ISO stands for the International Organization for Standardization. The ISO has 92 member countries and is based in Geneva Switzerland. The ISO 9000 standards were developed to promote the consistency of quality practices and to provide a common set of terms, which could be used in all countries. (https://www.iso.org). ISO 9001 certified means that the organization meets the designated requirements.

The term ISO 9001:2015 refers to the latest version of the ISO standards and specifications, which is the set of requirements that companies adopt to ensure their organization achieves a high level of customer satisfaction. By implementing these ISO 9001:2015 requirements organizations use a common-sense approach to manage their organization.  The output of an effective quality management system will ensure the organization meets their customer needs and expectations.  Throughout every stage of business (quoting, design, engineering, purchasing, scheduling, manufacturing, shipping, installation and service), the customer requirements are clearly defined and the output of each process is verified to ensure the customer requirements are met.

Processes within the organization must be monitored, measured and improved (processes affecting cost, quality, service and/or delivery must be measured). Tools used in determining these measurements must be accurate and periodically evaluated to ensure continual improvement.

Companies must set goals and objectives based on customer needs and expectations and on past performance.

ISO 9001:2015 requirements stress the importance for an organization to identify, implement, manage and continually improve the effectiveness of these processes to achieve the organization’s objectives.

The basic principles of a quality system are:

• Say what you do;
• Do what you say;
• Prove it; and
• Improve it.

Say what you do in your policies, procedures and work instructions.
Do what you say by following your policies, procedures and work instructions.
Prove that you are “doing what you say” through the records that you maintain.
Improve what you are doing through data analysis and setting performance objectives and targets.

ISO 9001:2015 focuses on continual improvement and customer satisfaction.  We all understand that the only way to achieve success and have our business grow is to continually improve the company’s processes, products and services.

PACLINE Overhead Conveyors has been an ISO 9001 certified company since 2000.

Thank you to Tammy Donoghue of International Quality Consultants (www.isoqc9000.com) for her input on this post.