The ISO 9001 Quality Management Standard
ISO 9001 is an international Management System Standard for quality management. The ISO 9001 Standard is published by ISO, the International Organization for Standardization. Over a million organisations worldwide are certified to the ISO 9001 Standard, making it the most widely used management tool throughout the world.
ISO 9001 outlines a set of requirements for the management of organisations. Think of ISO 9001 as a best practice management formula. The requirements of the ISO 9001 Standard are generic and can be applied to any organisation, large or small, whatever its product or service, in any industry sector.
ISO 9001:2015 is the latest version of the ISO standard. The standard was first published in 1987. To address changing business needs and technological progress, the standard is reviewed and updated periodically. It was first updated in 1991, then in 2000, 2088 and 2015.
The ISO 9000 family of Standards
Many refer to the Standard as ISO 9000; however, this is the term used to describe a family of Quality Standards, with ISO 9001:2015 being the most widely recognised.
ISO 9001:2015 sets out the requirements of a Quality Management System. Other Standards in the overarching family include ISO 9000:2015, which covers the basic concepts and language; ISO 9004:2009, which focuses on how to make a Quality Management System more efficient and effective; and ISO 19011:2011, which provides guidance on internal and external audits of Quality Management Systems.