ABSTRACT
A quality system is a framework for quality management. It embraces the organizational structure, procedure, and processes needed to implement quality management system (QMS). The adequacy of the quality system and the quality of products, services, processes, and projects are judged by their compliance to specified/relevant standards and specifications. A standard is simply a definition of how something should be. Standards have important economic and social repercussions. Standards are documents used to define acceptable conditions or behaviors and to provide a base line for assuring that conditions or behaviors meet the acceptable criteria. In most cases, standards define minimum criteria; world class quality is, by definition, beyond the standard level of performance. Standard can be written or unwritten voluntary or mandatory. Unwritten quality standards are generally not acceptable. There are many organizations that produce standards. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is the world’s largest developer and publisher of international standards. It is a nongovernmental organization that forms a bridge between the public and private sectors. This chapter discusses QMS, importance of standards, standards organizations that produce standards, ISO, ISO QMS, QMS manual, and development of QMS and ISO certification. It also briefly discusses quality audit.
