Compare and Contrast:

Only product specifications are recorded.

For certain product it is a legal requirement to apply UKCA marking before being placed on the market, for other product it infers manufacturing control.

On-going administration of the EN1090-1 system is simple and straight forward. Documented requirements are minimal and oversight is once in a 3-year period unless nominated criteria change.

Insurance companies particularly, prefer the product specific assurance inferred by the requirements of this standard.

With the 9001 standard, all operating system variable are identified, documented, controlled and reviewed. This occurs annually by the manufacture and subsequently by an external (independent) certification body.

Larger customers or those operating in a highly regulated industry often require the assurance of product been manufactured within defined parameters. The 9001 provides customers with this assurance, although other standards maybe required by specific industries i.e.

• AS9100 (Aerospace)
• TF16949 (Automotive)
• ESD S20.20 (Telecommunication)

Administration of a 9001 QMS is prescriptive and prohibits uncontrolled process innervation. The 9001 QMS requires serious management commitment on an on-going basis and the provision of resources.

The major advantage of a 9001 system is that it generates verifiable evidence of compliance to a documented system. This can then be examined by ‘interested parties’, i.e. customer’s without the need for the representative too have much if any knowledge of the actual product.