Why ISO?

The suite of ISO standards provide a model to follow in setting up and operating a management system, incorporating features that have reached a consensus as representing best practice.

The Process Approach

The ISO standards are based on processes - a collection of related, structured activities or tasks that produce a specific output e.g. a service or product, for a particular customer or customers. In other words what you 'do' in your organisation

The application of a system of processes within an organisation that includes the identification and interaction of these processes, together with how they are managed to produce an output, can be referred to as the 'process approach'.

The advantage to this approach is the control and consistency that it allows organisations over the management and of their processes and the provision of a model to continually improve the processes.

The Benefits

The standards should be seen for what they are - a set of business improvement tools. By implementing the standards the benefits to your organisation will be many:

• Better quality service or product
• Improved customer perception
• Reduced costs
• Access to new markets
• Improved customer satisfaction
• Safer environment
• Improved efficiency

The Framework

The ISO standards are based on a framework known as the 'Plan-Do-Check-Act' cycle