What is ISO 9001?
ISO 9001 is the international standard for creating a Quality Management System (QMS), published by ISO (the International Organization for Standardization). ISO 9001 is an internationally recognized standard for creating, implementing, and maintaining a Quality Management System for a company. It is periodically reviewed by the ISO to meet changing stakeholder expectations and technology developments. The standard was most recently updated in 2015, and it is referred to as ISO 9001:2015. ISO 9001:2015 is the most recent version of the 9001 standard available today.
An ISO 9001 defines that this standard provides the QMS requirements to be implemented in a company that wants to create all of the policies, processes, and procedures necessary to provide products and services that meet customer and regulatory needs and improve customer satisfaction. Quality management systems are the foundation of quality assurance activities.
It is intended to be used by organizations of any size or industry, and it can be used by any company. As an international standard, it is recognized as the basis for any company to create a system to ensure customer satisfaction and improvement and, as such, many corporations require this certification from their suppliers. It delivers a system of continual improvement that is driven by your customers’ needs. This leads to cost savings, improved efficiencies and greater consistency of service deliverables.
WHY CHOOSE ISO 9001 FOR AN SME?
Even if you run a small business, you can gain benefit from implementing the ISO 9001 quality standard. It will help you drive down costs, improve productivity and increase customer satisfaction. Gaining ISO 9001 certification will demonstrate the quality of your processes and your commitment to continual improvement.
Here at QA International Services, we have been helping small businesses implement ISO 9001. In that time, we have proved that certification offers four big benefits even to small businesses.
- The ISO 9001 Quality Management System will enable your team to improve performance, thanks to its robust processes and management techniques. These will help you reduce errors, streamline processes, improve efficiency, and reduce waste.
- Working to the ISO 9001 standard can help you increase sales significantly. This is because many government tenders and blue-chip contracts require potential suppliers to prove that they are ISO 9001 compliant. Some pre-qualification questionnaires even award extra points to certified organisations.
- Implementing ISO 9001 can help you open up new markets since many countries now recognise it as an international mark of quality. In effect, it will enhance your brand’s reputation for providing high quality products or services. This in turn can boost customer satisfaction, improve customer retention, and consequently increase profitability.
- The certification process for small businesses is not only cost effective, but can also save you money by streamlining and improving processes.
HOW MUCH DOES ISO 9001 COST?
The cost of certification depends on several factors. These include your business sector, type of organization, your scope of work, and your number of employees. Moreover, costs vary as per industry specific accreditation as well (such as from EGAC, EIAC, IAS, DAKKS, UKAS, JAS-ANZ or NABCB).
However, QA INTERNATIONAL SERVICES is committed to provide a cost-effective route to ISO 9001 certification. That’s why we focus on making ISO certification simple and straightforward. We save you money because we spend less time creating complex document trails and more time building a system that works for your business.
AN ISO 9001 AUDIT?
The ISO 9001 audit is the most important part for achieving ISO 9001 certification. It will help you:
- Ensuring your Management System complies with the ISO 9001 standard.
- Identify and address any issues with your Quality Management System
- Identify potential improvements to your system
- Ensure your organisation takes appropriate action to meet its quality objectives.
An ISO 9001 audit is a systematic, independent, objective and documented process for gathering facts. These will help you identify areas for improvement and ensure you have best practice processes in place.
Continual improvement is the key part of ISO 9001. That’s why the standard recommends you to carry out internal and external audits at regular intervals.
BENEFITS OF ISO 9001 FOR YOUR ORGANISATION
The ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management System) specifies what your organisation needs to do:
- To provide products and services that consistently meet customers’ needs
- To enhance customer satisfaction through a processes of continual improvement
- To ensure it conforms with all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements
Becoming certified to ISO 9001:2015 can provide many benefits, both for your organisation and your customers.
- Increased efficiency – Implement processes and procedures which are based on a quality focus.
- Increased revenue – win more contracts and tenders, while streamlining your processes and identifying opportunities for cost savings.
- Boosting employee morale – by ensuring that all employees are working to one agenda to reduce errors and increase productivity.
- International recognition – recognised in approximately 188 countries, ISO 9001 can help you to access international trade.
- Factual approach to decision making – ensure the business decisions you make are beneficial long term by basing them on facts.
- Better supplier relationships – business has credibility through the reputation of ISO 9001, providing suppliers with greater confidence in what you do.
- Improved record keeping – ensures you document your processes from start to finish. Helping you to handle customer complaints and improve process efficiency.
- Improved customer satisfaction – ensure you have a feedback system in place which will help you to understand your customers’ needs, identify areas for improvement and reduce wasted resources.
- Continuous improvement – using non-conformity reporting and trend analysis, you can spot areas for improvement and stay ahead of the competition.
- Better Work Environment – by implementing and regular monitoring of premises, employees feel safer & more comfortable with improved work environment.
BENEFITS OF ISO 9001 FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS
- Improved quality of service – this also comes with the benefit of increased on time delivery.
- Reduced need for returns – because issues are identified and resolved quicker, often without the customer knowing.
- Assurance of service – certification acts as proof that the organisation provides consistent, reliable and fit for purpose solutions.
Improved experience – improving the relationship between customers/stakeholders and the organisation will create a better customer experience and increase the chances of the customer returning again in future.
