Customer Reviews

The Case Against ISO 9000

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Seddon's book is great because it introduces the reader to systems thinking and its application to quality management. The Vanguard Standards which is a re-write of the ISO9001 standard using systems thinking is a must read companion. It can be downloaded free.

Seddon questions the wisdom of standardising procedures and processes. He gives many many examples of how standardisation in fact leads to customer dissatisfaction. It is more important to understand variation and to structure processes around such understanding.

Finally we have a critical point of view on ISO 9000 and many unknown details on its history and development, away from the commercial literature available today. Finally we have the flaws of ISO 9000 clearly presented and involving all of its participants: consultants, auditors and assessors, government institutions, companies and standarisation bodies.
Also he introduces systems thinking to manage quality and his systems view of ISO 9000 in the Vanguard Standards, a systems rewrite of ISO 9001 and 9004.
I have took advantage of the systems view of Quality and the Vanguard Standars on my job as Quality consultant and I have broadened my perspective on Quality, away from the traditional, mechanistic view coming from ISO 9000 community.
John opens your eyes and not only with a critique but with a proposal to avoid the flaws of ISO, based on the Japanese Quality ideas and leaders. Quality world is bigger than traditional ISO 9000 perspective.

ISO 9000 is only one of the many standards overseen by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), but as the standard for the evaluation of quality management systems, it is being applied today for everything from peanut butter to education. As a Brit, Seddon has witnessed the evolution from the British Standard 5750 to the current ISO 9000 standard and sees beyond the wrapper to the heart of the theory behind the standard. He applies reason and logic with a plethora of examples of how command and control has not always been the best way.