Having an AV Technology Provider certified AV 9000 is the optimum choice for a Buyer to assure that what was received from a vendor is compliant with what was ordered at the lowest overall cost of procurement. There is good reason to say that.
So, what is the difference between ISO 9000 and AV 9000?
ISO 9000 is the internationally recognized auditable standard for quality management systems. This is important to a Buyer. The smart Buyer wants to make sure a vendor has processes in place that focus on completing the order accurately and performs as intended, without defects. ISO 9000 does that, and the fact that it is an auditable standard means that a third party audits the vendor to verify these processes are in place and successfully used for the benefit of the Buyer. The standard is also of a general nature and can be applied to any industry. That is where AV 9000 comes in.
AV 9000 provides the metrics for the ISO 9000 quality management system. It is a framework of checklists that are applied at every major milestone in the development of an engineered AV system, and providing relevance for proper application of this powerful standard for the AV industry. It fits nicely in companies with multiple branches, since it makes a clear understanding of what it means when a milestone has actually been completed. As such, it also fits nicely with the Project Management model as it clarifies and defines the milestones in a PERT analysis (Project Evaluation and Review Technique). It does NOT tell a company how to design and install. Each company must define how they proceed, since that would depend on their product lines, the market, and the training and experience of their cadre and employees. AV 9000, for example, does not say how to go about and properly stage a system. It does, however, define a properly staged system when it gets there.
In summary, an AV 9000 Certified Company is an AV company that has also applied and been audited as an ISO 9000 certified Quality Management. The company finds and corrects any defects in the system before turnover (no punch-lists). It is indeed the elite that has accomplished both.
How a company attains both is simple (although not easy). Attaining AV 9000 training programs introduces quality management to the employees and certifies individuals on technical auditing. The company independently pursues ISO 9000 orientation and training from a specialized consultant (like IMSM). The company documents their Quality Policy by stating that its policy has adopted both standards for the benefit of their customers and integrates the AV 9000 Checklists into their documented (defined) Procedures where they apply (Project Initiation, Design Review, Staging, Commissioning, etc.). By adopting the latest AV9000 standard, the company proves that they at least keep up on the current technology from year to year.
Since this is a time consuming project, AQAV has also created the AV 9000 Compliance. AV 9000 Compliance provides the first level of evidence to a buyer that the AV Company is applying Quality Management in the services it provides and is meant to be a stepping stone to AV 9000 Certification.
