Quality Management System and the Slovenian Standard SIST ISO 9001:2000

Preparation of the ISO 9000 family of standards

The standards are developed and maintained by the ISO/TC 176, Quality Management and Quality Assurance, within the International Organization for Standardization, ISO. The TC consists of three SCs:

• ISO/TC 176/SC1 Concepts and terminology

• ISO/TC 176/SC2 Quality systems, and

• ISO/TC 176/SC3 Supporting technologies

European standardization

The preparation of the EN ISO 9000 standards involves production of a European cover sheet including an explanation to the effect that the adoption of the international standard ISO 9000 has been carried out without changing its contents.

Slovenian Standardization

In March 1992, the USM/TC QAS - Quality Assurance - was set up within the Standards and Metrology Institute upon external initiative and an official application submitted by experts from various industrial and non-industrial organizations. Since June 1996, its work has been carried on by the SIST/TC VZK Quality Management and Quality Assurance.

New Slovenian Standards of the ISO 9000 family are developed through adopting the international (European) standards by the translation method, and to a narrower extent by the endorsement method.

The Slovenian Standard SIST ISO 9001:2000

SIST/TC VZK has prepared three Slovenian Standards of the ISO 9000 family:

1.     SIST ISO 9000:2002 (sl, en), Quality management systems – Fundamentals and vocabulary, a translation of the International Standard ISO 9000:2000, and at the same withdrawal of the Slovenian Standard SIST EN ISO 8402:1997 (sl,en,de,fr);

2.     SIST ISO 9001:2000 (sl,en), Quality management systems - Requirements, a translation of the International Standard ISO 9001:2000, and at the same time withdrawal of the Slovenian Standard SIST ISO 9001:1995 (sl,en); and

3.      SIST ISO 9004:2002 (sl, en), Quality management systems – Guidelines for performance improvement, a translation of the International Standard ISO 9004:2000, and at the same time withdrawal of the Slovenian standard SIST EN ISO 9004-1:1997 (sl,en).

The Slovenian Standards are available to all those interested at the SIST Information Point and Sales (Tel: +386 1 478 30 63).

Presentation of the standard SIST ISO 9001:2000 

The ISO 9000:2000 series of standards is the result of comprehensive consultations with the users that have contributed to an easer application of the standard, and at the same time made it more flexible for adoption. And above all, these consultations have uncovered new, smart business thinking, which is based on the use of the "Plan-Do-Check-Act" principle and on process management.

The revised standards come in a clearer, more accessible form, which is built upon the values of the previous standard.

The replacement of procedure-based activity by process approach has enabled organizations to directly link their business objectives with business success.

The renewed standard is not limited to the known provisions of the ISO 9000 series, but extends them further, since it understands an organization as a series of interacting processes, the results of which are products and services bought by customers.

SIST ISO 9001:2000 thus consists of the following main parts:

• Quality management system - The organization shall first determine which are its processes, how they interact, which are the resources needed to make a product, and how it will measure and improve the processes. Then it shall establish a quality manual, control of records, and a system for the control of documents.

• Management responsibility – Top management of the organization shall be well aware of this important section of the standard. The management is responsible for establishing the policy and objectives and for reviewing the systems, and at the same time for communicating within the organization the effectiveness of the system.

• Resource management – The new standard lays a greater stress on the resources to be provided by the organization in order to ensure that the customer obtains what has been agreed. Resources include not only people but also physical resources such as equipment, workspace and all the necessary supporting services.

• Product realization – This section consists of the processes needed for product or service realization. These processes include activities such as receiving instructions from customers, designing and developing products, purchasing materials and services, and delivering products and services.

• Measurement, analysis and improvement – Monitoring and measurement of products, processes, customer satisfaction and management system as well as continually improving the quality system, are essential to the system management.

The strengths of SIST ISO 9001:2000

There is a saying that business profit is the result of satisfied staff and satisfied customers. And the new standard can help any organization reach this integrity by applying the general principles of management, promoting continual improvement and effectively monitoring customer satisfaction.

The revised standard, however, also lays stress on something else, i.e. on the organization's customer focus and an objective management approach to decision making. An organization wishing to gain customer satisfaction must establish such supplier relations with the customer that will bring mutual benefits.  One could therefore attribute the following strengths to the revised standard SIST ISO 9001:2000:

• It is a flexible management system;
• It is based on a process rather than procedures;
• It promotes continual improvement;
• It considers customer satisfaction as a criterion for success of the system;
• It motivates everyone by a common objective and ensures participation;
• Since business excellence cannot be delegated, it widely involves the senior management team;
• It refers to legal and regulatory requirements;
• It requires the setting of measurable objectives at different levels of the system, function and product;
• It is focused on effective internal communication;
• It directs attention to available resources;
• It requires evaluation of the effectiveness of training and quality management.

Slovenian Standards on quality management and quality assurance

Table 1: Applicable Slovenian Standards on quality management and quality assurance, and the anticipated changes

Table 2:  Withdrawn Slovenian Standards on quality management and quality assurance

Work program in the fields of quality management and quality assurance

Members of SIST/TC VZK have also prepared:

• Guidance regarding documentation requirements of ISO 9001:2000
• Guidance regarding process approach to management.

Updated: 2004-09-16