ESC-2’s Quality Management System is based on ISO 9001:2000.
ISO refers to a large group of international
standards developed by the International Organization for
Standardization beginning in 1946. This organization is composed of the
national standards institutes of about 156 countries and is the world’s
largest developer of technical standards. The term ISO is not an
acronym, but is from the Greek isos, meaning “equal.” Most of the
ISO families of standards are highly specific to a particular
product, material, or process.
The ISO 9000 family of standards was
developed to assist organizations in implementing and operating an
effective quality management system. Through its worldwide
acceptance and use, the ISO 9000 family of standards provides an
effective means for improving the performance of individual
organizations and provides confidence to customers that products and
services will meet their expectations and needs.
Specifically, ISO 9001 is among the most
widely known families of standards, and it forms a coherent set of
quality management system standards. A “quality management system” (QMS)
refers to what the ESC-2 does to manage its processes (activities) to
ensure that its programs and services consistently satisfy customers’
requirements and it complies with regulations.
The ISO 9001:2000 QMS is conceptually based
on several quality management principles: customer focus, leadership,
involvement of people, process approach, systems approach to management,
continual improvement, and data-driven decision-making. ISO 9001:2000
requires the ESC-2 to analyze customer requirements, define
processes, control those processes, and continually improve the QMS.
Certification to ISO 9001:2000 is the
culmination of a rigorous external auditing process, conducted by an
independent certifying organization (in this case, ABS Quality
Evaluations, Inc.). Preparation for certification included actual
technical development of the ESC-2’s QMS, extensive documentation, and
internal auditing. The ESC-2 must recertify every three years and will
receive surveillance monitoring every six months from the certifying
entity.
The ESC-2 has pursued this prestigious
certification for one main reason: to improve our ability to meet Region
2 public school districts’ requirements, thus contributing to student
success, and efficiency and economy of school operations. The ESC-2 is
committed to continual improvement in the quality of its programs and
services through its ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System.
