There are many definitions of "Quality" and the author's favourite is quite simple: "The right product, at the right price, and at the right time". This encompasses the technical correctness of the product and process efficiency, as this affects the price and delivery time. Quality management was originally targeted at manufacturing organizations, so there was a physical end product. These days, service industries also adopt quality management standards as the design and implementation of their service can be considered as their "product".
The ISO9000 family of quality management standards is the most widely used, with approximately 1.2 million certified companies worldwide. It was first published in 1987 and was derived from the quality standard BS5750. This British Standard owed much of its evolution to the AQAP quality standards used by NATO countries since 1969 following the publication of US standard MIL-Q-9858 ten years earlier.
Now the ISO9000 standards are truly international, with input from stakeholder organizations all around the world. The standards are revised every five years to keep them current and in accordance with the quality principle of continual improvement.
ISO9001 is the core standard for certification and the next revision is at the draft stage; a draft copy is available for purchase on the ISO website. This draft is likely to change following comments and any feedback received. Companies and individuals can comment by contacting their national body associated with the ISO organization, as indicated on the ISO website. The completed revision should be released by the end of 2015. The current revision is ISO9001:2008 and certificates with this revision level will become invalid around the end of 2017.
IAQG 9100 is an aerospace quality management standard, based upon the principles and structure of ISO9001. It is issued by the IAQG, the International Aerospace Quality Group, a "not-for-profit" enterprise representing quality interests for the global aerospace community. IAQG 9100 is published in various languages as denoted by the prefix e.g. AS9100 in English, EN9100 in German & French. The next revision of 9100 is ongoing and there has been discussion regarding whether  the use of ISO9001 as the baseline is still appropriate. It has been decided to maintain this relationship, as the common baseline gives many benefits to users of the standards.
The update of AIQG 9100 will be coordinated with associated standards, the common ones being:
IAQG 9110 - Requirements for Maintenance Organizations
IAQG 9115 - Requirements for Deliverable Software
IAQG 9120 - Requirements for Distributors
There will also be a coordinated publication of guidance material for users and auditor training.
Following the initial data collection and feedback on the 9100 revision, groups were tasked with reviewing requirements for these particular topics:
Product Safety, including Human Factors.
Risk.
Preventive Action.
Counterfeit Parts.
Configuration Management.
Product Realization Planning.
Post-Delivery Support.
The current development programme for the new revision is as follows:
October 2014 ¡V completion of the initial draft revision
April 2015 ¡V coordination of the draft standard
October 2015 ¡V balloting the new revision
April 2016 ¡V new revision ready for publication
The older revision will normally become invalid two years after the publication of the new revision.
The publication of these quality management standards provides an enormous contribution to harmonizing and improving the delivery of products and services around the world. Many organizations and individuals contribute their time and resources to developing these standards. In doing so, they improve public safety, reduce the waste of materials, and help to conserve energy.
The quality accreditation provides confidence and understanding throughout the supply chain, and so enables the spread of economic benefits throughout the global community.

For questions contact paul@mfn.li

Standards Forum
by Paul Huyton,
MFN Course Director World Wide
more information at www.mfn.li/trainers