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The International
Organization for Standardization (ISO)
was founded 1946. Based in Geneva,
Switzerland, it created the first
international standards for
manufacturing, trade and communications.
ISO 9001 was initially published in 1987
and specifies, in broad terms, the
necessary components of a quality
management system and, in detail, the
basic requirements of the quality
function for all industries. Today, more
than 90 countries are members, There are
over 500,000 ISO 9001 certified
companies around the world (including
more than 800 in Egypt), all
demonstrating a commitment to continual
improvement in quality. The most recent
change to the ISO 9001 standard is ISO
9001:2000. This new standard is now in
place and includes improvements in three
key areas:
• Creating a common
structure based upon a process model.
• Creating a method to
demonstrate continual improvement and
customer satisfaction.
• Developing metrics to
determine how effectively internal
processes are working with a focus on
improving results. |
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