Why organization should implement ISO 9001 for quality management?
Here in this blog, we have discussed briefly about the importance of ISO 9001 certification for quality management system in organization.
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 organisations: 6-8 months
- Medium organisations: 8-12 months
- Large organisation: 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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