What is ISO 9000?

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ISO9000 is an international quality certification that defines minimum requirements for a company's Quality Management System (QMS). A company's QMS comprises the organization's policies, procedures and other internal requirements that ensure customer requirements are met with consistency resulting in customer satisfaction. Some of the areas of the company within the scope of ISO9000 include:

• Customer contracts
• Hiring and employee training
• Design and development of products and services
• Production and delivery of products and services
• Selection and managing of suppliers
• Management responsibility
• Internal quality audits
• Monitoring and measuring
• Continual improvement
• Corrective and preventive action

What is ISO 9000?

To receive an ISO9000 certification a company must put the required QMS processes and controls in place, monitor performance of its processes and demonstrate continual improvement. Most companies hire an experienced consulting firm to assist with these preparations. Once the QMS is in place, a registrar (or certification body) is hired to audit the company's compliance with ISO9000 requirements. If discrepancies are found during the audit, they must be corrected before the ISO9000 certificate is issued. The ISO9000 certification must be maintained through regular audits (bi-annual or annual) conducted by the selected registrar.

ISO 9000 Consultant, ISO 9000 Training, ISO 9000 Auditor