Quality (business) and those of competitors (the quality gap). In the past two decades this quality gap has been gradually decreasing between competitive products and services. This is partly due to the contracting (also called outsourcing) of manufacturing to countries like China and India, as well internationalization of trade and competition. These countries, among many others, have raised their own standards of quality in order to meet international standards and customer demands. The ISO 9000 series of standards are probably the best known international standards for quality management, though specialized standards such as ISO 15189 (for medical laboratories) and ISO 14001 (for
Symbols and conventions used in welding documentation Symbols and conventions used in welding documentation The symbols and conventions used in welding documentation are specified in national and international standards such as ISO 2553 "Welded, brazed and soldered joints -- Symbolic representation on drawings" and ISO 4063 "Welding and allied processes -- Nomenclature of processes and reference numbers". The US standard symbols are outlined by the American National Standards Institute and the American Welding Society and are noted as "ANSI/AWS". Due in part to the growth of the oil industry, this symbol set was used during the 1990s in about 50% of the world's welding operations. An ISO