ISO 9001 : 2000 and the Baldrige criteria for performance excellence - a comparison.

The Sandia National Laboratories Nuclear Weapons Strategic Management Unit (NWSMU) is pursuing performance excellence, by focusing on compliance with the ISO 9001:2000 standard for quality management systems. The NWSMU also intends to achieve ISO Certification and eventually reach levels of performance excellence that are consistent with those of Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winners. In that context, this report documents a study undertaken to answer these questions: {sm_bullet} Would achieving ISO 9001:2000 compliance or certification help an organization prepare to achieve Baldrige-level performance excellence? {sm_bullet} Would pursuing Baldrige-based performance excellence help an organization achieve ISO certification? {sm_bullet} What are the areas where the Baldrige and ISO systems are most closely aligned? The study produced answers to those questions, as well as a number of comparisons and contrasts between the ISO standard and the Baldrige criteria