IS0 9000 and IS0 14000
The IS0 9000 and IS0 14000 families are among ISO's most widely known and successful standards ever. IS0 9000 has become an international reference for quality requirements in business-to-business dealings, and IS0 14000 looks set to achieve at least as much, if not more, in helping organizations to meet their environmental challenges.
The vast majority of IS0 standards are highly specific to a particular product, material, or process. However, the standards that have earned the IS0 9000 and IS0 14000 families a worldwide reputation are known as "generic management system standards!'. "Generic" means that the same standards can be applied to any organization, large or small, whatever its product - including whether its "product" is actually a service - in any sector of activity, and whether it is a business enterprise, a public administration, or a government department.