Is this ISO 9001 Registration Scope Statement Too Vague?

Have a look at the attachment, which was taken from the ISO 9001:2008 registration certificate of a Tier-2 supplier (supplying to a hardware distributor). There is no problem that needs to be solved here, but when I saw it I immediately wondered what "providing" means. I'm pretty sure that the certified company is a manufacturer. I could see using that word for service organizations, but doesn't "providing" seem too vague for use in a scope statement like this?

ANAB Accreditation Rule 7 stipulates:

PREFACE
The overall goal of the CB is to ensure that its client has an accurate and appropriately defined scope of certification that can be made publicly available on any medium without confusing or misleading customers or end users of the product or service being supplied.

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Item 1 – It is the responsibility of the ANAB-accredited CB to ensure that:
a. The scope of an organization’s certification is accurately and appropriately defined.

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Jim Wynne said:

....................................... but when I saw it I immediately wondered what "providing" means. ............................

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My first impression is that this is a trading company.

harry said:

My first impression is that this is a trading company.

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Design develop and manufacture of .... ; Contract manufacture of .... ; Providing services of .... ; Trading of .... ;
Such terms gets quick and more clarity to the common user about the scope of the organization when they appear on the certificate.

Are they limited to design and manufacture, or do they indeed also purchase to distribute?

Even if they only manufacture what they sell, not buy and distribute as well, provide is accurate, although perhaps not as focused.

I think it is a good idea to leave that term a touch vague. Or perhaps a better way of describing it would be "flexible". They are "providing" certain types of hardware. By leaving wiggle room, it is clear that the QMS continues to apply even if their provision methods change.

Geoff Withnell

Geoff Withnell said:

I think it is a good idea to leave that term a touch vague. Or perhaps a better way of describing it would be "flexible". They are "providing" certain types of hardware. By leaving wiggle room, it is clear that the QMS continues to apply even if their provision methods change.

Geoff Withnell

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I'm not sure about that. Most of the certificates I see describe what's actually going on, such as manufacturing or sale and distribution. Also I don't think it's clear at all that the certification continues to apply if their "provision methods" change. If they were a distributor only and decided to begin manufacturing, are you saying that they shouldn't be re-audited and have their scope redefined?

Jim Wynne said:

I'm not sure about that. Most of the certificates I see describe what's actually going on, such as manufacturing or sale and distribution. Also I don't think it's clear at all that the certification continues to apply if their "provision methods" change. If they were a distributor only and decided to begin manufacturing, are you saying that they shouldn't be re-audited and have their scope redefined?

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The scope must be specific to the processes of the quality management system, and generic to the products and services which are the outputs of the quality management system operation. This is because you have scope to exclude certain processes with justification.

somashekar said:

The scope must be specific to the processes of the quality management system, and generic to the products and services which are the outputs of the quality management system operation. This is because you have scope to exclude certain processes with justification.

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Based on the above, does the following scope statement qualify?

"The QMS of company ABC covers the processes for manufacture & sell of steel at xyz location,"

I'm sure there is other literature on the topic, but here is ANAB's comment on the accuracy of scope statements.

http://www.anab.org/media/3757/ar07.pdf

Perhaps the most pertinent part is:

"The overall goal of the CB is to ensure that its client has an accurate and appropriately defined scope of certification that can be made publicly available on any medium without confusing or misleading customers or end users of the product or service being supplied."