Research gives green light to ISO 9000 revision

Citation

(2001), "Research gives green light to ISO 9000 revision", Measuring Business Excellence, Vol. 5 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/mbe.2001.26705bab.006

Research gives green light to ISO 9000 revision

Research gives green light to ISO 9000 revision

A research project on the likely impact of the ISO 9000: 2000 revisions upon small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by the University of Leicester, Professor Tony Bendell, Professor of Quality and Reliability Management, explains:

For more than 20 years UK plc has been bombarded with a philosophy that quality is paramount for success. This quality is them enshrined in quality management systems standards, such as the ISO 9000: 1994 series of standards. But of course this standard has not been proven to be a panacea for every type of business, hence its adoption has not been as comprehensive as first envisaged. However, in December 2000, a revised family of standards, in particular ISO 9001: 2000, which probably represents one of the more significant improvements since its inception in the 70s, was published. The University of Leicester, in conjunction with the Leicester-based Centre of Enterprise and Business Link Leicester; sponsored by global certification bodies, SGS Yardsley International Certification Services and Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance Ltd (LRQA), collaborated to produce this survey.

The objectives of the study can be classified into these simple areas:

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  Is ISO 9001: 2000 appropriate for SMEs?

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  If already registered, will they continue with the revised standard?

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  What are the likely difficulties they will experience in its application?.

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  What type of support will be required by SMEs?

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  Which support packages would be most effective?

The research was carried out in the latter part of last year, with its interpretation culminating in the research document, "The likely impact of the revision to ISO 9000 on small and medium sized enterprises". The methodology was based on postal surveys and face-to-face interviews. Nearly 1,100 responses were interpreted, many companies of which were already certified against existing quality standards.

Much information was gleaned from the 40 questions posed, but a summary includes:

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  80 per cent of respondents had heard of ISO 9001: 2000 from their certification body;

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  60 per cent of respondents that had attended an update training session, stated that these had been organised by their certification body;

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  58 per cent of respondents still needed enhanced briefing material;

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  74 per cent of respondents expect to gain help from Business Links;

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  45 per cent of respondents were positive or highly positive towards the revisions, with 37 per cent neutral;

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  72 per cent of respondents were motivated to implement ISO 9000 to improve quality, with 51 per cent of respondents intending to implement changes within 12 months.

Dr Louise Boulter, Research Fellow at the University, who brought this study together, states: "These results are really positive for the new standard and reinforces the belief that it will greatly benefit British business".

For further information on the research project please contact: Dr Louise Boulter, Research Fellow. Tel: 0116 252 2562; Fax: 0116 223 1313; E-mail: lab17@le.ac.uk