"ISO 9000: international standards for business practices"

2002-08-08

(article appearing in The Leader Post - Regina, on July 27, 2002)

Case scenario: a business in Canada and a business in China forge a new business relationship. Each one knows it can depend on the other to provide a competent, acceptable level of products and service because of one commonality: ISO 9001registration by an accredited Registrar. What that means is that each organization has been assessed by an accredited third-party Registrar as meeting international standards for quality management.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the organization that developed the ISO 9000 series of standards, has been around for more than 50 years. It was established at a London conference in 1946, with unanimous agreement that headquarters would be in Geneva, Switzerland.

The ISO is the body that sets international standards. It is made up of 140 member countries, with each country having one representative organization. In Canada, that representative is the Standards Council of Canada (SCC).

"Consensus building amongst these countries is what develops the international standards," says Kevin McKinley, director of standards with the SCC.

The ISO web site highlights a number of examples of its work including one to which most people can relate: your debit and credit cards. These cards work in cash machines around the world, thanks to international standards that specify such features as card thickness, sizing and encoding.

ISO produces over 13,500 standards. It has different series of standards, or "families" of standards, such as ISO 14000, which is the family of standards for environmental management. There is also ISO 9000 series, which is the family of standards for business practices. Within this series is a set of standards called ISO 9001.

"Within the ISO 9000 series, ISO 9001 is the standard that specifies generic requirements that an organizations can implement and, where desired, is used to obtain registration by an accredited Registrar," states McKinley. "Having an ISO 9001 certificate means that a credible third-party assures that your business has implemented this internationally-accepted standard for business." Although a majority of ISO 9001 registrations apply to business-to-business practices, the latest version of ISO 9001 is well-suited to services and business-to-consumer practices.

"It's a common language for business around the world," adds McKinley. "It's one of the few things that people understand and recognize globally to establish and build business relationships. It's certainly a very important consideration for exporters."

ISO 9001 applies to the organization, not to the organization's products. "Until 1987, ISO had many safety and performance-related standards in a variety of subjects and for very specific products. What was missing were management system standards that dealt with the whole process of getting goods from one business provider to another business client. The first edition of the ISO 9000 standards created in 1987 addressed that issue."

A business must go through a process to receive an ISO 9001 certificate. First, it must obtain the standards and implement any necessary changes to meet them. The next step is certification. A third-party Registrar is enlisted to determine if the business meets the required standards. Registrars are accredited by the SCC to perform this inspection. The Registrar then determines if the business meets the standards, and if so, issues the certificate. Registrars also provide surveillance to ensure continued conformance with the standard. It is up to the business to ensure that it stays up to date on the standards. The business must also undergo a yearly review to ensure it is maintaining ISO 9001 standards.

All of ISO's 13,000 standards are required to be reviewed every five years. For quality management, ISO 9001:2000 is the latest version of the ISO 9000 series.

Businesses that have been registered to the previous 1994 version of the standard (ie, ISO 9001, 9002 or 9003:1994) now need to implement the new version of the standard and be reassessed. "We're encouraging companies to update to the new standard as soon as possible. We're looking for a phasing out period for registrations to the 1994 version of the standard is 3 years. This means that registered companies must have transitioned over to the ISO 9001:2000 Standard by December 2003".

"The new 2000 version of ISO 9001 demands a level of top management commitment, clear objectives for quality and a focus on meeting and exceeding customer requirements " continues McKinley.

Many service organizations are now seeing the value in achieving ISO 9001 accreditation. "Colleges and training institutions, for example, can use and implement the standard for curriculum services to their students or clients. Financial institutions can implement the standard for the delivery of teller services at their branches. It's a way of saying - especially in the service area for consumers - 'have confidence in us. We will be there for you. We will provide a high level of service and we are using this as a benchmark for ourselves to prove that'," says McKinley.

A SCC survey on implementation of the 1994 version of the Standard demonstrates that there are many benefits in having ISO 9001registration, he adds.

"A survey was conducted of 3,000 Canadian private sector businesses, some were ISO registered, some were not. Of the ones that were registered, they reported that registering to the standards resulted in internal benefits, improved relationships with customers and advantages over their competition. Many said that it opens up new markets with new customers."

"It can boost morale and add a level of rigor and predictability in a business. One of the biggest considerations in implementing ISO 9000 is motivation and commitment. It's a systematic approach to helping run key aspects of your business to provide confidence to your customers. There are fundamental benefits to effective application of the ISO 9001 standard that are linked to new markets, more customers, and, ultimately, greater profits."

For more information on ISO 9001 in Canada, visit the SCC web site at www.scc.ca. There you will find information about ISO in Canada and how to find an accredited ISO 9000 Registrar. Also visit the web site www.iso.org to find out more information about ISO and standards.

The Standards Council of Canada

The SCC performs many duties for setting standards nationally and internationally. It:

1. Is the voice for Canada at ISO "For international standards developments, the SCC presents Canada's voice on international standards. The SCC manages the collection of views from individuals and organizations affected by a standard.
2. Takes on Leadership Roles within ISO. "For quality management, Canada has the role of International Secretariat of the ISO Technical Committee that developed the ISO 9000 standards (ISO/TC 176). It's a very key position. The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) manages this Secretariat on behalf of the SCC," says McKinley.
3. Accredits third party Registrars. "We give a level of confidence in the organizations that provide certificates to companies who implement and meet the ISO 9001 standard," says McKinley.