Research

ISO 9000 delivers success to manufacturing organisations in Saudi Arabia (2006)

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the results from a survey of 175, ISO 9000 certified manufacturing companies in Saudi Arabia. This study is focused on the benefits achieved from ISO 9000 implementation, level of satisfaction with the standard, the anticipated steps after ISO 9000 implementation, factors influencing the choice of registration agencies and the associated problems with registration agencies.

Certified firms in Saudi Arabia have performed well in their registration process and have benefited from ISO implementation. This could be due to the high level of interest in quality, as most customers request quality or a certificate to prove existence of quality products/services.

For effective implementation of the standard in other organisations, the study recommended that organisations should plan carefully, measuring internal as well as external aspects and performing cost-effective analysis of the implementation process.

The the views and experiences of quality managers who responded to this survey on ISO 9000 were very positive and encouraging. Key findings from the survey include:

• The three most important benefits achieved from implementing ISO 9000 in Saudi Arabia are improved the efficiency of the quality system; better documentation procedures; and increased quality awareness in the firms. This confirms that the quality system (ISO 9000) can be used to in achieving efficiency rather than achieving quality products in Saudi Arabia.
• ISO 9000 certification constitutes a base, or at least a complement, for total quality management, and suggests that the certification in these manufacturing organisations have been successful and they want to go further than maintaining ISO 9000 and achieve a long-term success.
• The level of satisfaction with registration agencies in Saudi Arabia was high in general and the disappointment level was minimal.

Overall the study has shown that ISO 9000 registered manufacturing firms in Saudi Arabia have performed well in their registration process and have highly benefited from ISO 9000 implementation.

 

Authors

Magd, A.E.M.  (2006), ‘An investigation of ISO 9000 adoption in Saudi Arabia’, Managerial Auditing Journal, Vol. 21, Iss 2 pp.132-147.