ISO 9000 Quality Systems Handbook - Softcover

Hoyle, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0750640243 ISBN 13: 9780750640244

Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd, 1998

Synopsis

This essential and comprehensive guide to implementing the Quality System Standard has again been updated to include more guidance on the application of the standard, particularly to the Service Industries, making it the most complete guide to ISO 9000 available. This is not a wordy and theoretical tome; it is a practical instruction manual for implementing quality system requirements and becoming certified to the now indispensable worldwide quality system standard.

This handbook has been written with the discerning manager in mind, and is a manual for those managing, designing, implementing, auditing and improving quality systems. In this book the mysteries of how to become and remain certified to the quality system standard are solved. The approach taken in the handbook is appropriate for managers and practitioners of all types in any organisation. Unlike other guides, this book addresses each individual requirement of each clause. One by one the purpose and scope of the requirements is explained and practical guidance in meeting them is offered.

Comprehensive and practical guide
Covers over 250 requirements of the standard
Includes useful checklists, flow charts, related standards, bibliography

About this title

Review

'This book is highly recommended for managers who recognise the commercial benefits of ISO 9000 certification and welcome a comprehensive guide to its implementation.'
European Quality

'The handbook is a uniquely informative guide that is both readable and instructive.'
Quality World

`ISO 9000 Quality Systems Handbook [is] the most comprehensive, yet readable book on the market today concerning ISO 9000.'
General Motors Divisional QS 9000 Co-ordinator

From the Author

Since the third edition of this handbook was published in 1998 there has been a radical change to the ISO 9000 family of standards. The standards have changed in structure from 20 elements to 8 sections; they have changed in intent from quality assurance to customer satisfaction; the terminology has changed so as to suit all types of organizations and there has been a change in direction from a focus on planning, inspection and test and the removal of nonconformity to a focus on objectives, processes, measurement, analysis and improvement.
Most of the requirements of the 1994 version are included in the 2000 version of ISO 9001, but few remain exactly the same. Many have been reworded or condensed to remove over-prescriptive requirements and focus on general concepts. The differences between the 1994 and 2000 versions are shown in text boxes by the side of the new requirement. In revising this handbook a lot of detail had to be omitted primarily as it was focused on manufacturing examples or detail requirements that are no longer included in the standard. Previous versions of this handbook therefore remain relevant and a useful source of information for those interested in seeking such detail.
In the previous editions the approach taken was to identify a requirement and then explain its meaning followed by some examples to illustrate how it could be implemented. In this new edition I have followed a more structured approach and for each requirement answered three basic questions:
What does it mean?
Why is it important?
How is it implemented?
At the end of each chapter there is a Questionnaire built from the requirements of the standard. It is not intended that these questions be used by auditors but by users of the standard in order to test the completeness of the system they have formalized. In place of the lists of do's and don't and the task list of previous editions, I have included a section on Food for Thought. This is intended to cause the reader to reflect on the previous chapter, perhaps even change perceptions but mostly confirm understanding. The do's and don'ts and task lists are within the text and will be consolidated in a new edition of the ISO 9000 Pocket Guide.
The first three chapters provide background information with the subsequent five chapters dealing with the sections of ISO 9001 that contain the requirements. In this way the chapter numbers of the book mirror the section headings of the ISO 9001.
Chapter 1 addresses the issues that have arisen in the use of ISO 9000, the various perceptions surrounding the standard and the associated infrastructure as well as some of the negative influences and misconceptions. This sets the scene for the approach taken in the remainder of the book.
Chapter 2 is a revised and much enhanced chapter on basic concepts. The opportunity has been taken to place the more general concepts and principles in this chapter and provide greater alignment with the topics covered by the standard. Following the style of the first edition, I have included management theory drawn from authors in the field of both general management and quality management.
Chapter 3 addresses the role of the family of standards and answers frequently asked questions about its purpose, uses, application and origin. Having discovered the misconceptions surrounding the use of the standard I was prompted to explore a little more of the history, not of the standard itself but of the concepts that are expressed in the standard and applied to its use. Many criticize the standard for the burden of bureaucracy that has arisen since its introduction but what I have found is that ISO 9000 is not a cause but a symptom of an age in which prescription and regulation dominated business relationships for centuries.
Chapters 4 - 8 address the requirements of ISO 9001. As the 1987 and 1994 versions of ISO 9001 were structured around twenty elements, the chapters were not exceedingly long. As there are now only five sections of requirements in ISO 9001 covering some 250 requirements with most of the original 20 elements being crammed into Section 7 on Product Realization, Chapter 7 of the handbook is unfortunately very long. However, the clause numbers added to the headings together with a comprehensive index should make finding topics relatively easy.
Finally an appendix contains a glossary of terms used in ISO 9000 and in this handbook. Definitions contained in ISO 9000 have not been repeated except for the purpose of comparison.

Edition details

• Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0750640243
• ISBN 13: 9780750640244
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 560