The ISO 9000: History, Elements and Policy

ISO 9000 grew out of BS 5750, a standard published by the British Standards Institution (BSI) in 1979. Initially, it was used only in manufacturing industries. ISO 9000 is now employed across a variety of other types of businesses. It is a set of international standards of quality management systems. ISO 9000 has been accepted by more than 100 countries as their national quality assurance standard by the end of 1997. The history of ISO 9000 dates back to Mil-Q-9858a, the first quality standard for military procurement established in 1959 by the US. By 1962, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) developed its quality system requirements for suppliers. In 1965, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) accepted the AQAP (allied quality assurance procedures) specifications for the procurement of equipments. During the 1970s, BSI published BS 9000 (the first UK standard for quality assurance) and BS 5179 (guidelines for quality assurance) norms. In 1979, it created BS 5750, a series of standards for use by manufacturing companies. They were enforced through assessments and audits. In 1988, ISO (International Standards Organization) adopted the BS 5750 standard without changes and published it globally under the name ISO 9000. The ISO adopted this standard with a view to create an international definition of the necessary characteristics of a quality system for all businesses, regardless of industry. In 1994, the ISO revised the ISO 9000 standard and published it globally. In the beginning, ISO 9000 was implemented exclusively by large companies. But by mid-1990s, small and mid-sized companies began to increasingly implement these standards. In the United States, the total number of registrations increased from a little more than 2,200 in 1993 to more than 17,000 in 1998. Of these 17,000 registrations, almost 60 percent were held by businesses with annual sales of $100 million or less. ISO 9000 is a set of standards for quality management systems. Perhaps, it is the most popular generic international standard today. First published in 1987 and modified in 1994, it is the true basis for businesses to develop or improve their quality assurance systems. Today, most international businesses document their quality systems according to the ISO 9001 elements.

elements
There are a total of 20 elements (sections) in the overall ISO 9000 standard. Each section explains what a company has to do in order to show that it is abiding by the ISO 9000 rules. Each of these elements should be clearly and completely documented. The twenty ISO 9000 elements include management responsibility, quality management system (QMS), contract review, design control, document control, purchasing, purchaser supplied product, process control, inspection and testing, inspection, measuring and test equipment, inspection and test status, control of nonconforming product, corrective action, handling, storage, packaging and delivery, control of quality records, internal quality audits, training, servicing, and statistical techniques and product ID and traceability. Management responsibility addresses the responsibility of an organization to set up a system that frequently meets consumer requirements and expectations, even in times of managerial change. Quality management system defines general requirements, along with documentation requirements such as quality manual, procedures, work instructions and records. Design control requires that all phases in the designing of products or services must be managed and conducted by qualified employees. The ISO element document control requires that all documents and data used must be controlled and authorized.

Republic of the Philippines Eduardo L Joson Memnorial College Brgy.Singalat Palayan City Nueva Ecija

Prepared by: Ma.Cristina Bernadette H. Quilaton BSBA 2 B Submitted to: Mrs. Grace Cajucom Total Quality Management Professor