BA 9000


BA 9000 Body Armor Quality Management System Requirements were established by the National Institute of Justice as a quality standard for body armor. It specifies the construction and assembly requirements of personal armor for federal, state, tribal and local law enforcement and corrections agencies; the requirements of BA 9000 are voluntary.
Though BA 9000 was written to be in compliance with ISO 9001, the NIJ notes that a company being certified as ISO 9001 is not necessarily certified as being BA 9000-compliant. BA 9000 incorporates all of the standards of ISO 9001, but it also:
While certification to BA 9000 is not mandated or regulatory, its benefits include:
Facilities seeking to become a BA 9000 certification body must, in addition to being ISO 17025-certified, submit to yearly office and an overall audit of the management systems in place. The accreditation is normally for a period of four years.