TL 9000

TL 9000 defines quality management system requirements for the telecommunications industry.

What is TL 9000?

TL 9000 defines quality management system requirements for the design, development, production, delivery, installation, and maintenance of products and services for the telecommunications industry. It also provides a measurement system that, when implemented, allows a company to track performance and improve results.

TL 9000 was developed by an industry forum known as QuEST (Quality Excellence for Suppliers of Telecommunications). QuEST was founded in April 1996 by a core group of telecom service providers in the USA.

Benefits of TL 9000

• Harmonisation of many standards - The TL 9000 scheme harmonises existing telecommunications standards. The establishment of a set of common metrics is a core element of the scheme. These metrics are seen to be the common issues critical to the quality of supply to the providers of telecommunication services. The supplier collects data against industry defined performance metrics and sends it to an independent repository system administered by QuEST. The data is not traceable to the supplier but is used to provide industry averages and the best in class data to facilitate benchmarking and quality improvement throughout the industry.

• Competitive advantage - Current membership of QuEST stands at approximately 100 and includes all of the primary North American telecommunication service providers and suppliers. There is a drive to make the scheme fully international.

LRQAs services

Certification - which can include:

• an optional GAP analysis to assess your existing quality management system and let you know how it stacks up against the TL 9000 requirements

• an optional preliminary assessment to determine your readiness for a full assessment, identify areas where further work is required, and agree on an assessment timetable

• a document review to discuss in detail matters relating to quality system documents and paperwork.