| A common perception of the requirement 'continual | | | | product or service. Logically, they also impact on the |
| improvement' included within the ISO9001 Standard | | | | task of Sales and Marketing people who have the |
| (8.5.1) is that in some way it relates to an enhancement | | | | responsibility of persuading potential customers of the |
| of product or service. Some more serious thought | | | | uniqueness and superiority of their product. Here we |
| might divulge this to be a misinterpretation, as the | | | | find the Standard at its weakest and Continuing |
| document is not a product or service specification, but | | | | Improvement a sham. |
| a system for controlling the quality of the product or | | | | If an organization were to adopt a different approach |
| service through the output. Title - ' ISO9001:2000 | | | | to the management of the business, to the |
| Quality management systems - Requirements'. So, in | | | | management of Quality if you prefer, and that |
| so far as the Standard relates to the organizations' | | | | approach directly addressed the cost of generating |
| output, it defines a control and assurance system that | | | | and delivering the organizations product or service, |
| should take care of a measure of conformance for | | | | THAT would result in improvement, and probably |
| the outgoing product. The improvement requirement | | | | continual improvement. |
| refers to the manner in which this control is affected. | | | | Why would this be dissimilar to the laboriously |
| Herein lies the real problem with the ISO9000 series, as | | | | developed ISO9000 management system? For the |
| it has little to do with management in the normally | | | | simple rationale that every top management team |
| accepted definition of that word, and certainly nothing | | | | understands one language - money. A rationally |
| to do with business management, which is about | | | | constituted cost measurement scheme would include |
| efficiency, effectiveness and costs. Pressured into an | | | | 'error free' cost estimates, plus actual measurement of |
| ISO9000 regime by (in the UK) a government | | | | costs incurred due to a failure to achieve the error |
| sponsored initiative intended to improve the nation's | | | | free working. We call this the cost of |
| international image for quality, organisations large and | | | | non-conformance, or perhaps more suitably |
| small adopted the standard and registration in the belief | | | | 'Transaction Costs'. If executive managers could be |
| that this alone would enhance their status in the | | | | persuaded to abandon ISO9000 theory in favour of |
| market place. At the beginning this was true, but when | | | | the collection of honest cost data such as this, |
| competitors were similarly equipped with their | | | | business would - overnight, become more profitable |
| registered status certificate, and none of them | | | | because of the actions they would take - or have |
| demonstrably better than the other, buyers returned to | | | | taken for them - to rectify the clear overspend found |
| their original practice of buying against criteria that did | | | | by this approach. |
| not include ISO9000 registration. Clearly the Continuing | | | | Generally this will not happen. Not due to any difficulty |
| Improvement aspect of the document was either a | | | | or inability to collect this data, but an inbuilt belief by |
| myth, wasn't being implemented, or didn't relate to what | | | | virtually everyone not familiar with Eastern Cultures |
| the customer wanted. | | | | that error & failure is an inevitable consequence of |
| It seems obvious that if a product or service has | | | | human endeavour. |
| achieved an acceptable standard of 'quality' (whatever | | | | In the meantime, managers and their acolytes continue |
| that might mean to the purchaser), any further | | | | to hang onto the support strap ISO9000, firm in the |
| improvement that is to be seen by the purchaser will | | | | belief that a documented system and its certificate will |
| be in the areas of cost and availability. These are not | | | | - as with the Wizard of Oz - be an adequate |
| features that concern the ISO9000 fraternity; however, | | | | substitute for objective thought. |
| they do impact on the customer's perception of that | | | | |