The ISO 9000 family of standards is the exact same standard across the globe even though they

are called by different names. Each member country has their own entity authorized by ISO to manage the standards, but they are all the same exact ISO 9000 quality documents and set of requirements. The ISO 9000 series of quality - related documents was created by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as international requirements for quality management systems. Now that ISO 9000 is in more than 178 countries with over one million registrations it is common in the business world. The ISO 9000 standards are a set of international quality management system standards and guidelines. The term ISO 9000 refers to a group of quality management standards which are process standards (not product standards). They were originally introduced as ISO 9000:1987. ISO is a non-governmental organization that forms a bridge between the public and private sectors, and is the largest standards organization in the world. Many of its member institutes are part of the governmental structure of their countries, or are mandated by their government. Some members have their roots uniquely in the private sector, having been set up by national partnerships of industry associations. Therefore, ISO enables a consensus to be reached on solutions that meet both the requirements of business and the broader needs of society. ISO 9000 refers to the family of quality management standards as well as an individual one ISO 900:2005 Fundamentals and Vocabulary in ISO 9000 Standards ISO 9001:2008(replaced ISO 9001:2000) contains the requirements an organization must comply with to become ISO 9001 Registered. ISO 9004:2009 Managing for the sustained success of an organization. The series is not industry specific and is applicable to any manufacturing or service organization. It is managed by Technical Committee (TC) 176, comprised of international members from many industries and backgrounds.

Quality Management Principles Customer focus 2: Leadership 3: Involvement of people 4: Process approach Applying the principle of process approach typically leads to: Systematically defining the activities necessary to obtain a desired result.

Establishing clear responsibility and accountability for managing key activities. Analysing and measuring of the capability of key activities. Identifying the interfaces of key activities within and between the functions of the organization. Focusing on the factors such as resources, methods, and materials that will improve key activities of the organization. Evaluating risks, consequences and impacts of activities on customers, suppliers and other interested parties.

Key benefits: Lower costs and shorter cycle times through effective use of resources. Improved, consistent and predictable results. Focused and prioritized improvement opportunities. 5: System approach to management

Applying the principle of system approach to management typically leads to: Structuring a system to achieve the organization's objectives in the most effective and efficient way. Understanding the interdependencies between the processes of the system. Structured approaches that harmonize and integrate processes. Providing a better understanding of the roles and responsibilities necessary for achieving common objectives and thereby reducing cross-functional barriers. Understanding organizational capabilities and establishing resource constraints prior to action. Targeting and defining how specific activities within a system should operate.

Continually improving the system through measurement and evaluation. Key benefits: Integration and alignment of the processes that will best achieve the desired results.

Ability to focus effort on the key processes. Providing confidence to interested parties as to the consistency, effectiveness and efficiency of the organization. 6: Continual improvement 7: Factual approach to decision making 8: Mutually beneficial supplier relationships