ISO 9001

ISO is the INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF STANDARDIZATION. ISO 9001:2008 Outlines criteria for a good Quality Management System (QMS). ISO is an organization that develops Standards for use worldwide to help companies plug into the world market.

ISO 9001:2008 is part of the ISO 9000 family of standards. It is the document that lists the requirements an organization must comply with to become ISO 9001 Registered. "ISO 9000 Certified" is technically incorrect. On the other hand, "ISO 9001 Certified" means an organization has met the requirements in ISO 9001. It defines an ISO 9000 Quality Management Systems (QMS).

ISO 9001 does NOT define the actual quality of your product or service. The market (customers) decides if your product or service is good. The standard tries to get your company to achieve consistent results and continually improve the process. Thus, if you can make a good product/service most of the time, ISO 9001 helps you make it all of the time. It's just good, basic business sense.

The Past (Obsolete) versions of ISO 9001 Standard include:

• ISO 9001:2008 replaced ISO 9001:2000 in the year 2008
• ISO 9001:2000 replaced the 1994 version(s)
• ISO 9001:1994 - Manufacturing with Design & Development
• ISO 9002:1994 - Production and Installation (No Design)
• ISO 9003:1994 - Final inspection and test

The Benefits of ISO 9001

Having an effective Quality Management System, (QMS) in place leads to many improvements in an organization.