The case for ISO 9000

Abstract

Summarizes the arguments for and against the ISO 9000 standard and examines the perceived advantages and disadvantages of implementing it. Reports the results of a survey of over 100 quality managers/representatives of ISO 9000‐certified organizations in the service and manufacturing sectors of UK industry. Too many ISO 9000 surveys in the past have sought the opinions of organizational managers who have had little or no operational experience of the standard on a day‐to‐day basis. This paper aims to redress this anomaly. Survey results indicate quite conclusively that most quality professionals are content with ISO 9000’s contribution to quality improvement, dismissing many of the past criticisms of the standard as inappropriate. These results can form the basis of a case for the implementation of the standard for those organisations currently trying to decide whether to implement it or not.