ISO 9000 Essay Example For Students

ISO 9000 Essay In order to stay competitive, businesses have to be the best at what theydo. Companys must be efficient and presise in all aspects of the job. (Metcalfe1).ISO 9000 is made up of managements responsibility, the producersinvolved in the Quality Management System, the contract review, the designcontrol, document and data control, purchasing, process control, inspection andtesting, control of non-conforming product, corrective action, handling, storage,packaging and delivery, internal quality audits, training, servicing and statisticaltechniques (Prasanna 1). Quality control and quality assurance is veryimportant there are certain requirements that take time and money to be met butin the end there are benefits. Types of specifications are very significant and thedocumentation of those is even more. Manufacturers and purchasers havemajor responsibility in the process of being successful. The quality of a productis so important, especially to the customer.A companys quality managementsyste m must become the documented proof of a firms commitment to qualitymanagement. A plan put together with quality procedures and work instructionsis provided to help companies design their own quality management system. After completing the quality procedures, companies are audited and thendetermined if they should be certified for ISO 9000 or not (Parsanna 2). ISO: International Organization of StandardsFounded in 1947 in Geneva Switzerland, ISO developed internationalstandards and helped exchange goods and services worldwide. It is made up ofover 90 countries including the US, which is called the American NationalStandards Institute. The name ISO came from the Greek word, isos, meaningequal (Henkoff 2). ISO was created by business men (Henkoff 2). Thesebusiness men knew what businesses needed to become more competitive andhow they could get higher customer satisfaction, so ISO was developed. ISO isnot government regulated, but is ran by organizations like the US RegistrarAccreditation Board. Such organizations authorize registrars which issue ISOcertificates (Barrier 2). In Europe some organizations are government regulated. The American National Standards Institute runs the ISO in the US andauthorizes the US Registrar Accreditation Board (Barrier 2). ISOs job is to setstandards for companies all over the world so that their products come outefficiently and to the best quality. This helps the customers who receive theexports know exactly what they are getting and are satisfied with the product. Setting these standards is done by ISO members at assembly meetings. Proposals are developed by the ISO Council, which is like the board of directorsin a business. These meetings are held three times a year and the membershipis rotated to allow more representatives in (iso online). Standards aredeveloped by technical committees. 30,000 experts participate to givecomments, feedback and to vote in meetings which are held15 times a dayelectronically.The experts are chosen by an ISO member of that country (isoThe ISO 9000 series was published in 1987 (iso online). It is astandardization system that was developed by ISO. It is obtained by 130countries, but its main office is in Geneva, Switzerland where the system iscoordinated and the finished standards are published (iso online). These ISOstandard are rules and guidelines that e nsure the product that a manufacturingbusiness produces is safe, reliable and efficient (iso online). These standardsmakes sure that businesses are living up to their promises. An ISO 9000certificate is given to a business when it maintains the quality managementrequirements determined by ISO (Henkoff 1). ISO 9000 helps a business to getcertified by telling it what requirements it should meet and how it will meet them. It provides a framework for a company. It sets standards worldwide and helpexport goods to other countries. However, the company must have good strongleaders for it to thrive. The success of ISO 9000 on a business largely dependson the businesss organization. Planning, training, setting and achieving goalsare all key to improvement or success of a business (Henkoff 5). ISO 9000makes sure a company is doing what it says it is doing and helps them do it. However, that doesnt mean it is running the company and telling it what to do(USAToday 1). The business is still an i ndependent business it is just gettingadvice on how to manufacture things and earning a certificate that is appealingto customers. However, that also doesnt mean that ISO 9000 promises thequality of a companys product will be great; Richard Buerow, director ofcorporate quality at Motorola states: With ISO 900 you can still have terribleprocesses and products. You can certify a manufacturer that makes life jacketsfrom concrete, as long as those jackets are made according to the documentedprocedures and the company provides the next of kin with instructions on how tocomplain about defects. Thats absurd (Henkoff 3). Its steps and procedureswill help a manufacturers product become better produced. ISO 9000 is divided into three equally ranked quality systems which abusiness can chooses by what quality system will cover their business processISO 9001 is for a business whose processes range from design anddevelopment, to production, installation and servicing. ISO 9002 is for a business t hat does not carry out design and development butanything else that is under ISO 9001. ISO 9003 is for a business whose process does not include design control,process control, purchasing or servicing, but uses inspection and testing toensure that final products and services meet specified requirements. Element 4.1: Management ResponsibilityThe responsibility of executive level management in regard to qualitypolicy, goals, commitment and implementation of the company quality systemHere management must have a Quality Policy and have it understoodthroughout the business. It is then managements responsibility to gatherresources and have trained employees to do the work. The Quality System isthen monitored by management representatives who report back to managementA Quality System must be used to ensure the product conforms tospecifications. The system will be described in documentation of sufficient detailto include structure, processes, and procedures that ensure product qualityThis system must be fully documented to fit ISO 9000 standards in aquality manual. This manual should contain a table of contents and history ofthe company (Stimson 168). This manual should also include customersspecifications and requirements (Stimson 165). The system should go with thebusinesss mission and po licy and show how its requirements should be met. Written plans should be shown on how to fulfill customers standards. A documented system for review and amendment of the contract, toensure customer performer agreement of expectations (Stimson 317). Some Major Parts of Industrial Relations in Bangladesh EssayCustomers have such a broad list of choices that today the competitivefield almost forces a company to be ISO 9000 certified. The certification helpsbusinesss compete, plan, audit and award (Henkoff 2) which means companieswho dont have it should get it. It is only implying that with out it their operatingsystem is incoherent by the workers and their quality system is poor. Foreignconsumers now demand ISO 9000 because they will know what they are goingto get when purchasing with that company (Metcalfe 2). ISO 9000 certification isvery important to the manufacturer because it saves money by reducing need foroutside quality audits and incoming products inspections (Barrier 1). Being ISO9000 certified is very important to the customer, because he/she knows that thebusiness has quality management procedures and knows what quality is in theproduct because it has the same standard through out the world. This opensnew global door s to companies which they would never get without ISO 9000. Now, ISO 9000 is more recognized than when it first came out, but only by somecustomers and only some companies have it. Two thirds of executives atmidsize manufacturing dont know what ISO 9000 is, they think it is a legalrequirement for doing business (Henkoff 2). The businesss who do have itusually get chosen by the customers. During the year 2000 it will be impossibleto compete with out it because it will be a very recognized and a very popularISO has produced and developed standard systems for screw threads tocredit and telephone cards to the this way up sign on boxes to the ISBNnumber in every book (iso online). Thousands of companies all over the worldare ISO 9000 certified. Here are some real life businesses that are certified andstories on how they have used ISO 9000 as a competitive weapon. Caterpillar Engines in Mosville, Illinois had customer complaints abouttheir engines not performing properly. ISO 9000 gave the manufacturers asystematic way to order a design change, make sure they used only the latestdocuments and made engines more efficiently. Their production time went downand their customer satisfaction went up (Henkoff 3). The Rockwell Internationals Allen-Bradley plant in Twinsburg, Ohio makecircuit boards and other electronics. Their problem was that they were extremelyunorganized. Tons of documentation and memos were posted up on a memoboard, most workers didnt get them until months later. Their managementquality was poor, so they got ISO 9000 certified. After getting certified withinone year their productivity improved 21%, time dropped 18% and productExcalibur USA became ISO 9000 certified and more than $10 million wassaved in operating expenses in a year. They gained 30% more business. Production increased, costs went down and customer satisfaction went upESPITI, a European software industry wanted to become morecompetitive so they got ISO 9000 certified. Being certified was essential to thembecause they knew it ensured quality and productivity and it is very good forUganda textile companies in Africa were getting hit by the worst cheapimports of fabric and their sales were bad. Once ISO 9000 cer tified they hadnew standards and fabric imported to them was good. It will lower productioncost and improve sales. Uganda is so satisfied with the improvement that fiftymore companies will have certification by the end of the year (Africa 1). In Batam, Indonesia twelve companies were ISO 9000 certified. Thecompanies were chosen because they wanted to have a competitive edge in ahuge global market demand and wanted to attain a good quality working systemCloister Spring Water Company in Lancaster, PA expanded by openingup three new plants. However, they were afraid that water would be bottled anddelivered differently at each plant. ISO 9000 certification solved that problemand in three years sales soared 250% more than they expected (USAToday 1). ISO 9000 is a competitive weapon all over the world and is becomingmore and more popular. In the October 1998 issue of Quality Progress, asurvey of 1240 US companies showed that of the certified companies (iso90% thought it is a value-added quality system87% thought that it was necessary to remain competitive78% thought that it definitely improved quality within a company73% thought it will save money in the long run99% said that it cannot be implemented without management commitment. Over 20,000 companies in the US are certified today. This shows thatbusinesses believe in a strong quality system, management quality,improvement, profit and competitiveness. All these business essential make upBibliography:BibliogrphyStimson, William A. Beyond ISO 9000: How to Sustain Quality in a DynamicWorld. New York: Amacom, 1998. Barrier, Micheal, Amy Zuckerman. Quality Standards the World Agrees on: Small Businesses Can Meet ISO 9000 Standard. Nations Business01 May 1994: 71-73. Martorana, Jamie. Newsbreak: 6 LI Manufacturers Granted Funds. Newsday29 November 1999: 1. Raman, Prasanna. An Insight into ISO 9000 for Small Businesses. NewStraits Times 24 February 1998. Metcalfe, Coll. Ventura County Business; The Business Beat: Firms Find ISO9000 Certification Means Business. Los Angeles Times02 March 1999: B1. Henkoff, Ronald. Managing: The Hot New Seal of Quality. Fortune 28 June 1993: 116. Surveyor Indonesia to Grant 12 ISO 9000/14000 Certificates. Asia Pulse 03 February 1998. ISO 9000 Helps Firms Achieve Consistency. USA Today 27 May 1998: 02B. Software Industry: ISO 9000 Key to Improving Europes SoftwarePerformance. European Report 01 May 1996. ISO Raises Manufacturers Hopes. Africa News Service 05 January 2000. IRS Lets Manufacturers Deduct Quality Certification Expenses. BloombergL.P. 06 January 2000. ISO 9000. Computer Desktop Encyclopedia 01 January 1998. International Organization for Standardization Homepage. 27 February 2000.