In America, the law is written in English.  Lawyers speak English. Yet they require training for how to properly understand and apply the law.

ISO 9001 is no different in this regard.  The standard assumes proper training to understand ISO 9001 requirements, good enough training to assure a consistent understanding of the requirements’ intent.

The challenge is that professionals in the ISO 9000 business don’t seem to consistently understand or appreciate the fundamental importance of the process approach and its implications for QMS implementation and assessment.  So even between two ISO 9000 professionals discussing ISO 9001-certified QMSs, unknown to both, they might be talking about completely different things.  One might be talking about systems of ill-conceived documents, while the other might be talking about an actual systems of processes outputting product. (Only the latter is really talking about QMS) Continue reading →