ISO 9000:2000 The Revised Standards

The ISO 9000:1994 family of standards for Quality Management Systems has been revised and published as ISO 9000:2000. The effects of the revisions include:

ISO 9002 and ISO 9003 will no longer exist
All companies will be registered to ISO 9001
New format and vocabulary for ISO 9001
Additional requirements need to be met

THE MAIN CHANGES

The 1994 versions of the standard placed emphasis on documented procedures, the revised ISO 9001:2000 standard requires only 6 documented procedures as a minimum, these are:

Control of Documents
Control of Quality Records
Internal Audits
Control of Non-Conformity
Corrective Actions
Preventive Actions

Other changes to ISO 9000, include:

A new process oriented structure
A continuous improvement process, including objectives and targets setting and monitoring
Increased emphasis on the role and commitment of top management
The concept of permissible exclusions
Monitor customer satisfaction and other performance measures
The identification, evaluation and planning of resource

THE TRANSITION

For companies currently registered to the ISO 9000:1994 version of the standard, the transition period is 3 years from the publication of the 2000 version. Assessment and certification to both versions of the standard will be acceptable during the three-year transition period, after which, ALL certificates must be transferred.

WHY THE NEED FOR CHANGE?

It is the policy with International Standards to plan 5 yearly reviews to ensure they continue to be effective and relevant to the industry sectors they are applicable too.

The review undertaken by the International Standards Organisation Technical Committee (ISO TC 176) perceived the need to amend ISO 9000 to reflect modern industrial and service sector management system requirements, including:

Customer Focus
Demonstrate Continuous Improvement
Compatibility with other Management System Standards
Relevance to Service Industries

PERMISSIBLE EXCLUSIONS

The reason for permissible exclusions is to allow companies to exclude requirements that are not relevant to their activities.

The exclusions are limited to section 7, 'Product Realisation' of the standard. However, companies must be assessed against actual activities and excluding requirements must not effect their ability to provide a product / service which meets customer requirements and regulatory and legal requirements. All exclusions must be documented, with justifications within the documented quality management system.

PURCHASING STANDARDS VIA AMTAC

As an official distributor of both British and International Standards, we can provide all the standards to meet your requirements, for enquiries and requests, please contact our offices.

AMTAC TRAINING DIVISION

AMTAC Certification Services, Training Division has developed a series of training courses and workshops that are available on a nationwide basis. The courses are designed to facilitate a practical and progressive approach to implementing the revised standard. For further details please refer to our training pages.

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