I worked for many years for companies certified to ISO 9001 and one of its derivatives, TS16949 or AS9100. As a dedicated quality professional it was challenging keeping those companies on track for conformance, but they were better off certified and having independent oversight. I now work for a startup company that makes building facades. My job is to oversee the design and implementation of our quality management system. While I've borrowed some concepts from ISO, we are a long way from conformance. You know what? We are doing just fine. We are still very much evolving as a company but are dedicated to producing a high quality product. It will be interesting to see what happens as the business matures and if ISO certification is really needed. For now, I admit I'm enjoying life without ISO.
