About ISO
ISO
stands for 'International
Organization for Standardization'. It is based in Geneva,
Switzerland and was formed in the year 1947. The organization
consists of representative from 151 countries. Each country
is represented by its national standards body. ISO comprises more than
180 technical committees, covering many industrial sectors and
products. These technical committees, as far possible, try to
address the requirements of the member countries while formulating
their standards. It aims at harmonization of standards at the
international level with a view to minimize trade and technical
barriers. ISO publishes both product and system standards.
ISO
9000 Standards
ISO
9000 actually refers to a family of standards: ISO 9000:2000
(contains vocabulary and definitions), ISO 9001:2000 (contains
the actual requirements that an organization has to comply with
to become certified), and ISO 9004:2000 (contains guidelines
on how to improve a quality management system).
ISO
9001:2000 is a standard for Quality Management System.
When
a company approaches a certifying agency for ISO 9001:2000 certification,
the certifying agency does on-the-spot assessments of the applicants
Quality Management System. If it is found to comply with ISO
9001:2000 standards, the certifying agency awards the relevant
certificate.
Who
can apply?
Any
legal entity having manufacturing / service operations can apply
for ISO 9001:2000 certifications. Manufacturers, Service Organizations,
Trading Houses, Banks, Hospitals, and Educational Institutions
etc. are eligible for applying.
Benefits
of ISO 9001:2000 Certificate
For
small and medium scale companies, which normally do not enjoy
much of brand image, ISO 9001:2000 certification helps to build
confidence in the minds of customer organizations. This is particularly
true in case of Tenders and other contractual situations involving
institutional buyers.
In
India, where the Government is a prominent buyer, many of the
public sector organizations have already started insisting on
ISO 9001 registration for vendor enlistment. In private sector
also, the situation won't be different in the due course of
time.
In
case of global markets , it is widely believed that the WTO
is going to include ISO 9001 Certification as a pre-requisite
for exports.
Other
benefits of ISO 9001 registration are ……
