ISO 9000 worldwide recognition system set for launch in late 1995

The foundations of a voluntary system designed to add value to business and
industry investment in quality management by encouraging the worldwide
acceptance of ISO 9000 certificates could be in place by late 1995.

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) reaffirmed its
support for the QSAR (Quality System Assessment Recognition) system at a
meeting of its Council on 23-24 January in Geneva and approved a plan of
action, including an implementation schedule, for setting the programme in
motion.

Enterprises in more than 70 countries have established quality management
systems based on the ISO 9000 family of International Standards developed
by ISO. Tens of thousands of these organizations (more than 70 000 by
mid-1994) have invested in independent verification by "registration" - or
"certification" - bodies that their quality systems conform to ISO 9000
standards. The ISO 9000 certificates then issued by the registrars to the
enterprises can be used by the latter to create confidence among their
clients in their ability to deliver goods and services that meet the
clients' requirements.

Businesses do not want to go through the expense of multiple audits and
registration programmes to satisfy clients in different countries. In
order for businesses to obtain the maximum value from their investment in
ISO 9000 registration, they want a single certificate to be recognized and
accepted anywhere in the world, regardless of the location of either
client or registration body. This objective is often summed up in the
phrase, "one quality system audit, one ISO 9000 certificate - accepted
everywhere".

Responding to this market need, ISO and its partner IEC (the International
Electro-technical Commission) set up the ad hoc QSAR group in 1993 to make
recommendations on how the objective could be achieved.

At its January meeting, the ISO Council discussed the latest report from
the ad hoc group and made decisions on the first steps for implementing
QSAR. Further discussions are now to take place with IEC, which has
accepted the primary objective of QSAR, on IEC's wish that the system
maintains compatibility with its existing worldwide product certification
schemes, and with other parties that have expressed a direct interest in
QSAR.

QSAR start-up

The schedule envisaged for setting up QSAR is as follows. In June 1995,
formal acceptance is expected of new ISO/IEC Guides that contain criteria
for approving quality system registration bodies, and accreditation
bodies. The latter have been set up in a number of countries (sometimes
with a government mandate) to accredit ISO 9000 registrars, i.e. give
formal recognition that the registrars are competent. Market confidence in
ISO 9000 certificates can be increased when those certificates are issued
by registration bodies which have been accredited.

In July-September 1995, the QSAR programme will be opened to the first
applications for membership from national accreditation bodies. Once the
launch membership of 10 accreditation bodies has been secured, the central
staff to administer the QSAR system will be recruited and nominations made
for members of the QSAR Board, for approval by ISO and IEC. The Board will
then prepare its recommendations for the system's operating rules and
procedures, again for ISO/IEC approval.

How QSAR will work

In brief, QSAR will work as follows: accreditation bodies wishing to join
will undergo assessment by their peers against criteria from relevant
ISO/IEC Guides on conformity assessment activities. Having demonstrated
adherence to the stipulated guidelines, they will be accepted as QSAR
members. They will then be open to requests from quality system
registration bodies for recognition and accreditation under the QSAR
system.

QSAR-accredited registrars, and the client businesses to whom they issue
ISO 9000 certificates, will be authorized to use the QSAR logo. This will
establish the certificate as having been awarded after a registration
process carried out in line with rigorous, internationally agreed
criteria. The backing given to the individual ISO 9000 certificate by the
QSAR system will therefore bring added value to the document and encourage
its acceptance worldwide.

The QSAR system will be voluntary. Neither ISO 9000 users, nor
accreditation, nor registration bodies will be obliged to participate.
However, the success of QSAR will be facilitated by three factors.
Firstly, it responds to a market requirement. It will create the framework
for the international recognition of ISO 9000 certificates that businesses
need.

Secondly, it will be run by those with a direct stake in its scope of
activity. The QSAR Board will comprise: a Chairperson and six members
appointed by ISO/IEC as representatives of business organizations - which
are both the users of ISO 9000 and the clients for registration services;
three members representing accreditation bodies participating in the
system, and three members who will represent the participating quality
system registration bodies. It is also intended that the Board's
membership be representative of the world's major trading regions.

Thirdly, the system will be under the control of ISO, originator of ISO
9000, and IEC. The two organizations have already established a solid
reputation in the conformity assessment field through the voluntary
ISO/IEC Guides, which bring coherence and consistency to such activities
on an international scale.

QSAR projections for the first four years of operation are that the
accreditation body launch membership of 10 will grow by 10 per year for
three years, then stabilize at about 40 in the system's fourth year. The
number of registration bodies accredited by these members is expected to
increase from an initial level of approximately 200 to 350 over the same
period. The number of ISO 9000 certificates issued worldwide is expected
to exceed 200 000 by the end of the four years.

The QSAR system will be self-financing, although the ISO Council has agreed
that ISO may provide repayable seed money for launching QSAR. A detailed
business plan for the launch will be prepared in coming months.

A brochure, Implementing ISO 9000, has been prepared by the chairmen of
ISO/TC 176, the technical committee responsible for the ISO 9000
standards, and ISO/CASCO (Committee on conformity assessment). It is
available from ISO members and ISO Central Secretariat.

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