All NASA sites win quality management certification

NASA this month became the first federal agency to have all of its facilities certified as meeting high standards for quality management.

NASA's headquarters and all of the agency's facilities around the country earned the certification, known as ISO 9001, by Sept. 17, the agency announced. NASA Administrator Dan Goldin is also pushing for all contractors that do business with the agency to become ISO 9001 certified.

ISO 9001 is a document describing international standards for quality management. In order win ISO 9001 certification, an organization must allow a third party to verify that its management systems are properly designed and implemented to reduce variation and ensure quality in products and services.

While NASA is the first agency to have all of its sites ISO 9001 certified, several other federal organizations have won certification, including a Coast Guard logistics center and several Defense Department manufacturing operations.