ISO 9000, the new quality management standard of ISO the International Organization for Standards, is the embodiment of Europe's commitment to harmonise standards. Where before a company might have to suffer multiple assessments and audits from numerous customers, and many different rigorous inspections from different national certification agencies, now one standard, certificable in one's own country, is the accepted standard for 1992 onwards. No government procurement agency, no reputable company or buyer can now refuse to take your product on the grounds that it doesn't conform to a local standard. ISO 9000 is the standard and sixteen European countries, including all members of the EC, have agreed to abide by it. This is both a great opportunity and a great potential threat to the individual manufacturer. It opens up a vast market, eliminating technical barriers to trade, but without it, and without the quality it demands, you may be excluded even from your own home market. The author attempts to explain how to go about getting and keeping the standard.
Every stage of the process is covered, from the preliminary audit, through the various policy commitments and actions required to meet the standard, to certification and registration. Also included is a chapter on using consultants and some very useful appendices giving a draft plan for preparation for ISO 9000, a sample quality manual, and a list of relevant ISO publications.
- ISBN10 0566090937
- ISBN13 9780566090936
- Publish Date 13 June 1991
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 8 May 2000
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Gower Publishing Ltd
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 160
- Language English