Experiences of Australian firms in implementing ISO 9001: A comparison of the 1994 and 2000 versions

This paper investigates the experiences of Australian firms in implementing ISO 9001, comparing the 1994 and 2000 versions. The survey data was taken from a sample of 326 Australian firms encompassing both manufacturing and service sectors. Six key findings have been identified from the study. In general, there is no significant difference between the two versions of ISO 9001 with respect to the firms’ reasons for seeking certification and their approaches to implementing the international standard. That said, it took firms relatively less time to attain certification with ISO 9001:2000 than it did to attain certification to the 1994 version. More interesting is the significant difference between the ISO 9000 versions in terms of their implementation difficulty, with firms reporting that the 2000 version was easier to implement. Another interesting result is that the 2000 version was perceived by firms to have made less impact, than did the ISO 9001:1994. Finally, and perhaps on a more positive note, firms indicated that they experienced few difficulties in transitioning from the 1994 version to the 2000 version.