Which quality standard should I use in this company?

[JSmith]

I have a question regarding which quality standard would apply to the following company:

This company is looking to get registered to some form of ISO. The company manufactures wood gages. There is not any mass production or design performed at this location. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Aaron Lupo]

I "wood" (Sorry I couldn't help it) have to say ISO 9001:2000, unless you are looking to certifiy your product.

If you have not selected a registrar and want a couple names let me know.

[db]

Welcome to the Cove, JSmith!

I would agree with ISO GUY that the standard to use is ISO 9001:2000. Every other standard you might want is based on it. Being in Clawson (Lovely town, Clawson is) I also have to ask if the gages are used in the auto industry. If so, then eventually you might want to look at either QS 9000 Tooling and Equipment (TE) Supplement or ISO/TS 16949:2002. QS and TE are going away shortly and we don’t know if there will be a TE supplement for TS. So, for now concentrate on ISO 9001:2000.

[Jimmy Olson]

Why am I not surprised by your repsonse Jim?

I suppose you're going to scare this poor guy into avoiding ISO?

[db]

Now, Richard....remember the original poster is new.

Actually, Jim asks a very important question. I thought about it too just after I hit the "Submit Reply" key. To expand on Jim's question, I would also ask what are your customer's saying? I have worked with organizations that obtained registration for the discipline, not because it was mandated. I also worked with a company that became compliant, but did not register because they wanted the internal benefits of compliance, but did not want the expense of registration. Regardless of Jim’s motives, the question is still a valid question. (oh man…I’m defending Jim!)

[Jimmy Olson]

Nothing personal Jim. You've started some great dicussions/debates on here, but like other people here, I sometimes have to wonder about your motive.

As to the original question, I agree with the others. ISO 9001:2000 would probably be your best bet as that is typically the default standard in most (not all) maunfacturing facilities and is also the most well known, especially by people outside of quality. You may end up using a different standard based upon your needs or reasons, but I would start by taking a look at 9001:2000.

[Jimmy Olson]

Jim Wade Said:
Why not, for example, 9004:2000? Or 9000:2000?

I don't know about you, but I haven't heard of anyone registered to either of those.

[Jimmy Olson]

Jim,

By your logic I could list a number of reference books about 9001:2000. I could also mention several people to talk to about getting information about 9001:2000. The list could be endless, but that is not the point of this topic.

The question is what standard to get registered to. I was simply saying that the 9001:2000 standard (as a whole) would be a good option to look at first when considering registration.

If someone asks for reference information regarding 9001:2000, then I would of course mention all the documents you mentioned and perhaps some others.