ISO9000 and sleazy business ethics

[Alessandro Bottoni <albo -at- CADLAB -dot- IT>]

Answering to Arlen -dot- P -dot- Walker -at- JCI -dot- Com :

"It seems to me your objections aren't really about ISO9000 at all. They
seem to be more about sleazy business ethics than about quality management
systems."

You are absolutely right! Actually, my main worring is about the
"commercial" use of ISO9000 "stamp".

As far as I can see, most companies RELY on the fact that the real user will
never check what they really decided to produce with a quality assurance
system like ISO9000.

Most likely, just the purchaser of an expensive and complex object like a
scientifical instrument or a pharmaceutical reagent will care about the real
ISO9000 meaning. The normal purchaser of consumer electronics and other mass
products will never spend any time cheking it.

Here we have even mineral water bottles with the ISO9000 logo printed on
their package and I'm worried about the ipnotic power of such a stamp.

As a manufacturing and quality control METHOD, I agree with you: ISO9000 is
an extremely good "tool" and, to be honest, a large part of our
manufacturing process is inspired to it.

Unfortunaltely, it is almost emptied out of is meaning by the misuse
performed by most manufacturers. In this "unperfect world" I prefer very
much to have an internally defined QC&A system, without the costs and the
bureoucratic complexity of ISO9000. Am I really so wrong?

-----------------
Alessandro Bottoni
Technical writer
Cad.Lab SPA
Via Ronzani 7/29
40033 Casalecchio di Reno (Bologna)
Italy
Tel Int+ 51-597357
Fax Int+ 51-597120
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