Volume 5 · Issue 12 · December 2000

Contents

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ISO 9004:2000-A Standard Comes of Age

Lawrence A. Wilson writes that, while most of the attention has been focused on ISO 9001:2000, ISO 9004:2000 has a great deal to offer to any organization, whether it has been using a QMS for years or is just beginning the implementation process. ISO 9004:2000 provides guidance that permits the management of an organization to go beyond the baseline requirements of ISO 9001 in pursuit of performance improvement of the QMS and ultimately of the organization itself. Wilson explores the relationships of ISO 9004:2000 with ISO 9004-1:1994 and ISO 9001:2000, the influence of the eight Quality Management Principles and ISO 9004:2000’s role as a vehicle for improving the organization. He highlights the discriminators in ISO 9004 that make it very different from ISO 9001, provides examples of unique performance improvement concepts from Sections 5-8 of ISO 9004:2000 and introduces Annexes A and B and what they provide to the management of an organization seeking to improve its QMS and its organization.