Selection and use of the ISO 9000 family of standards

The ISO 9000 family of international quality management standards and guidelines has earned a global reputation as a basis for establishing effective and efficient quality management systems.

The need for international standards is very important as more organizations operate in the global economy by selling or buying products and services from sources outside their domestic market.

This e-brochure (online only, in this HTML version) has been developed by ISO Technical Committee ISO/TC 176, Quality management and quality assurance, which is responsible for developing and maintaining the ISO 9000 family. Supporting guideline standards and other documents are developed and updated on a continual basis to meet the needs and expectations of users and the market itself. This brochure provides a link to these guidelines and how you can use them to improve your quality management system.

This brochure provides a general perspective on the ISO 9000 family of standards. It is an overview of the standards and demonstrates how, collectively, they form a basis for continual improvement and business excellence.

ISO 9001 specifies the basic requirements for a quality management system (QMS) that an organization must fulfil to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide products (which include services) that enhance customer satisfaction and meet applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. The standard can be used for certification/registration and contractual purposes by organizations seeking recognition of their quality management system.

ISO 9001 has been organized in a user-friendly format with terms that are easily recognized by all business sectors.

You will obtain the greatest value by using the entire family of standards in an integrated manner. It is highly recommended that you use ISO 9000 to become familiar with the basic concepts and the language used before you adopt ISO 9001 to achieve a first level of performance. The practices described in ISO 9004 may then be implemented to make your quality management system more effective and efficient in achieving your business goals and objectives. The ISO 9001 and ISO 9004 standards have been written to enable you to relate them to other management systems (e.g. environmental), or to sector specific requirements (such as ISO/TS 16949 in the automotive industry) and to assist you in gaining recognition through national or regional award programmes

This brochure provides you with:

  • An overview of the ISO 9000 core standards
  • A step-by-step process to implement a quality management system
  • Examples of typical applications of the documents; and
  • Information on the ISO 9000 family of standards.

    

Selection and use

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