Germany is ranked 6th in terms of number of certificates issued to companies that conform to the ISO 9001 Quality Management System, according to Wikipedia.

To be certified, a company must institute a quality policy that is actually implemented throughout the organization. The company is then audited to determine if it is conformance to this policy . Deviations from this policy are handled effectively and quickly. The policy is not an end in itself. The goal is to reduce bad products by controlling and documenting the development and production process from start to finish and to resolve problems that lead to defective products.

What has this to do with Technical Writing? The entire process is documented and it may be the job of a TW to maintain the ISO 9001 documentation. This means knowing the ISO 9001 process. A good start is this summary, in plain English, from Wikipedia.

• The quality policy is a formal statement from management, closely linked to the business and marketing plan and to customer needs.
• The quality policy is understood and followed at all levels and by all employees. Each employee works towards measurable objectives.
• The business makes decisions about the quality system based on recorded data.
• The quality system is regularly audited and evaluated for conformance and effectiveness.
• Records show how and where raw materials and products were processed, to allow products and problems to be traced to the source.
• The business determines customer requirements.
• The business has created systems for communicating with customers about product information, inquiries, contracts, orders, feedback and complaints.
• When developing new products, the business plans the stages of development, with appropriate testing at each stage. It tests and documents whether the product meets design requirements, regulatory requirements and user needs.
• The business regularly reviews performance through internal audits and meetings. The business determines whether the quality system is working and what improvements can be made. It has a documented procedure for internal audits.
• The business deals with past problems and potential problems. It keeps records of these activities and the resulting decisions, and monitors their effectiveness.
• The business has documented procedures for dealing with actual and potential nonconformances (problems involving suppliers or customers, or internal problems).
• The business (1) makes sure no one uses bad product, (2) determines what to do with bad product, (3) deals with the root cause of problems, and (4) keep records to use as a tool to improve the system.

Full details about the ISO 9000 Quality Management Standard can be viewed here.