Preparations for ISO 9001:2000: a study of ISO 9000:1994 certified construction firms

Many research studies have been completed on the effectiveness of ISO 9000:1994 in the construction industry. The new ISO 9001:2000 requires firms to have a completely different mindset about achieving quality. From merely compliance with requirements, firms who intend to obtain ISO 9001:2000 certification have to understand fully the new requirements and how they may 'fit' the new standards into their present quality management systems, instead of changing their original work procedures to suit the Standard's requirements. This study presents a survey of the preparation work undertaken by construction firms in Singapore in moving from ISO 9000:1994 to ISO 9001:2000. From the research findings, it was found that most firms are ready for the conversion to the new Standard with slight beefing up of their existing quality management systems.