ISO 9001:2000 Registered Quality System

FieldServer's quality system has been ISO 9001 registered since 1995 and we are now ISO 9001:2000 registered. ISO-9000:2000 is a set of international standards for both quality management and quality assurance that has been adopted by over 90 countries worldwide.

The 2000 version of the ISO 9000 standard is based on eight quality management principles the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) developed for organizations' senior management to use as a framework for improving performance. The 1994 revisions of the standard also reflected this theme. ISO placed a strong emphasis on defining the 2000 revision of the standard to ensure the previous foundations of the standard weren't lost, but rather clarified and strengthened.

The eight principles are:

• Principle 1 – Customer focus
• Principle 2 – Leadership
• Principle 3 – Involvement of people
• Principle 4 – Process approach
• Principle 5 – System approach to management
• Principle 6 – Continual improvement
• Principle 7 – Factual approach to decision making
• Principle 8 – Mutually beneficial supplier relationships

Another important change with the 2000 revision is the movement away from an elemental-based approach to one that is simpler and based on a process-management approach. There are five new auditable clauses in the 2000 revision of the standard.

1. Quality management system
2. Management responsibility
3. Resource management
4. Product realization
5. Measurement, analysis and improvement

This new structure will compel companies to step back and examine their processes as they affect product/service quality. The intent of the newest revision is to improve organizations' operational efficiency by defining and developing sound business practices for them to follow. An outcome of these efforts may be the creation of new business and the retention of existing customers.