International Quality Certification Essay Example for Free

International Quality Certification Essay Quality certification or product qualification is the process of certifying that a certain product has passed performance tests and quality assurance tests, and meets qualification criteria stipulated in contracts, regulations, or specifications (typically called certification schemes in the product certification industry). These standards provide a general framework to the assessing authority to assess a company’s Quality Management System. The term quality management has a specific meaning within many business sectors. This specific definition, which does not aim to assure good quality by the more general definition, but rather to ensure that an organization or product is consistent, can be considered to have four main components: quality planning, quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement. [1] Quality management is focused not only on product/service quality, but also the means to achieve it. Quality management therefore uses quality assurance and control of processes as well as products to achieve more consistent quality. ISO (International Organization for Standardization) The International Organization for Standardization widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promotes worldwide proprietary, industrial, and commercial standards. It has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. ISO is a voluntary organization whose members are recognized authorities on standards, each one representing one country. ISOs main products are international standards. ISO also publishes technical reports, technical specifications, publicly available specifications, technical corrigenda, and guides. ISO has 162 national members, out of the 205total countries in the world. ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world’s largest developer of voluntary International Standards. International Standards give state of the art specifications for products, services and good practice, helping to make industry more efficient and effective. Developed through global consensus, they help to break down barriers to international trade.