Quality Excellence for Suppliers ofTelecommunications Forum(QuEST Forum)TL 9000Quality Management SystemRequirements HandbookRelease 3.0CopyrightCopyright _ _ _ 2001 Quality Excellence for Suppliers of Telecommunications ForumFor further information,see the QuEST Forum web site at:http:/www.questforum.org/TL 9000 is a registered trademarkof theQuality for Excellence for Suppliers of Telecommunications Forum.Sections of this document contain copyrighted material from a variety of sources; these sources areidentified in the Bibliography of this handbook.The text highlighted in the boxes throughout this document is a verbatim reproduction of ISO 9001:2000.This text is copyrighted by the International Organization for Standardization. Not for resale. No part ofthis standard may be copied or reproduced in any form, including an electronic retrieval system, withoutthe prior written permission of the American National Standards Institute, Inc., 11 West 42 nd Street, NewYork, NY 10036, which holds reproduction rights in the United States.Approved and Adoptedby theQuEST ForumEffectiveMarch 31, 2001TL 9000 Quality Management System Requirements Handbook 3.0IiForewordForewordThe TL 9000 Quality Management System Requirements Handbook wasprepared in a cooperative effort by the members of the Quality Excellence forSuppliers of Telecommunications (QuEST) Forum. From the outset the QuESTForums goal has been to develop and maintain a consistent set of qualitysystem requirements and measurements that, when implemented, will helpprovide telecommunications customers with faster, better and more cost-effectiveservices.This book complements the TL 9000 Quality Management SystemMeasurements Handbook with requirements that support Telecommunicationsindustry service providers and their suppliers commitment to meeting theexpectations of their customers.The QuEST Forum is pleased to present this book in a common spirit ofdelighting our customers.George C. Via, Verizon Olga Striltschuk, MotorolaQuEST Forum Chairman QuEST Forum Vice ChairSteven Welch, SBC Barry DAmour, Nortel Networks Don Pickens, Bell South Jerry Cates, CorningWilliam Wessman, Boston Karl-Heinz Augenstein, AlcatelCommunications GroupMarty Lustig, SPRINT Masahide Sekiguchi, FujitsuSignature on FileIsabelle Courville, Bell Canada Monica Garcia, ComplasTL 9000 Quality Management System Requirements Handbook 3.0iiiPrefacePrefaceThe Quality Excellence for Suppliers of Telecommunications Forum (QuESTForum) was founded to foster continued improvements to the quality andreliability of telecommunications service. The founders took the critical initial stepof establishing a common set of quality management system requirements andmeasurements by creating the TL 9000 Quality Management SystemRequirements Handbook and the TL 9000 Quality Management SystemMeasurements Handbook. These handbooks are the result of a cooperativeeffort among members of the telecommunications industry.The work of the QuEST Forum yields benefits to customers, their subscribers,and their suppliers. Membership is composed of telecommunication ServiceProviders, Suppliers, and Liaisons. Members fund and participate in the QuESTForum, have defined voting rights and are expected to contribute to the work ofthe QuEST Forum. Members vote on adoption of the TL 9000 structure, content,administration, and other questions coming before the QuEST Forum.The QuEST Forum establishes and maintains a common set of qualitymanagement system requirements and measurements built on currently usedindustry standards, including ISO 9001:2000. The requirements andmeasurements promote consistency and efficiency, reduce redundancy andimprove customer satisfaction. They also enable suppliers to improve qualityand reliability, reduce costs, and increase competitiveness.TL 9000 Quality Management System Requirements Handbook 3.0IvAcknowledgementsAcknowledgementsThe strength of the QuEST Forum is the outstanding capabilities andcommitment of the members who represent their respective organizations at theQuEST Forum and Work Group Meetings. This exceptional talent produced thefirst TL 9000 Quality Management System Requirements Handbook in recordtime and now has completed this major update in less than eighteen months.Individuals whose companies were customers, suppliers, and competitorsaccomplished the update of the Requirem