Citation
(2002), "New quality standard puts spotlight on the customer", Measuring Business Excellence, Vol. 6 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/mbe.2002.26706aab.008
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2002, MCB UP Limited
New quality standard puts spotlight on the customer
New quality standard puts spotlight on the customer
Over two-thirds of quality professionals are unhappy with the new quality management standard ISO 9001:2000 according to research published in September 2001. The study into the attitudes of quality professionals towards the changes implemented by the international standard was carried out jointly by certification organization, SGS Yarsley and the Institute of Quality Assurance.
Just 30 per cent of respondents said they were happy with the standard. "While the survey's findings suggest that language and terminology problems seem to have been partially resolved, 29 per cent of respondents would have liked greater use of 'plain English"', says SGS' Marketing Manager, Barry Holland, "Those that were less satisfied with the new document also indicated they would have appreciated less requirement for document control and greater emphasis on product quality".
The study was a response to the introduction of the long awaited 2000 standard which was published in December last year. A questionnaire, designed to gather the opinions of quality professionals into the technical aspects of the document, third party certification and accreditation, was published in the May issue of Quality World magazine and circulated to 4,000 ISO 9001 certificated organizations in the UK.
Other key findings include:
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Of those that did not yet comply with the new standard, just 1 per cent said they would not be working towards it.
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Increased emphasis on statistics and measurement in the new standard will make compliance more onerous for small organizations.
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Just one in ten respondents were dissatisfied with their certification body.
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"Credibility" (48 per cent) and "customer demand" (41 per cent) were the two most popular reasons for using a third party to assess quality management systems (QMS) while two-thirds thought that their certification bodies added value to their QMS.
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Over half the respondents are considering moving towards an integrated management system.
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Nearly two-thirds will be using employees to implement their ISO 9001:2000 system while one in eight will be retaining the services of a QA consultant.
To request a full copy of the report please e-mail SGS at enquiries@sgsgroup.co.uk