Jim Wade writes:
Well, nearly three years after its launch date, ISO's full colour magazine, ISO Management Systems, is living up to its promise not to be a mere mouthpiece for the organisation, and to encourage constructive criticism of standards such as ISO 9000.
Recognising that "some people swear by management system standards, while others swear at them", the magazine kicked off 2002 with eleven pages of market reactions (both positive and negative) to ISO 9001:2000. Download
In March that year, a further seven pages - mainly from Business Improvement Network sources - of reactions, many of them openly scathing of what's happening with ISO 9000. Download
The May 2002 issue carried my article "Is ISO 9000 really a standard?" which attempts to lay out some of the poor practices promoted not by the outlaws but by the official and respectable ISO 9000 fraternity. Download
In March 2003, the Head of Central Quality of French space agency CNES raised questions not only about the fact that "the credibility of certification as a concept is diminished", but also about the lack of involvement by industry in the process of creating such standards.
A year later, the chairman of the Standards Advisory Committee of the Bureau of Indian Standards wrote ".. one cannot help but conclude that ISO 9000 certification has fallen short of expectations". He goes on to point out that was meant to be a service to industry is now increasingly motivated by profit, and makes the connection between that fact and "laxity and malpractice in ISO 9000 certification".
The magazine is published six times a year in English, French and Spanish editions, and is priced at 128 Swiss francs per year. If you're unsure what that means in your local currency, click here to find out,
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