Uploaded on Aug 13, 2019
Here in this blog, we have discussed briefly about the importance of ISO 9001 certification for quality management system in organization.
Why organization should implement ISO 9001 for quality management
W H Y O R G A N I Z A T I O N S H O U L D
I M P L E M E N T I S O 9 0 0 1 F O R
Q U A L I T Y M A N A G E M E N T ?
H E R E I N T H I S B L O G , W E H A V E D I S C U S S E D B R I E F LY
A B O U T T H E I M P O R T A N C E O F I S O 9 0 0 1 C E R T I F I C A T I O N
F O R Q U A L I T Y M A N A G E M E N T S Y S T E M I N O R G A N I Z A T I O N .
ORGANIZATION SHOULD IMPLEMENT ISO 9001 FOR
QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Chiefly, every businessman or a big trader expects to expand his business
with good speed and built more trust among its customers. Moreover, the
business is all about the trust you with the customers and its quality
management systems (QMS). International Organization for Standardization
(ISO) is an international non-government body with almost 162 countries as
its members has changed the system of ISO 9001 Certification which deals
with Quality Management System (QMS) of an Organization.
It is a generic standard which can be applied to any kind of organization,
whether it’s small or big. ISO 9001 Certification is a mandatory requirement if
you wish to tender for a public sector work.
ORGANIZATION ARE IN NEED OF ISO 9001
CERTIFICATION
ISO 9001 is also popularly recognized and known quality management
system (QMS). It is chiefly belong to the ISO 9000 family which deals greatly
with the aspects of quality management. ISO 9001 looks for the criteria which
help an organization meeting the requirements and expectations of its
customers.
As a result, ISO 9001 Certification helps in enhancing customer satisfaction
and increasing the business performance. ISO 9001 gives the essential
features for Quality Management in an organization and companies
regardless of their sizes, products working and also their activities. The type
of certification is applicable to all types of sectors whether it is a public
administration or a business enterprise. A business of any size and also in any
sector can get ISO certified.
WHY ISO CERTIFICATION IS IMPORTANT FOR
ORGANISATION?
• ISO 9001 is an internationally recognized
certification obtained by certain sectors
to ensure the quality of products and
services of a company. Being, ISO-9001
certified have lots of benefits to the
corporations.
• INCREASED CREDIBILITY AND RECOGNITION:
In fact, ISO 9001 certification is issued by International Organization for
Standard and is accepted across the world. Therefore, having ISO 9001
certification increases your company value against your competitors, as well
as increases your status among your clients.
• INCREASED REVENUES:
Since your company is ISO 9001 certified, it means your quality has been
testified and proved to be good. Therefore, you can use this for your
advertising point and price your products accordingly. Having more quality
products will also help you to gain more customers.
• IMPROVED CONSISTENCY:
ISO 9001 helps you increase your business processes and consistency. Increased
consistency means your customers are getting the same service or same products every
time they are making business with you.
• INCREASED CUSTOMER SATISFACTION:
Customers will know that your products and services are high quality. They will know what
to expect from you. Therefore, you will get more satisfied customers and less complaints.
• EMPOWERED EMPLOYEES:
Moreover, ISO 9001 certification requires the training and development of your staff being
maintained. Also, it provides the necessary procedures, instructions and metrics for the
staffs. As a result, your employees will be more knowledgeable of what they are doing and
since they will keep getting trained, their careers will improve
ISO: ADVANTAGES OF A QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Certification under a quality management system such as ISO offers more benefits to
small business owners.
Generally your business becomes more efficient and productive, giving you an edge
over your competitors. You can also enjoy more benefits from ISO certification because
you can assure customers that your business follows the highest quality standards.
• All your processes are evaluated, standardized and explained to personnel
• Training new employees is much easier
• Problems are detected quickly and solutions are provided for the improvement
• Improved customer satisfaction
• Better understanding of customer needs
• Better awareness of your company
• Suppliers will become like partners
• Overall communication is improved
• Better knowledge of your company by employees
• Improved participation of employees
WHAT KIND OF BUSINESS SHOULD GET ISO 9001
CERTIFICATION?
The number of companies that get ISO certification varies from year to year.
In 2017, 1,058,504 ISO certificates were issued for the organization. Any
industry can seek ISO 9001 certification, but there are certain industries for
which ISO 9001 certification is particularly applicable:
• Manufacturing
• Health care
• Construction
• Technology
• Engineering
Moreover, ISO also has sector-specific 9001 standards for particular industries.
They are:
• Petroleum, petrochemical, and natural gas
• Software engineering
• Medical devices
• Governmental electoral organizations
• Local government
Your business can get certified irrespective of size, type, product, service, or
industry. ISO helps to reduce list through better communication and follow-up
with suppliers. Overall, ISO improves task definition, motivates your employees
to improve the system and mobilizes them around objectives.
ISO 9001 REQUIREMENTS: STEPS FOR CERTIFICATION
Consequently, ISO 9001 certification ultimately depends on your business’s
ability to follow a clearly documented quality management system. A quality
management system contains set of documents, policies, processes, and
steps that helps you to meet company goals and serve your customers.
However, the ISO’s seven guiding principles that help you to develop a
custom quality management system.
1. PREPARE FOR ISO 9001 CERTIFICATION
Before getting ISO 9001 certification decide whether you’re handling your
certificate in-house or through a third party consultant. In either case, you will
have to appoint a person to lead the effort for ISO 9001 certification and
make sure that there’s buy in from all of your employees.
Keep in mind that your quality management system should be suitable for
your business and your product or service. An external consultant will not
have the knowledge or experience to prepare internal documentation and do
an internal audit for your organization.
2. DOCUMENT YOUR QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Dictating out the processes, policies, and steps that make up your quality management system is
the difficult part of getting ISO certification. You need to draft out the process checklists,
instructions, work flows, and diagrams. There is no specific documents required, but you should
document every stage of your quality management system in detail.
3. IMPLEMENT YOUR QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
In this step, you will need to introduce your employees to the quality management system and
train them to incorporate it in their daily work.
4. CONDUCT AN INTERNAL AUDIT
An audit by a certified external auditor is required for ISO 9001 certification, but you should also
conduct internal self-audits. These are on-site audits conducted by your leading ISO person or
consultant who is trained in ISO 9001 certification. The purpose of the audit is to measure that all
work is in compliance with the quality management system.
5. CONDUCTING EXTERNAL AUDIT:
The last step to ISO 9001 certification is to get the approval by an external
ISO auditor, also called an ISO registrar. There are many accredited
companies who can help you with this step.
Usually, the external audits are divided into two parts. In the first, the auditor
will remotely assess that your company meets minimum ISO certification
requirements. In the second, the auditor will visit your business premises and
evaluate compliance with ISO requirements. The auditor will interview your
staff and checks clearly for the quality management system documentation.
An approvals process review that occurs after the final audit is necessary
before you’re getting the certificate. External audits should be done every
year and certificates are reissued every three years.
HOW LONG ISO 9001 CERTIFICATION IS GOOD?
Moreover, ISO Certified organization must undergo annual surveillance audits.
The initial auditing process to get your first certification is carried out by a
trained person, as an ISO auditor performs those checks. They will examine
your quality management systems. Remember, continual improvement is one
of the ISO guiding principles, so you should take time to correct and prevent
errors. After three years, a re-certification audit is carried out. It’s possible to
lose your certification for big violations.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
Consequently, the costs for registering Quality management system vary depending on the size
and complexity and also your internal processes of your organization.
First: There are several developmental costs, namely the time spent documenting and
implementing the system.
Second: costs associated with training employees to prepare the necessary documents and to
plan and conduct effective internal audits.
Third: The cost of registration, which includes conducting the audit and registering the
management system. The cost depends on the number of locations, the scope of work, the
number of shifts and so on.
You can reduce some of these costs by using an external consultant, especially since this reduces
the risk of starting down the wrong path or missing critical requirements of the standard.
TIME INVOLVED IN THE ISO CERTIFICATION PROCESS
Time taken to complete the whole process of ISO certification varies from
organization to organization. Generally, the time taken to complete the
process of ISO certification approximately for:
• Small organizations: 6-8 months
• Medium organizations: 8-12 months
• Large organization: 12-15 months
IS ISO 9001 CERTIFICATION RIGHT FOR YOUR
BUSINESS?
Moreover, deciding to get ISO 9001 certification requires careful thought.
Although being ISO certified is a sign of credibility that helps you to attract
more business and score important contracts. You should also have the cash
flow to get the process underway and then maintain your quality
management system thereafter. Following and achieving the goals is an
important way for a leadership team to decide whether to move forward with
the certification process or not.
CONCLUSION
Thus, it is quite obvious that ISO certification gets more benefits which may
vary from one angle to another. ISO certification still remains a good
reference to begin the process of quality improvement. No wonder ISO-
certified service organizations place much emphasis on quality measurement
than do non-certified service firms. Therefore, ISO certification provides more
business benefits but ISO certification should be seen as part of an overall
continuous improvement process, rather than an end to itself.
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