Information Sheets > The ISO 9001:2000 Transition (page 1 of 3)

The new Quality Management System Standard - ISO 9001:2000 Transition.

It's important not to view the standard as a Strait-Jacket.

ISO TC 176 and its subcommittees met in San Francisco in September 1999 to review the many comments on the Committee Drafts (CD) of the new ISO 9001:2000 series of standards. Publication of the following Draft International Standards (DIS) resulted:

• ISO/DIS 9000 - Quality Management Systems: Concepts and Vocabulary
• ISO/DIS 9001 - Quality Management Systems: Requirements
• ISO/DIS 9004 - Quality Management Systems: Guidance for Performance Improvement
• ISO/CD 19011 - Guidelines for Auditing Quality and Environmental Systems.

ASL is advising clients to purchase ISO/DIS 9004:2000 Quality Management Systems - Guidelines for Performance Improvement. This document contains both the full text of ISO/DIS 9001:2000 and guidance on its implementation.

The proposed ISO 9001: 2000 looks completely different from the existing standard. ISO 9001/2/3 have all been replaced with the new ISO 9001:2000 standard. This will contain all the system elements that could apply to any organisation. There is however the option for individual organisations to select from the standard, by excluding those elements which are not applicable to their particular situation e.g. design and / or development.

Another fundamental change is the layout of the standard. The 20 clauses of the existing ISO 9001 (or 19 of ISO 9002) hae disappeared and requirements are now listed under 4 broad headings:

• Management Responsibility
  
• Resource Management
  
• Product and / or Service Realisation and Measurement
  
• Analysis and Improvement

None of the existing requirements have disappeared, but there are some additions. In particular, there is a focus on customer needs and customer satisfaction. For example, ensuring that products or services are meeting requirements that have not been specified, but are necessary for fitness of purpose. There is also a requirement for measuring and monitoring customer satisfaction. These are all processes that most organisations already have in place, but which were not specifically required by ISO 9000.

The following Internet websites provide additional information on the development of the new ISO 9000 standards: www.iso.ch and www.bsi.org.uk/iso-tc176-sc2.

ISO 9001:2000 Transition Arrangements (page 2)
ISO 9001:2000 Transition - Common Questions (page 3)