Examples of using the ISO 9000 family of standards

Example 1

A metal parts fabricating company recognized the need to demonstrate their capability to produce consistent quality product. They first used ISO 9000 to develop a plan to create an acceptable QMS. Next, they prepared the quality manual and quality system procedures as required by ISO 9001, excluding the requirements covering product design and development because their products are made to designs prepared by their customers. They implemented the QMS described in their manual and procedures and ensured the system functioned as planned. Later, in order to bid on the supply of parts to a major automotive company, they upgraded their quality system to meet the automotive sector specific requirements of ISO/TS 16949.

Example 2

A welfare agency decided to improve the quality of the services it provided to clients. It adopted ISO 9004 as the basis for implementing its system and planning for improvements. The agency recognized that ISO 9000 provided very useful additional guidance in terminology and understanding and applying QMS concepts to their system.  They mapped the resulting system processes to requirements identified in ISO 9001. They planned to seek certification to ISO 9001 to gain recognition and credibility from clients and supporters.

Example 3

An electrical appliance manufacturer had a well-established company culture of continual improvement and effective production control. The management decided to improve the company's development processes and to implement ISO 9001 to obtain certification for commercial purposes. The company used ISO 9004 to guide its improvement processes and ISO 10006 to develop a project management plan. Regulatory agencies demanded products be designed and packaged recognizing the end of life disposition of products and packaging. The company was able to use the design and document control requirements in ISO 9001 to satisfy regulators of compliance to new requirements.  

Example 4

A large chemical processing company was required by its major customers to gain certification to ISO 9001 and to be environmentally friendly. To address these issues, the company leadership planned a comprehensive management strategy linking their QMS and an environmental management system (EMS). A thorough review of their business processes indicated that all elements of ISO 9001 were applicable to their quality management system and the Annex in ISO 9001 provided the information needed to effectively link it to the ISO 14001 EMS standard. The company used ISO/TR 10013 to guide the development of the required documentation in its various production divisions, ISO 10015 for guidance in the preparation of training plans for their employees and ISO 19011 for auditing both the QMS and EMS. Management achieved additional benefits and continual improvements using ISO 9000 and ISO 9004.

Example 5

A firm of international lawyers wanted to improve their client management processes using the systematic approach found in ISO 9001, but did not intend to gain certification. Their QMS provides for the design and development of new services such as international tax planning and modifying traditional services to meet the requirements of new or amended legislation. They included purchasing control to cover the selection of computer hardware and software, as well as purchasing the services of specialist lawyers as needed. After successfully implementing ISO 9001, they used the self-assessment guidelines of ISO 9004 to monitor their progress as they improved their QMS to achieve greater client satisfaction.

Example 6

A computer software developer serving a niche market recognized that as their user base expanded they would be faced with issues concerning product management including new product development and configuration control. Changes to base products, user hardware and regulatory requirements were compounding customer service issues. The company used ISO/IEC 90003 (QMS for software) when developing new software and incorporating new features in existing product lines. ISO 9004 provided the guidance they needed to establish documented procedures to implement change control and software improvement. ISO 10006 and ISO 10007 provided additional assistance as they managed the project and prepared procedures for configuration management. They later acquired another software developer and were able to use their QMS to guide the integration of the acquisition into their own structure very quickly with a minimum of disruption to customers.

Example 7

A bank decided to implement a quality management system for its on-line Internet banking services. They used ISO 10019 in the selection of a consultant to guide them in their QMS implementation. They ensured that their quality manual made clear that their other conventional banking services were not included in their quality management system. While adopting the requirements of ISO 9001, the bank obtained guidance from ISO 9000 to interpret words and phrases used in the standard for their application. They applied all the requirements of the product realization section (Clause 7), recognizing that design and development is an important part of creating new service processes. The bank used ISO/TR 10013 to prepare their documentation, which they posted on their internal computer network to ensure current procedures are available to their staff.

Example 8

A franchise organization had difficulty maintaining consistent operation by franchisees and determined that an enhanced management system was required. They learned that ISO 9001 included the tools they needed and with the help of ISO/TR 10013 they developed the quality manual and quality system procedures to be used throughout the franchise network. To ensure a consistent approach in managing customer satisfaction, they used guidance found in ISO 10001, 10002 and 10003. When the system was implemented, the franchise organization used ISO 19011 to establish an audit programme to confirm that the ISO 9001-based QMS continued to function as required and was improved on a continual basis.

• Maintaining the benefits and continual improvement