The 80-year-old LEGO Group believes that “only the best is good enough,” according to founder Kirk Christiansen. Consequently, it is registered to several key ISO standards, including ISO 9001 (quality management), ISO 14001 (environmental management) and ISO 8124 (toy safety).

When was the last time you opened a new LEGO kit and found missing parts or instructions or something less than satisfactory about the product and overall experience? The LEGO brand is vital to the LEGO Group and everyone knows how difficult it is to comfort children when their expectations are not met. The LEGO Group cannot afford this. ISO 9001 provides the necessary framework and guidelines to stay in control while complying with internationally accepted best practices for running an effective Quality Management System.

LEGO is using ISO 9001 to hold its global suppliers and factories accountable for meeting its quality standards and customer expectations. This is one of the benefits of the standard. The ISO certified company gets to call the shots when it comes to suppliers and picking from the garbage. In the end, the customer wins. The standard is also being used to help speed global expansion.

LEGO strictly adheres to Section 7.2.3 of the standard called ‘Customer Communication’. That is, LEGO is determining and implementing effective arrangements for communicating with the customer regarding:

1) product information

2) inquiries, contracts or order management, including modifications, and

3) customer feedback, including customer complaints

The following excerpt is from ISO focus+ Magazine March 2010 Issue, Volume 1, No. 3

Since 1991, the LEGO Group has implemented the ISO 9001 standard, which it sees as the ideal framework for structuring its global quality management system (QMS), with LEGO factories operating in countries that are very familiar with its requirements. Using ISO 9001 is an efficient way to implement the quality management system at new production sites. All of the ISO 9001 requirements will generally be familiar to quality management personnel at new sites, allowing the company to fully focus on specific internal requirements. For the consumer, the quality management system ensures that each LEGO box contains the correct number and type of building elements, which are crucial to delivering the promised LEGO building experience.