The most popular standard in the ISO series is the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System. The ISO 9001 standard was introduced in 1987 by the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) as a continuation of the British standard BS 5750. Did you know that the structure and language of this first edition of the Standard were strongly influenced by the strict standards of the U.S. military? This made its application more accessible to industrial production than to any other sector of economic activity.
Although the ISO Organization initially aimed to establish the basic Quality Management Principles in businesses through the implementation of such a standard, this did not materialize. In the 1994 edition (ISO 9000:1994), a first attempt was made to introduce the concept of “prevention.”
Unfortunately, companies had already become accustomed to implementing the standard’s requirements by creating countless procedures, which, instead of aiding better organization, had the exact opposite effect. In this context, the concept of continuous “improvement” through “prevention” was extremely difficult.
In 2000, the Organization attempted a drastic change, introducing the full set of eight basic quality management principles, aiming to serve as a common basis for all quality management standards.
In 2015, the ISO Technical Committee for ISO 9001 decided that a review and revision of the standard was now imperative in order to:
- create a common format and language across standards that allows for the harmonization of management systems (such as with ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, etc.). In this context, the ISO organization designed a common structure for all Management System standards, which includes a common framework, terms, and concepts.
- reduce documentation requirements, emphasizing the value of organization and the customer.
- maintain the importance of Quality Management Systems for the market. In the new edition, the ISO organization attempts a new change in the philosophy of the standard (ISO 9001:2015), always maintaining its focus on the 8 basic quality principles and the fundamental approach to quality management: Plan – Do – Check – Act.
If you want to improve your Organization’s structure with measurable results through the implementation of a Management System, do not hesitate to contact our specialized Consultants!