ISO 9000 and the very small firm

ISO 9000 is a quality management system, derived from BS5750, 1979: Quality Systems. The two standards are identical but BS5750 was a UK standard whereas ISO 9000 is an international standard which is already recognised by over 70 different countries. It is a statement that an organisation exists to ensure that promises will be kept, the end product will be what it was required to be and that it will be suitable for its purpose. It tells the customer that the vendor may be expected to be reliable. This paper is based on the author´s view of ISO 9000 based on his own personal experiences, strengths and weaknesses and its application to his particular business