ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems
What is it good to know about the ISO 9001:2008 standard?
The ISO 9001:2008 standard was issued in 2008, hence the ":2008" in the name, by ISO (The International Organisation for Standardisation). This fourth edition of the standard (the first is from 1987) cancels and replaces the previous edition from 2000, which involved three standards, i.e., ISO 9001, ISO 9002 and ISO 9003. The present, fourth edition, involves only one, namely ISO 9001:2008.
In developing the standard, the management system principles that most successful manufacturing and service companies in the world now adhere to were taken into consideration. The standard therefore introduces good practice and, as such, it may serve well organisations that wish to adopt the best management practices possible.
The standard focuses mainly on the effectiveness of a quality management system in meeting customer requirements. It is applicable to all organisations regardless of their size, type, product or service provided they wish to control and improve their business performance and enhance customer satisfaction.
The standard specifies the requirements for a quality management system (Quality Management System), management (Management Responsibility), resources (Resource Management), performance of basic activities (Product Realisation) and monitoring (Measurement, Analysis and Improvement). Only if meeting the requirements defined in the standard can an organisation be granted a certificate for a quality management system to the ISO 9001:2008 standard.
