Question:
What are the changes being proposed for the ISO 9000 series in the year 2000?

Answer:
ISO 9001:2000, “Quality Management Systems – Requirements,” was issued in December 2000. The ISO has announced that existing ISO 9001/2:1994 certifications will be valid for three years after the release of ISO 9001:2000 (until December 15, 2003). Check with your registrar for its requirements for you to be fully compliant with the new standard.

The most significant changes include new or enhanced requirements for identifying customer needs and requirements, measuring customer satisfaction, improved communications (internal and external), and continual improvement. In addition, the language has been simplified in some clauses, and the entire standard has been rearranged to bring it more in line with a business process model instead of a product process model.

ISO 9002 and ISO 9003 have been discontinued, and ISO 9004, “Quality Management Systems – Guidelines,” has been rewritten to bring its section numbering in alignment with the ISO 9001 standard. No existing requirements have been removed or reduced.

A joint technical group has been formed which includes standards writers from both the ISO 14000 and ISO 9000 worlds. This is to align the wording and, where possible, the requirements of the Environmental Management System (EMS) document in both the ISO 9001:2000 and the current ISO 14001:1996 standards.

For a high-level overview of the proposed standard, contact us about our 1/2-day class, "ISO 9001:2000 Overview." Give us a call at 877-415-0191 or e-mail us at bqpm.info@bqpm.com.

In addition, BQPM has a one-day seminar to explain the proposed requirements in the ISO 9001:2000 standard in much more detail than that given in the overview class. Please give us a call for more details or to get a no cost, no obligation quote.

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