• Section 2, The International Standards Organization, provides a history of ISO 9000 and describes what the ISO 9000 standards are. Additionally, this section outlines a parallel quality assurance system developed and used by the food processing industry, known as HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points).

Unit 2, ISO 9000 Implementation, is also divided into two sections.

• Section 1, The Language of ISO 9000, introduces employees to the key terms of ISO 9000 as well as commonly-used acronyms of the standards system.

• Section 2, Preparing for ISO 9000 Registration, helps employees to understand why the organization has embarked on the time-consuming and rather expensive journey toward registration. The section outlines the steps required for a company to become registered, as well as the importance of timely and accurate documentation. The section concludes with the importance of the company’s Quality Manual, and the auditing/registration process.

Unit 3, Your Job and ISO 9000, is comprised of four sections.

• Section 1, Writing Job Descriptions, is the hands-on writing skills component of the curriculum. In this section employees identify and document their job descriptions and specific tasks they perform. While developing writing skills, employees learn that clear and accurate job descriptions are critical to a successful audit. The audit is a review by an outside agency to ensure that employees are “doing what they are saying” and “saying what they are doing.”

• Section 2, Processes and Procedures of ISO 9000, addresses the importance of Process Control and Quality to all stakeholders: employer, employee and consumer.

• Section 3, Flow Charting, provides employees the opportunity to “write” in a different form. Employees are introduced to the specific symbols and terminology of flow charts as they relate to ISO 9000 and how flow charts are used to document work procedures.

• Section 4, Problem-Solving to Improve Work Processes encourages employees to develop work-related problem-solving skills and techniques, and to apply them to specific work situations. Employees work through fictitious case studies as well as work-specific scenarios that they suggest.

The final unit of the ISO 9000 Essential Skills Curriculum, Unit 4, Total Quality Management: Making it Work for You, re-emphasizes to employees their key role in ensuring that customers purchase and receive the quality product(s) that they expect. This unit emphasizes the importance of the company’s Mission Statement in the quality process, and the integral role that employees play in supporting the Mission Statement. The unit also emphasizes that registration as an ISO 9000 company is only the beginning of a continuous quality process.