ABSTRACT
The ISO9001:2015 Quality Management System Standard is not original in itself but provides a platform upon which new thinking might build seeking to integrate people with process. It essentially summarises many key procedural elements of the work of the gurus. ISO 9001:2015 is the latest evolution of a QMS standard which began with consistency of specifications and standards in the defence industry. The introduction to ISO9001:2015 states that: The adoption of a quality management system is a strategic decision for an organisation that can help to improve its overall performance and provide a sound basis for sustainable development initiatives. In describing the ‘process approach’ the introduction makes specific reference to ‘understanding and managing interrelated processes as a system’. While this is encouraging in itself, the next part of the paragraph undermines it by emphasising that this ‘enables the organization to control the interrelationships and interdependencies amongst the processes of the system’.
