ISO 9000 has been revised—but the new standard, called ISO 9000:2000, is a radical revision and the industry has questions.
Since it was originally conceived in 1987, some 250,000 organizations around the world have registered to ISO 9000, a series of international standards that establish Quality Management System (QMS) requirements. ISO 9000, far and away, is the most influential initiative that grew from the quality movement of the early ’90s.
In 1994, the standard was changed, but only around the margins. Now for 2000, ISO 9000 has again been revised—but the new standard, called ISO 9000:2000, is a radical revision. It will require the quarter of a million organizations that have already been certified to update their current quality systems. It will also change the ground rules for the tens and even hundreds of thousands of organizations that are seeking or will seek registration in the future. National standards bodies, registrars, consultants and the rest of the apparatus that have grown up around the ISO standard now have to contend with a whole new set of challenges and opportunities.