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BS EN ISO 9001:2008, to give it its full title, is an internationally recognised standard for
quality management systems requirements, formerly know as BS 5750. During the First
World War it was noted that some munitions were particularly unreliable. This meant that
not only were they ineffective, but also in some cases, they caused loss of life to those
attempting to deploy them. This lead to the development of a defence standard for the
management of quality in the production of munitions.
Over the following 60 years this standard evolved into BS 5750, which was widely
adopted by industry (both commercial and military). In a move towards the globalisation
of standards, BS 5750 was combined with international standards and evolved into BS
EN ISO 9000 in 1987.
Recognition for the need of quality management systems in all areas of business (i.e.
service industries as well as the traditional manufacturing sector) throughout the 1990's
lead to the demands on the standard (ISO 9000 series) changing. Because it had its roots
in the manufacturing industry, it was difficult for other industries (the service sector in
particular) to adopt the standard.
In the year 2000 this was addressed in the most significant amendment to ISO 9001 since
its inception. It re-evaluated the principles of quality management and the result was a
restructuring of the standard. The most recent review of the standard was published in
2008, but this revision was not a major change.
There are eight management principles that underpin the standard. These are all
recognised principles of good management and ISO 9001 brings them together to form
the model for a robust and effective management system.
• Customer focus
• Leadership
• Involvement of people
• Process approach
• System approach to management
• Continual improvement
• Factual approach to decision making
• Mutually beneficial supplier relationships
When developing any element of a management system each of these principles needs to
be considered.
What is required
The 2008 version of the standard adopts a business process management approach. Only
four core elements now exist in the standard and these apply equally to any business
are:
• Management responsibilities
• Resource management
• Product realisation
• Measurement, analysis and improvement
In summary, this means that the standard requires that your management systems cover
the following issues:
1. Management responsibilities
The roles and responsibilities of management and staff need to be clearly defined and
understood. This includes an understanding of the structure of the organisation and how
the groups within it interrelate. This enables adequate planning, objective setting and
effective management of the organisation.
2. Resource management
Adequate resources (including human resources) need to be made available and managed
to ensure the implementation of a quality management system. These include:
• Providing methods for identifying the level of resource required for key tasks and
functions.
• Understanding the knowledge and skills required to effectively manage the
business, both now and in the future.
3. Product realisation
These are the controls employed to ensure that any product or service delivered to the
customer meets their requirements. These include the traditional controls for
manufacturing and the definition of customer requirements for services. This will usually
form the largest part of a management system and will identify how the organisation
controls its business from identifying customer requirements, through contract review,
planning and execution of the tasks that deliver the product or service to the customer.
These controls will contain a definition of the checks and balances that are in place to
ensure that each stage of the process achieves what is required to deliver satisfaction to
the customer.
• Pre-assessment - takes place 3 to 6 months after the management system has been
established. This allows time for records to be generated as evidence of the
operation of the system. The pre-assessment allows the assessment body assessor
to familiarise themselves with the system and identify any major omissions in the
system before the assessment.
• Time Period - usually 6-12 weeks between the pre-assessment and initial
assessment to allow amendments to the system to be completed and implemented.
• Initial assessment - formal assessment of the management system against the
standard. This involves an examination of the documentation that forms the
management system plus an assessment of the evidence gathered. This
demonstrates that the documented system is working in practice.
• Initial assessment process - involves interviewing a number of managers and staff.
An assessment is carried out on a sample basis, so not all records will be
examined and not all staff will be interviewed. When issued, a certificate is only
valid for a limited period of time and can be removed or cancelled by the
certification company at any time. A certificate is normally valid for three years.
• Maintenance of certificate - the certification body re-visits and carries out
surveillance audits to ensure standards are maintained. These are typically
conducted every 6-9 months, dependent upon the size and complexity of the
business under assessment. Where an initial assessment will need to evaluate the
entire system, a surveillance audit is likely to be of more limited scope and will
sample areas of the system in rotation. Over the 3-year period it is necessary for
the certification body to have re-visited all areas of the system.
• Renewal of certificate - a full reassessment of the system is required after three
years.
A copy of the standard can be obtained from the International Organisation for
Standardisation (ISO) or British Standards Institute (BSI). Certification services are
offered by a large number of companies worldwide. A full list is available from UKAS.
What to do next If you are considering implementing ISO 9001:2008 or are simply
looking to develop a quality management system and think you may need help and
advice, please contact The Quality Team today for an informal no obligation chat.
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