ISO 9001

ISO 9001 is industry-neutral. It requires a documented quality management system covering things like customer requirements, control of documents and records, competence and training, control of purchased products and suppliers, production controls, control of nonconforming outputs, internal audits, management review, and corrective action. It is also the foundation that AS9100 (aerospace) builds on, and ISO 13485 (medical devices) follows a closely related structure.

Many small shops are asked by customers to be ISO 9001 certified or to work as though they were. Certification comes from an accredited registrar's audit. Shops that aren't ready for certification still benefit from the basics: controlled documents, calibration records, clean certificates of conformance, and a way to log and close nonconformances.

Traveler's compliance suite defaults to an ISO-ready posture covering document control, quality logs, gage calibration, and certificates of conformance. A templated quality manual and core procedures are part of the plan, as a starting point to adapt, not a substitute for your own system.