ISO 9001 and Various Service Provider Industries - What do you think?

[Meggie]

Production, Manufacturing AND ISO make sense.
Services and ISO???? If the organization provides services mostly, I am not quite sure, if ISO would be the right direction to go. What do you think? I really would like to hear your opinions. Thanks.

[BadgerMan]

Think of the service you provide as your "product".

[Sidney Vianna]

Yes, ISO and Service organizations are a good mix. Just have to be able to adapt the requirements in the context of a service organization. Actually, when the TC 176 was deliberating the drafts of the 2000 Edition, one of the goals was to make the standard less manufacturing oriented and it is an ongoing challenge to make the standard applicable to different business sectors. One example is the Guidance document on Health Service Organizations, based on ISO 9004:2000. Another example is a similar document for the Education Sector. Respectively, IWA1 and IWA2.

Check the FAQ at http://isotc.iso.org/livelink/liveli...54529&vernum=0

and specifically this question.

How are the standards applicable to organizations that provide services. ?
The standards are applicable to all types of organizations, operating in all types of sectors, including service providers.
(Note: the definition of the term 'product' in ISO 9000:2000 also includes 'services'. ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 9004:2000 have been written to reflect this definition.)
[FAQ 044, April 2004]

[Aaron Lupo]

Originally Posted by Meggie

Production, Manufacturing AND ISO make sense.
Services and ISO???? If the organization provides services mostly, I am not quite sure, if ISO would be the right direction to go. What do you think? I really would like to hear your opinions. Thanks.

Yes, it does apply to the service industry as well. At my last job we didn't make a "product" our product was the Laboratory Testing, Sterilization, Packaging and Assembly of Medical Devices for other companies. Having ISO really helped streamline or processes and eliminated a lot of variability on the way the processes were completed.

In addition to that, I know that a Financial Institution (that I was the auditor for) in the Mid-West achieved ISO certification almost 2 years ago and they also feel that it has helped them eliminate errors/mistakes. In fact at the time they were the only US Bank at the time to have ISO Certification. They are also planning on rolling it out to the rest of their branches.

[MikeL]

When I first started consulting (1993) most of my clients were manufacturing or services to manufacturing like toolmakers.

Now most of my clients are service/professional organisations. I would have to say much more interesting.

I think Phil Cosby was right when he said that waste in manufacturing was about 25%, in service industry - 40%.

[amjadrana]

I visited a laboratory that was testing products for a cigarette manufacturer. The lab was part of the company but was seeking registration as a learning experience. I had gone there for an initial visit as an auditor for ISO 9001. While discussing, I came to know that they have excluded clause 4.9 (process control from ISO 9001:1994) from the manual. They meant that they were doing inspection and testing and had no process. But when I asked them to look from their own perspective and not from the manufacturing prospective, they understood that inspection and testing was their process and checking of reports for accuracy was their inspection as test report was their final product.

ISO 9001 is as good for service, it needs a different view of the service as product. It streamlines the work flow and results in measureable savings.

[David Hartman]

I spent 2003 leading a call center through the development of an ISO 9k2k-based quality system, and lots of benefits were noticed by all. Until we developed an overall process flow chart no one really understood how the various parts of the organization fit together. The process of understanding and defining processes lead to many an opportunity to eliminate redundant activities and slim down the whole operation (not by eliminating personnel, but by improving their effectiveness and efficiency).

Process controls and improvements cannot be defined and implemeted without defining and understanding the process (be it manufacturing or service oriented).

[qualitygoddess]

I absolutely think ISO can be used in service industries. It's a baseline management system of your company's processes. Service business have processes, too.

There is an interesting article in this month's Quality Digest about ISO and Sarbanes-Oxley (SOx). Certainly many service companies are affected by SOx, and ISO can help them comply by offering a way to organize and manage the processes affected by the legislation.

Final thought -- if service businesses (banks, hospitals, etc.) are doing TQM-like activities (customer surveys, commitments to continual improvement, participative management) and Six Sigma, why not ISO 9001?