ISO 9001 - The International Standard for Quality Management

The standard covers all aspects of an organization’s activities including: identifying its key processes, defining roles and responsibilities, its policies & objectives, and documentation requirements. It also covers the importance of understanding & meeting customer requirements, communication, resource requirements, training, product & process planning, design processes, purchasing, production & service, monitoring and
measurement of products & processes, customer satisfaction, internal audit, management review, and improvement processes. ISO 9001 is based on the following eight Quality Management Principles, which are incorporated within the requirements of the
standard, and can be applied to improve organizational performance:
- Customer focus,
- Leadership,
- Involvement of people,
- Process approach,
- System approach to management,
- Continual improvement,
- Factual approach to decision making, and
- Mutually beneficial supplier relationships.

Benefits of implementing ISO 9001

- Implementing a Quality Management System will motivate staff by defining their key roles and responsibilities.
- Cost savings can be made through improved efficiency and productivity, as product or service deficiencies will be highlighted.
- From this, improvements can be developed, resulting in less waste, inappropriate or rejected work and fewer complaints.
- Customers will notice that orders are met consistently, on time and to the correct specification. This can open up the market place to increased opportunities.