Quality Assurance

Quality Assurance ISO 9000 is the generic term for a series of standards sponsored by the International Organization for Standardization which specify the quality systems to be established by manufacturing and service firms. It is the descendant of, and almost directly parallel to, British standard BS-5750, and is identical in most respects to European standard EN-29000. In the United States it is called the American standard Q90, sponsored by the American Society for Quality Control.

Quality Assurance ISO 9000 is an international consortium or network of national standards institutes from 140 countries working in partnership with international organizations, governments, and industry, business and consumer representatives. In many instances, it provides a bridge between public and private sectors. The quality standards they publish are used to ensure consistency in the level of quality in business systems ranging from automotive manufacturing to photography (Quality Assurance ISO film speed code). The Organization maintains a website at www.Quality Assurance ISO.org, where one can get a list of the over 13,000 standards that they have published since 1947.

The United States governing body for Quality Assurance ISO 9000 is ANSI - the American National Standards Institute. The governing body for certification against Quality Assurance ISO 9000 standards is RAB - the Registrar Accreditation Board (you might see that logo displayed on Quality Assurance ISO 9000 advertisements for MSI). RAB insures that the many registrars in this country are measuring companies correctly and consistently against the Quality Assurance ISO 9000 standards for which they are applying.

Contrary to popular belief, Quality Assurance ISO 9000 is not concerned with how to make well-engineered products or supply a high-class service. Rather, it is about having a framework, which enables you to meet your Customer's requirements and continually improve your systems for delivering the product or service that you provide. In many cases organizations without Quality Assurance ISO 9000 may control a core part of the process, or several processes.