Quick History of ISO 9001

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.