What are management system standards?
The nature of standards will be addressed in the section on standards development and in the context of management systems these standards: establish concepts, principles, guidelines and criteria for establishing, maintaining and improving the processes by which an organisation defines and achieves its goals (see explanation below). As most management system standards address specific organisational goals, like product quality, environment or health and safety, they apply to different processes within an organisation. Management system standards are not product standards; there are no requirements that govern the characteristics of particular products or services in management system standards. These standards apply to organisations as a whole rather than to the products and services they supply.
