Review No. 4

This review is of Craig Cochran's book ISO 9001 in Plain English:

Craig Cochran is the North Metro Regional Manager for the Enterprise Innovation Institute of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta. As such, he “… consults, writes, and speaks extensively on management, improvement, problem solving, customer satisfaction, and quality” (n.d.) and is the author of five books, including this one reviewed here. In the introductory chapter, he relates that he is often asked “’Why is ISO 9001 so confusing?’” (2008, p. 1). His response is twofold: first, “…the standard was written to apply to any organization” (2008, p. 1); hence, when a standard is written to apply to everyone, it ends up not being “very well suited to anyone” (2008, p. 1). Second, the standard was written by a committee which necessarily makes it more complex than if one person had authored it.

 Cochran identifies ISO 9001 as an international quality management system (QMS) standard. He further admits that while “…few practices in ISO 9001 would be considered world-class,…the requirements represent an excellent foundation of planning, control, and improvement for just about any enterprise” (2008, p. 1). Cochran perceives ISO 9001 as a framework for employing other improvement models, such as Six Sigma and lean enterprise. Cochran sees ISO 9001 as the first step in a series of steps toward implementation of a system of quality improvement. Cochran clarifies this approach with the statement “I personally believe that ISO 9001 is a basic model for managing any enterprise” (2008, p. 1). Further, Cochran says “…I avoid using the word quality in relation to the standard anytime I can get away with it. ISO 9001 is a management system standard, period” (2008, p. 2).

 Cochran attempts to dispel any notion that ISO 9001 is a panacea for all business needs, that it will eliminate employee problems completely, that suppliers who are ISO 9001 registered will provide only the best materials and components, or that customers will voraciously consume one’s product. Rather, the writer seems to view it as a very complicated system that requires simplification in order to be understood; hence, he has written this book. The rest of the book is concerned with this very process of simplifying and explaining the requirements of ISO 9001 as expressed in the last four of the standard’s eight sections. Since this is beyond the scope of this study, the reader is encouraged to consult Mr. Cochran’s book for further enlightenment.

References:

Cochran, C. (n.d.). About me (Blog profile). Retrieved from http://craigcochran.blogspot.com/2008/06/iso-9001-in-plain-english.html

 Cochran, C. (2008). ISO 9001 in plain English. Chico, CA: Paton Press.