TS ISO 9004-1

TS ISO 9004-1 is a guideline standard for quality management and quality system elements. It explains the general principles that help an organization address quality not only at final inspection, but within management, processes, responsibilities, and the overall system approach.

Understanding the quality management approach

In general technical terms, quality management is the coordinated management of policy, objectives, processes, and resources so that products or services consistently meet defined requirements. A quality system is the structure that turns this approach into practice: the organization, procedures, responsibilities, and records used to control and improve how work is done. The ISO 9004 family is widely associated with guidance that looks beyond verification alone and toward continual improvement and management responsibility.

What this document focuses on

This TSE edition provides guidance on quality management and quality system elements, so its scope is broad and conceptual rather than prescriptive. It helps connect the common building blocks of quality work across industries, making the relationship between quality assurance, process control, and management accountability easier to understand. As a withdrawn edition, it now serves as a historical reference for the terminology and management thinking used in this area.

• How quality policy and objectives set the direction of the system
• The general role of defining and managing processes
• Management responsibility, resource provision, and organizational structure
• How quality system elements fit together as one coherent whole