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When we talk about standards, we tend to think of shapes and sizes of "things" (for instance a screw) but, over the past two decades, the concept of "standard" has been applied more widely.
Management system standards evolved from the same line of thinking, that a standard is not just a way to define the quality of "things", but can also define the quality of systems and the way a company is organized to produce products and services.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) develops and publishes standards for products and also for management systems. The best known examples of ISO management system standards are the ISO 9000 series and the ISO 14000 series of standards. The ISO 9000 series deals with Quality Management Systems (QMS), or the way a company manages its systems to make sure that it always produces goods of an agreed quality ("consistent" and "fit for purpose"). The QMS standard is regularly reviewed and updated and the current version is ISO 9001:2000. The ISO 14000 series defines the systems an organization should have in place to ensure its activities are managed so that they have minimal impact on the environment. The standard that deals specifically with Environmental Management Systems (EMS) is ISO 14001.
Both series of standards are based on the fundamental methodology of what is called the Deming cycle of "P-D-C-A":
P = Plan(Plan your improvement); D = Do(implement your plan), C = Check(check the result) , A = Act(amend your plan to get further improvement). The ISO management system standards require that this cycle is repeated continuously and becomes a cycle for continuous improvement.
One of the characteristics of ISO management system standards is that they specify the requirements for management systems but do not specify the means by which to realize these requirements. This is because ISO management system standards do not coerce organizations to adopt a standardized system. They simply provide a recipe or framework and leave it to the organization to choose the means best suits their situation.
The process whereby a Certification/Registration Body audits a company and assesses whether its Quality Management System (QMS) is in conformity with the requirements of ISO 9001:2000 or its Environmental Management System (EMS) is in conformity with the requirements of ISO 14001, and maintains a public register of those suppliers or operators whose systems do comply, is called the Management System Certification/Registration Scheme.
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