A Blockchain-based Approach to Support an ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System

Abstract

Quality is an essential element for any company that wants to be recognized successfully; because of this, the companies undergo a certification process under a quality standard such as ISO 9001 that allows them to improve the performance of its operation, differentiate itself from its competitors, achieve a better position in the market and export quickly. In this sense, making and maintaining such certification can be under high pressure over the company, up to become a source of corruption risk, since, in emerging markets, companies may be tempted to perform unethical practices such as falsifying or adulterating documents to maintain their certifications and the benefits derived from it. Besides, considering that the quality management system audit process is based on the verification made by a third party of the documents and records of the company against the quality standard, it becomes necessary to reinforce with technology the audit process to minimize this kind of risk. Given this, a software architecture for a quality management system supported in BPMN and Blockchain technology is proposed to guarantee the integrity and immutability of the system and information, which allows exposing any attempt at fraud and facilitates the audit process's automation.

Colombian Origin Coffee Supply Chain Traceability by a Blockchain Implementation

“…The most common and accurate way of describing Blockchain is as the underpinning technology that permits the trading of any kind of asset thanks to the validation and consensus of all network nodes that also share the same transaction ledger. Before proceeding and adding the transaction to the Blockchain, most network participants must validate the transaction and agree with it, generating consensus [19].…”