.iso.ch/>
Kantner,
Robert. The ISO 9000 Answer Book. John Wiley & Sons. Danvers, MA.
2000.
Rabbitt,
John T. and Bergh, Peter A. The ISO
9000 Book: A Global Competitor’s Guide
to Compliance & Certification.
Quality Resources. White Plains,
NY. 1994.