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ISO 9000 Quality Management Systems Program
Evaluation and Audit
Verl Andy Anders1, Merle Pochop2, Chad M.
Laux3 1Industrial Specialist, Center for
Industrial Research and Service, Iowa State
University, Ames, IA 2Field Specialist, Extension
Outreach, Center for Industrial Research and
Service, Iowa State University, Ames,
IA 3Graduate Research Assistant, Industrial
Technology Program, Department of Agricultural
and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State
University, Ames, IA
EVALUATION BACKGROUND An organizations quality
management system is an all-encompassing
collection of processes to fulfill a) the
customers quality requirements b) applicable
regulatory requirements, c) aims to enhance
customer satisfaction and d) achieve continual
improvement of its performance in pursuit of the
objectives stated above (ISO, 2005). This
evaluation, or audit, will be performed to
compare the quality management system of a light
manufacturing facility, located in Iowa, to the
International Standard Organization (ISO) Quality
Management Systems--Requirements ISO 9001 2000.
ISO 9000 series of standards are among the most
widely known standards ever and are implemented
by 634,000 organizations in 152 countries (ISO,
2005).
CIRAS The Center for Industrial Research and
Service (CIRAS) is the industrial extension arm
of Iowa State University. The CIRAS mission - to
enhance the performance of Iowa industry - is an
integral part of the history of Iowa State and
ISU Extension Service (CIRAS, 2005).
REPORT PLAN The evaluation report contains a
written report consisting of a) summary of
findings and recommendation and b) description
of major and minor findings. Major findings
result in an evaluation audit failure and must be
corrected before compliance can be issued. Minor
findings do not result in evaluation failure but
also require correction. If no majors and/or a
set number of minors findings are found,
compliance with ISO 9000 2000 will be
recommended for customer approval.
CLIENT AND STAKEHOLDERS The sponsor is our Iowa
manufacturing facility, now known as the
supplier. The supplier is paying Iowa State
Universitys CIRAS (Center for Industrial
Research and Service) program to provide the
evaluation audit. The client of this evaluation
audit is a customer of our Iowa manufacturing
facility. The client has mandated all of its
suppliers become ISO 9000 certified, or
compliant, by the end of 2005. The client gave
the supplier permission to have CIRAS conduct a
compliance audit of the suppliers quality
management system. The evaluation team consists
of 3 people from CIRAS and the Industrial
Technology program in the Agricultural and
Biosystems Engineering Department.
CONCEPTUAL APPROACH The mode of evaluation is a
mixed approach using Provuss Discrepancy
Evaluation Model (DEM), Eisners Expertise Model,
and Stakes Countenance Framework. The purpose
of using DEM is to determine whether a
discrepancy exists between the performance of the
suppliers quality management system and the
standard (ISO 9001 2000). The expertise
approach is used because the evaluation judgments
are also based on evaluator knowledge and
expertise. Finally, the Countenance Framework is
used to interpret the data whereby the QMS
performance will be described and also judged
based on the application of the ISO standard.
Sample Section
RELEVANT STANDARDS Formal Agreements CIRAS has
an obligation to treat all company materials
confidentially during evaluation audit Program
Documentation For a fair and complete
assessment, the documentation in the audit is
critical to assessing the program accurately to
the ISO standard. Context Analysis For the
audit to have credibility with the customer, the
evaluation will be done impartially. Evaluator
Credibility The supplier relies on the
expertise and experience of the CIRAS team for a
cost effective audit.

• OVERALL EVALUATION QUESTIONS
• Questions that guide the ISU evaluation team
  include
• How does the suppliers quality management
  system meet the requirements of ISO 9001 2000
  standard?
• What portions of the quality management system do
  not meet the standard?
• How can the supplier become compliant with the
  ISO standard based on the evaluation audit
  results?

DESIGN AND DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES The data
design is a descriptive study utilizing such
measures such as a) observation of company
processes, b) study of existing company documents
and records, and c) interviews of various
evaluation audit participants. The data is
collected during 2 site visits by the ISU
evaluation audit team to the facility. Analysis
is done through interpretation of the qualitative
data utilizing the above mentioned Countenance
Framework whereby inputs, processes, and outcomes
will be described to look for congruence between
intents (the supplier documentation of what
company performance should be) and the actual
performance.
REFERENCES CIRAS. (2005). The history of CIRAS.
Retrieved May 23, 2005, from http//www.ciras.iast
ate.edu/history.asp ISO. (2005). ISO 9000 for
busy managers. Retrieved May 23, 2005, from
http//www.iso.org/iso/en/iso9000-14000/understand
/basics/basics9000/basics9000_1.html