ISO 9000 certification in Indian industries: A survey

Indian industries have gone for ISO certification in a big way since the beginning of 1990. This independent survey was undertaken to assimilate the experiences of the companies gathered in the path of certification, its impact on their business, opinion about the auditing firms and hurdles faced in the path of certification. This survey is the largest and most wide-ranging of its kind to be conducted in this country. It covers well over 1200 ISO 9000-certified organizations of all sizes and industry sectors and registered by different certification bodies. Analysis of the survey data revealed that ISO 9000 implementation has benefited in: better understanding of process/activities being performed; better understanding of responsibilities/authorities; and linkage across the organization. In this article, we discuss the findings of the survey and also suggest a few counter measures for improving the effectiveness.