Main Menu - Glossary

Conformity	ISO 9001 list many quality system requirements. If your organization meets these requirements, you can say that it conforms to these requirements. You can say that it is behaving in conformity with these requirements.
Contract review	A contract review is a set of activities that you must carry out to ensure that all customer orders or contracts specify all the quality requirements you must meet and to ensure that you can meet these requirements. A quality requirement is a characteristic that an entity must have. For example, a customer may require that a product (entity) achieve a specific dependability score (characteristic).
Corrective Actions	Corrective actions are steps that are taken to remove the causes of an existing nonconformity or to make quality improvements.
Customers	*A customer* is anyone who receives products or services from a supplier. A customer can be either external or internal to the supplier organization.**
Design Review	A design review is a set of activities whose purpose is to evaluate how well a potential product (a design) meets all quality requirements. During the course of this review, problems must be identified and solutions must be developed. A quality requirement is a property or characteristic (quality) that a product or service must have.
Design Validation	Design validation is a process whose purpose is to examine products and to use objective evidence to confirm that these products meet user needs.
Design Verification	Design verification is a process whose purpose is to examine design outputs and to use objective evidence to confirm that outputs meet input requirements.
Elements	Elements include responsibilities, authorities, relationships, functions, policies, procedures, practices, processes, and resources. Quality system elements combine to form a quality system.
Entity	*An entity* could be a product, process, person, activity, machine, service, system, department, company, institution, or organization.**
Internal Quality Audits	Internal audits are carried out by your personnel. Internal quality audits examine the elements of a quality system in order to evaluate how well these elements comply with quality system requirements.
Nonconforming Products	When one or more characteristics of a product fail to meet specified requirements, it is referred to as a nonconforming product. When a product deviates from quality requirements, it fails to conform.
Nonconformity	ISO 9001 list quality system requirements. When your organization deviates from these requirements, a nonconformity occurs. When a product, process, procedure, system, or structure deviates from ISO requirements, a formal nonconformity exists.
Organisation	An organization is a company, corporation, firm, or institution that has its own functions and administration. It can be either incorporated or unincorporated, or privately or publicly owned.
Organisational Structure	The structure of an organization is the pattern of responsibilities, authorities, and relationships that control how people perform their functions and govern how they interact with one another.
Preventive Actions	Preventive actions are steps that are taken to remove the causes of potential nonconformities or to make quality improvements.
Procedures	Quality procedures control activities. A well defined procedure controls a logically distinct set of activities. Such a procedure precisely defines the work that should be done, and explains how it should be done, who should do it, and under what circumstances. In addition, it explains what authority and what responsibility has been allocated, which supplies and materials should be used, and which documents and records must be used to carry out the work. While procedures may be documented or undocumented, ISO usually expects them to be documented.
Process	A process uses resources to transform inputs into outputs. Processes can be social, industrial, agricultural, governmental, chemical, mechanical, electrical, and so on. In every case, inputs are turned into outputs because some kind of work, activity, or function is carried out.
Product	A product is an output that results from a process. Products can be tangible or intangible, a thing or an idea, hardware or software, information or knowledge, a process or procedure, a service or function, or a concept or creation. Please note that when ISO uses the term product they also mean service.
Product Inspection	Product inspection is an activity that compares product characteristics with product requirements in order to establish conformity. More precisely, product inspection is an activity that compares one or more characteristics of a product with specified requirements in order to determine if the product conforms to these requirements.
Product Nonconformity	*When one or more characteristics of a product fail to meet specified requirements, they are referred to as product nonconformities.*
Quality	An entity has characteristics. Some of these characteristics are derived from stated or implied needs. The set of these special need-oriented characteristics makes up the quality of an entity. In short, a quality is a characteristic. For example, the need for dependability is met by designing a dependable product. Dependability then becomes a quality (characteristic) of the product (entity). An entity is a product, process, person, activity, machine, service, system, department, company, institution, or organisation.
Quality Assurance	Quality assurance (Q.A.) is defined as a set of activities whose purpose is to demonstrate that an entity meets all quality requirements. Q.A. activities are carried out in order to inspire the confidence of both customers and managers, confidence that all quality requirements are being met.
Quality Audits	Quality audits examine the elements of a quality system in order to evaluate how well these elements comply with quality system requirements. Elements include responsibilities, authorities, relationships, functions, procedures, processes, and resources. Elements combine to form a quality system.
Quality Control	Quality control is defined as a set of activities or techniques whose purpose is to ensure that all quality requirements are being met. In order to achieve this purpose, processes are monitored and performance problems are solved.
Quality Improvement	Quality improvement refers to a set of activities whose purpose is to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization for the benefit of both the organization and its customers. We believe that quality improvement ought to focus on quality, not on efficiency. Let's leave that to the "efficiency experts".
Quality Management	Quality management includes all the activities that Managers carry out in an effort to implement their quality policy. These activities include quality planning, quality control, quality assurance, and quality improvement.
Quality Manual	A quality manual is a document that states your quality policy and describes your quality system. It describes the roles, relationships, functions, processes, procedures, systems, and resources that affect quality. It can be a paper manual or an electronic manual.
Quality Planning	Quality planning is defined as a set of activities whose purpose is to define quality system policies, objectives, and requirements, and to explain how these policies will be applied, how these objectives will be achieved, and how these requirements will be met.
Quality Plan	*A quality plan* explains how you intend to apply your quality policies, achieve your quality objectives, and meet your quality system requirements.**
Quality Policy	*A quality policy* statement defines your organization's commitment to quality.**
Quality Record	*A quality record* contains objective evidence that shows how well a quality requirement is being met or how well a quality system element is performing.**
Quality Requirement	A quality requirement is a characteristic that an entity must have. For example, a customer may require that a particular product (entity) achieve a specific dependability score (characteristic).
Quality Surveillance	Quality surveillance is a set of activities whose purpose is to monitor an entity and review its records to prove that quality requirements are being met.
Quality System	A quality system is a network of processes made up of elements. Elements include responsibilities, authorities, relationships, functions, plans, policies, procedures, practices, processes, and resources. The purpose of a quality system is to satisfy quality requirements and to assure that customers receive quality products and services.
Quality System Element	Quality system elements include responsibilities, authorities, relationships, functions, plans, policies, procedures, practices, processes, and resources. Quality system elements combine to form a quality system.
Quality System Requirement	A quality is a characteristic. A system is a set of interrelated elements, and a requirement is an obligation. Therefore, a quality system requirement is a characteristic that a systemic element must have.
Record	*A record* is a document that contains objective evidence which shows how well activities are being performed or what kind of results are being achieved.**
Resources	Resources include people, money, information, knowledge, skill, energy, facilities, machines, tools, equipment, technologies, and techniques.
Service	Service is a customer-oriented result. This result is produced when suppliers perform activities that are oriented towards meeting customer needs.
Service Delivery	Service delivery is a customer-oriented activity. Service delivery activities are carried out by suppliers and are oriented towards meeting customer needs.
Standard	Surprisingly, ISO does not seem to define the term standard (or at least not in ISO 8402). Since they call every chapter or publication a standard, it may just mean that all their publications are standards, by definition. However, we believe that ISO also uses the term standard to suggest the concept of an expectation, obligation, requirement, or norm that they want organizations to accept. In addition, ISO seems to use the term standard to refer to a way of being or doing things as in the phrase: "this is the standard way we do this".
Supplier	*A supplier* is an organization that provides products to customers. Customers can be either internal or external to the supplier organization.**
Total Quality Management	Total quality management is defined as a management approach that tries to achieve and sustain long-term organizational success by encouraging employee feedback and participation, satisfying customer needs and expectations, respecting societal values and beliefs, and obeying governmental statutes and regulations.