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The term ISO 9000 refers to a set of quality management standards. ISO 9000 currently includes three quality standards: ISO 9000:2000, ISO 9001:2000, and ISO 9004:2000. ISO 9001:2000 presents requirements, while ISO 9000:2000 and ISO 9004:2000 present guidelines. All of these are process standards (not product standards). ISO first published its quality standards in 1987, revised them in 1994, and then republished an updated version in 2000. These new standards are referred to as the "ISO 9000 2000 Standards".
ISO's purpose is to facilitate international trade by providing a single set of standards that people everywhere would recognize and respect. The ISO 9000 2000 Standards apply to all kinds of organizations in all kinds of areas. Some of these areas include manufacturing, processing, servicing, printing, forestry, electronics, steel, computing, legal services, financial services, accounting, trucking, banking, retailing, drilling, recycling, aerospace, construction, exploration, textiles, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, pulp and paper, petrochemicals, publishing, shipping, energy, telecommunications, plastics, metals, research, health care, hospitality, utilities, pest control, aviation, machine tools, food processing, agriculture, government, education, recreation, fabrication, sanitation, software development, consumer products, transportation, design, instrumentation, tourism, communications, biotechnology, chemicals, engineering, farming, entertainment, horticulture, consulting, insurance, and so on.
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