A series of standards in the range of numbers 9000 – 11000 has been defined by the International Organization for Standardization for standards on quality Management systems. The standards of this series define the requirements specifically for the management system, and not for products or services provided by organizations and enterprises.
Purpose of ISO 9000
The series includes:
- standards that directly representing the requirements;
- standards that providing background information and guidance;
- standards that providing (clarifying) particular issues of quality management systems.
Initially, the 9000 series included several standards representing quality management systems. These are the models of the quality system according to ISO 9001, ISO 9002, ISO 9003 (versions of the standards of 1987 – 1994). Further, only one model of the ISO 9001 quality system remained in the series (starting from the 2000 version). In addition, recently there have been standards related to quality management systems, but with numbers that go beyond the series. See the section Development of ISO 9000 and the Structure of the 9000 series for more information.
ISO 9000:2015 (before ISO 9000:2005), ISO 9001:2015 (before ISO 9001:2008), ISO 9004:2018 (before ISO 9004:2009) standards are most commonly used of the entire series of standards. The first is a standard for the terminology of quality systems, the second contains requirements for a quality system, and the third is a standard that provides guidelines for achieving sustainable development of the organization.
Purpose of the ISO 9000:2015 standard
ISO 9000: 2015 "Quality management systems — Fundamentals and vocabulary".
The ISO 9000:2015 standard is intended for a common understanding of the terms and concepts used in the ISO 9000 series standards. It defines the main conditions of quality management systems and the principles used in the quality systems.
At the current level of development the quality management system is an ideology of organization management, and not just an organizational and technical system or a set of interrelated management methods and technologies. Any ideology is based on the postulates or principles. The entire theoretical and practical base is built on the basis of such principles. ISO 9000 series standards are the practical basis for the ideology of quality management. The basic principles of quality management are given in the ISO 9000:2015 standard. The requirements of the quality system are based on these principles.
The 2015 version revised the structure of the standard and the order of presentation of terms compared to the previous edition of the standard (ISO 9000:2005). A significant number of definitions related to new approaches in quality management have been added to the standard. This applies to risk-based thinking, various types of documented information, and the organization's environment.
Purpose of the ISO 9001:2015 standard
ISO 9001:2015 "Quality management systems — Requirements".
The ISO 9001:2015 standard (previous edition - ISO 9001:2008) is intended for the development and implementation of quality management systems of enterprises. This standard can be used for quality system certification. It is also used to conclude contracts with other enterprises that impose requirements for the stability and reliability of the fulfillment of contractual obligations.
The requirements contained in the ISO 9001:2015 standard are generalized. They are intended to be applied to all organizations, regardless of the type of activity, the size of the organization and the products (services) supplied. The standard will define "what" needs to be done to implement a quality system, but does not specify "how" to do it. The requirements of the standard are universal and applicable to any organization due to this approach. The company chooses the methods of implementing the requirements of the standard itself, based on its needs and capabilities.
See more detailed information on the ISO 9001:2015 standard.
Purpose of the ISO 9004:2018 standard
ISO 9004:2018 "Quality management — Quality of an organization — Guidance to achieve sustained success".
The ISO 9004:2018 standard is intended for organizations wishing to develop and improve the existing quality system. This standard provides methodological recommendations for the continuous improvement of the organization – improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the management system.
The ISO 9004:2018 standard is not intended for certification or for use in contractual relations. This standard is not a guide for the implementation of ISO 9001:2015.
ISO 9004:2018 allows an organization to develop its management system through the use of self-assessment. For this purpose, each of the sections of the standard provides more expanded requirements for the management system (compared to ISO 9001:2015), provides recommendations and possible methods for meeting the requirements.
Other ISO 9000 series standards
The 9000 series includes a large number of standards in addition to the standards discussed above that regulate certain issues of management systems. Such issues include customer satisfaction, the application of a quality plan in individual projects, product configuration management, statistical methods, personnel competencies, etc.
All these standards are recommendations or explanations on specific issues of management systems and quality systems in particular. In addition, the series contains standards explaining the specifics of the application of the ISO 9001:2015 standard in various industries. The list of such standards can be found in the section "ISO 9000 Standards".
