The ISO9001 standard has long had a requirement for management to set quality objectives for the business.  These are not, as some indicators suggest, simply objectives for the quality management system but objectives that improve the quality of the business and its processes. An objective to improve return on investment is a Quality objective, being [...]

What a strange question you might respond, but is it?  Assuming we are considering a typical organisation, where audits are scheduled, conducted and reported in a more or less structured manner, probably because of a mandatory requirement to conduct the audit, the question becomes more valid as we examine audit operations.
Remaining with our organisation that [...]

One of the features of the ISO9001 standard is the requirement to monitor and measure process performance  (Section 8).  External auditors tend to simply verify the existence of such measurements and move on, while the attitude of internal auditors tends towards indifference.  This article attempts to discuss the value of such measurement, and the pitfalls [...]

FMEA - Failure Mode and Effect Analysis is a technique - a systematic method - of identifying and preventing product and process problems.  In ISO9001 terms it is a true ‘Prevention’ tool, it is a Risk Assessment.
As might be expected, FMEAs were first introduced into the obvious high risk industries of aero-space and military ordnance, [...]