WHY ISO 9001?

ISO 9001 sets out the criteria for a quality management system and is the only standard in the family that can be certified to (although this is not a requirement). It can be used by any organization, large or small, regardless of its field of activity. In fact, there are over one million companies and organizations in over 170 countries certified to ISO 9001.

This standard is based on a number of quality management principles including a strong customer focus, the motivation and implication of top management, the process approach and continual improvement. These principles are explained in more detail in ISO’s quality management principles. Using ISO 9001 helps ensure that customers get consistent, good-quality products and services, which in turn brings many business benefits.

One of the definitions of a “principle” is that it is a basic belief, theory or rule that has a major influence on the way in which something is done. “Quality management principles” are a set of fundamental beliefs, norms, rules and values that are accepted as true and can be used as a basis for quality management. The QMPs can be used as a foundation to guide an organization’s performance improvement. They were developed and updated by international experts of ISO/TC 176, which is responsible for developing and maintaining ISO’s quality management standards.

The seven quality management principles are:

QMP 1 – Customer focus

QMP 2 – Leadership

QMP 3 – Engagement of people

QMP 4 – Process approach

QMP 5 – Improvement

QMP 6 – Evidence-based decision making QMP 7 – Relationship management

These principles are not listed in priority order. The relative importance of each principle will vary from organization to organization and can be expected to change over time.

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