What is ISO Technical Committee (TC) 176 Sub-Committee (SC) 2 ?

We are the ISO Subcommittee for TC176 Quality Systems. We are responsible for the development of

ISO 9001 Quality management systems – Requirements

the most widely used International Standard in the world.

In addition, we produce the key ISO 9004 standard which provides guidelines for organizations who wish to go beyond ISO 9001, as well as other guidance standards such as ISO 10005, ISO 10006 and ISO 10007.

Our vision is:

• That our products should be recognized and respected worldwide, and used by organizations as an integral component of sustainable development initiatives.

Our mission is:

• To develop, maintain and support a portfolio of products that enable organizations to improve their performance and to benefit from the implementation of a robust quality management system.
• To establish generic quality management system requirements that provide the foundations to build confidence in products and services delivered throughout the supply chain to organizations and people worldwide.
• To provide guidance and support, where needed, to ensure the continued credibility of our products.

Our Standards

• ISO 9001: 2015
  Quality management systems - Requirements
• ISO/TS 9002: 2016
  Guidelines on the application of ISO 9001:2015
• ISO SME handbook: 2016  
  ISO 9001:2015 for Small Enterprises – What to do ? Advice from ISO/TC176
• ISO 9004: 2018
  Quality management - Quality of an organization - Guidance to achieve sustained success
• ISO 10005: 2018
  Quality management - Guidelines for quality plans
• ISO 10006: 2017
  Quality management - Guidelines for quality in projects
• ISO 10007: 2017
  Quality management - Guidelines for configuration management

Please use the "Projects" tab at the top if this page to find further information on the products that are currently being developed or are under revision.

Guidance on ISO 9001

The following links will take you to supporting documents to help you in your use of the standard

• ISO 9001:2015 How to use it
• Guidance on using ISO 9001:2015
• Selection and use of the ISO 9000 family of standards
• Are you sure you understand the fundamentals of quality and the terminology used in ISO 9001:2015 ?
• Quality Management Principles

Auditing to ISO 9001

Do you need advice about auditing to ISO 9001 ?

A key standard you should refer to is ISO 19011:2018 Guidelines for auditing management systems.

In addition a number of guidance papers on the auditing of quality management systems can be found on the website of the ISO 9001 Auditing Practices Group. These have been developed by an informal group of quality management system experts, auditors and practitioners from ISO/TC 176 and the International Accreditation Forum.

Also note that ISO/IEC 17021-3: 2017 Conformity assessment -- Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems - Part 3: Competence requirements for auditing and certification of quality management systems  may help you.

Interpretations of ISO 9001

ISO provides an interpretations service for its member bodies, to resolve any identified ambiguities in the standard.

Regrettably this is NOT a service that is available for individual users of the standard. If you, as a user, have a query on the standard you should contact your national standards body or liaison organization in the first instance, to seek advice on resolving it.

As it is an official process, that involves developing consensus among the members of ISO/TC 176/SC 2 to agree on any proposed interpretation, a quick response cannot be expected.

The listing of formally approved interpretations is available to download.

Member bodies should refer to the Guidance on the interpretations process and apply for an interpretation using The "Request for an Interpretation" form.