| fonte:
www.iso.org
ISO has published on its Web site a new electronic
edition of its advice for managers, Selection and use of
the ISO 9000 family of standards.
The ISO 9000 family, which currently
consists of 17 international quality management standards and guidelines
(plus a corrigendum), has earned a global reputation as a basis for
establishing effective and efficient quality management systems.
The best known standard is ISO 9001, which
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. It is estimated that a million ISO 9001 certificates
have been issued in 170 countries.
However, ISO technical committee ISO/TC
176, Quality management and quality assurance, which is
responsible for developing and maintaining the ISO 9000 family, and which
has updated the e-brochure, states: "You will obtain the greatest
value by using the entire family of standards in an integrated manner."
The e-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. The e-brochure includes:
- 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
- Information on the ISO 9000 family of
standards.
The experts of ISO/TC 176 give this advice
to users: "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."
ISO Secretary-General Alan Bryden comments:
"ISO not only develops standards for organizations operating in
global markets; it also provides informative documents and advice to help
these organizations get the best out of ISO standards."
Selection
and use of the ISO 9000 family of standards, which can be
accessed free of charge, is the latest edition of the highly successful
brochure, first published by ISO in 1994 as Implementing ISO 9000.
The brochure will be updated further once the next edition of ISO 9001 is
published – which is expected before the end of 2008.
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