How to Get ISO 9001 Certificatied

The ISO 9001 accreditation is part of the International Organization for Standardization 9000 standards. They are awarded to businesses for quality. The ISO 9001 is recognized worldwide as an award for a company’s internal quality management or actions that the company takes to ensure the product or service they provide is of the highest quality. Customer satisfaction is a major factor in whether a company will be awarded an ISO 9001 accreditation.

The International Organization for Standardization in Geneva, Switzerland publishes thousands of international standards to help companies throughout the world more efficiently do business with one another. The 27 page ISO 9001 standard is focused on defining minimum business practices for the production and delivery of a company’s products and services through the implementation of a formal “quality management system”, or QMS. An ISO QMS is made up of certain processes, documentation and other formal practices that control internal company operations to ensure customer requirements are consistently met.

To pass an audit, an organization must follow these guidelines:

• Develop a Quality Management System (QMS) manual.

• Develop the procedures required by the ISO Standard.

• Determine the additional processes and procedures that are needed by the organization to perform work and satisfy the requirements in the ISO Standard.

• Operate in accordance with the organization’s documented QMS.

• Provide evidence that the organization is operating according to the QMS.

The achievement of an ISO 9001 certification is a milestone in demonstrating to your customers that you have implemented a reliable system of producing and delivering your products and services. The focus of this “system” is twofold: providing consistent products and services; and continual improvement in your processes leading to better results.

The ISO 9001 certification is granted by a third-party auditing firm called a Registrar who specializes in quality system auditing. There are a wide variety of Registrars located in every ISO participating country. Some firms have offices internationally; others have a more regional focus. The selection of your Registrar is one of the more important decisions you will make to ensure the best alignment with your type of business, your location(s) and overall cost of maintaining the certification.

The initial certification audit is conducted in two parts. The Stage 1 audit is a general review of your QMS documentation to ensure you have addressed all of the requirements of the standard. Depending upon the size of your business, this can be conducted in a one to two day visit to your facility or virtually via phone. Any discrepancies noted during the Stage 1 audit will be documented in a formal report and must be corrected before the Stage 2 audit.

The main part of the ISO audit is the Stage 2 audit which is always conducted onsite at your location(s) and will be focused on the implementation and effectiveness of your QMS. During this audit which can take 1 day (for very small companies) to several days, the auditor(s) will tour your company, speak to managers and employees, and review documentation and records (along with any Stage 1 discrepancies) to ensure that your system is fully implemented. If non-conformances are found, they will be documented in a formal report for correction. Following the Stage 2 audit, you are generally given thirty (30) days to submit corrective action plans for all audit non-conformances. Once corrective actions are received, your certification is complete and your certificate is issued.

In order to maintain the certification, you will participate in an annual surveillance audit from your Registrar where they confirm that you are maintaining your QMS.

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How To Obtain ISO 9001 Certificate

ISO 9000 is a group of internationally recognized standards regarding quality management systems, laid down by the International Standard Organization. Previously divided into different standards like ISO 9001, ISO 9002, ISO 9003, they are now revised and combined into one simplified standard which covers all aspects, known as ISO 9001:2000. Another review is in process, but according to experts not many changes are expected.

How important is ISO 9001 for your business? Or do you really need ISO 9001 certification? The answer to these questions depends on your nature of business and future plans. ISO certification can prove to be very helpful and is quite necessary if you are planning to go global. It provides your business with much needed credibility and improves your company’s overall impression. If you are operating in a highly competitive market, ISO certification can be a competitive advantage. However, acquiring ISO 9001 certification is very expensive and it all depends on your business nature, needs and more importantly the availability of funds.

Will it improve your product’s quality?
ISO 9001 certification has no direct affect on product’s quality; it mainly deals with quality management systems. Although implementing these standards may improve the final product quality and reduce cost, it should not be used to measure a product’s quality or business’s profitability.

Obtaining ISO 9001 certification:
After the management has decided that having an ISO 9001 Certificate can be fruitful for the business. Some senior person, who is well informed of ISO standards, should be made in charge of all this process. ISO certification requires businesses to write down all procedures, job descriptions, different department functions, etc in accordance with ISO standards. Next step is the implementation. Start with educating the employees; tell them about the importance and significance of ISO certification, once motivated, they should be directed on how they can help in acquiring certification? Perform internal audits frequently to check if everybody is following the procedures. Make corrective actions when some error is found. If needed, you can hire an advisory service as well.

Issuance of Certificate:
International standard organization (ISO) doesn’t provide any certification itself. These certifications are issued by registered bodies that are entitled to do so. After some business has taken all necessary steps and their quality management system is in accordance with ISO guidelines, they can apply for the certification. Some representative from these registration bodies will visit the workplace or factory and observe the procedures. If satisfied, they will provide an ISO certification which is valid for three years.

Read more on ISO 9001 Standards at http://www.iso9001store.com

ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Manual

ISO 14001 is the Environmental Management System Specification developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) of Geneva, Switzerland as a part of the ISO 14000 series of environmental management documents. It was issued as both an International and American National Standard in September 1996. The Second Edition of ISO 14001, ISO 14001:2004, was issued as an International Standard on November 15, 2004 and subsequently as an American National Standard.

ISO 14001 establishes a framework for the conduct of environmental management by requiring the organization to define an Environmental Policy and establish sixteen management procedures that support the policy. Many of the ISO 14001procedures already exist in some form within organizations and only require modification to meet the requirements of ISO 14001. Other procedures have to be added in their entirety. All of the ISO 14001 procedures represent best management practices as defined by a consensus of the representatives of more than 50 national standards bodies and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) who participated in the development of ISO 14001:1996 from early 1993 through July 1, 1995 and in the development of the Second Edition from early 2002 until mid-2004.

ISO 14001 has the potential to reframe the conduct of environmental management. It has proven to be an elegant document that anticipates the needs
of organizations of all sizes and purposes for direction on environmental
management.

As ISO 14001 gains credibility as an effective system for managing and
improving environmental performance, environmental regulators will be
encouraged to accept registration to ISO 14001 in satisfaction of some regulatory
administrative requirements and, thus, reduce the burden of compliance for those
organizations that are managing their environmental exposures.

Ultimately, the greatest strides in environmental performance improvement and
sustainability will come as a consequence of millions of organizations --
municipalities, colleges and universities, governmental departments, and
property owners and operators as well as industrial corporations -- identifying and
managing the environmental impacts of their activities, services, and products.

Why Some Implementation Of ISO 9001 Standards Fail?

Some times it is because they have not put in the required effort, others just do not read the requirements of the ISO 9001 standard or misinterpreted its requirements. This is why it is always best to employ a consultant who has been through the process many, many times before. A consultant will guide you through the process avoiding the numerous pitfalls like over-documentation or insufficient coverage of the ISO 9001 Standard.

Would you go for a driving test without having read the highway code? Of course not.

As a Senior lead auditor with the UK’s largest certification body for many years I would estimate that one in ten organisations visited did not have a copy of the appropriate ISO 9001 standard for which they were seeking registration, some had a copy but openly admitted that they had never read it, others had read it, didn’t understand it, and just did what they believed to be in the standard. Many businesses just forget to carry out internal audits or carry out the ISO 9001 standard training of their employees to give them a basic understanding of what ISO 9001 is all about.

When these applicants failed their initial registration audit they seemed shell shocked and could not understand how they could fail. Quite simple, it is rather like turning up for an “A” level exam having not read the syllabus, failed to do any home or course work and expecting to pass. A good consultant will ensure that your business does not fall into any of these traps.

The U.K. British Standards Institute, estimates that 45% of the companies who fail to achieve certification do so because of documentation deficiencies. The ISO 9001 is very specific about what documents have to be produced and which records have to be kept.

The remaining 55% of failures are in-part related to documentation in areas such as policies and procedures for process, inspection, testing and measurement. Employing a consultant would have prevented failure and the additional costs of a full registration body re-assessment.

The ISO 9001 standard is very specific about what documents must be controlled and in general you will find that they fall into the following three areas

Documents which describe the Quality Management System within your organisation

Documents of external origin which you use in the process of producing your product or service such as ISO standards, drawings, specifications etc.

Records which you must keep are generally recorded on forms, in books or in electronic format, all of which must be controlled.

If documentation control is an issue that concerns you then take a look at the Easy ISO 9001 software, it will take care of this for you and much more.

Based on our experience, we believe that ISO 9000 certification will become increasingly important, particularly if companies are to remain competitive in the global economy.

Read more on ISO 9001 Standards at http://www.iso9001store.com

How To Meet ISO 9001 Quality Standards?

In today’s hectic business environment, it is vital that we are all on the same page, right? But how do we know if we meet those standards? Business owners and executives can avoid the uncertainty, and that’s where ISO 9001 certification comes in.

The ISO, or International Organization for Standardization, was established in 1947 to develop international standards for everything from electronics to management systems. Having over 13,000 standards currently in place, ISO has created the auditing and certification process known as ISO 9001. This began the drive toward quality standards.

Companies choose to implement ISO 9001 and get certified because many customers and industries require it. By keeping customers happy, they can increase sales and profitability for their business. And if an area of the company’s program appears to be too bureaucratic and non-value-adding, then it might also be an area for continuous improvement efforts.

Both customers and industries alike use ISO certification as a way to evaluate and audit their suppliers and products. Through an independent verification process, customers can gain assurance of their suppliers’ products. And as a supplier becomes certified, the testing requirement is waved, which saves the company both time and money.

Employed as a “Best Practices” model, ISO 9001 utilizes the philosophy of the “Plan-Do-Check-Act” continuous improvement cycle to achieve requirements. This process approach centers around eight quality management principles used by management as a guide toward improving performance and identifying the main elements needed in a good quality system:

1. Customer Focus

2. Leadership

3. Involvement of People

4. Process Approach

5. Systems Approach to Management

6. Continuous improvement

7. Factual Approach to Decision-Making

8. Mutually Beneficial Supplier Relationship

ISO 9001 policies, procedures and forms can provide employers, managers and employees with a systematic and consistent approach to implementing policies, plans, procedures and work routines. Instead of building their own policies and procedures from scratch, some companies prefer to hire professional writers that have already prepared a set of written policies and procedures to help on the way to certification.

In the certification process, an independent registrar will perform an on-site audit of a company’s operations to verify that it complies with the ISO standard. If the business complies, then that company will be registered as ISO 9001 compliant.

On the way to certification, a business can meet its ISO needs by:

1. Using well-defined processes and procedures to build stable processes

2. Training in the audit and certification process

3. Continuously improving with ISO 9001 standards

With complete procedures manuals for ISO 9001 Quality Management System, required HR procedures, and an ISO training class, a template like an ISO 9001 Quality Manager Procedures Manual Series can help a business on its way to ISO 9001 certification. Sometimes the effort can be very great, but companies typically notice a remarkable difference in efficiency and effectiveness after the first year.

Read more on ISO 9001 Standards at http://www.iso9001store.com

Quality Management System To Improve Business Performance

The intent of the Quality Management Standard is to encourage the adoption of the process approach to manage an organisation.

A process is any activity or set of activities that uses resources to transform inputs to outputs. For organisations to function effectively, they have to identify and manage numerous interrelated and interacting processes. The “Process Approach” is the systematic identification and management of the processes employed within an organisation and particularly the interactions between such processes.

In order to lead and operate an organisation successfully, it is necessary to manage in a systematic and transparent manner. Success can result from implementing and maintaining a management system that is designed to continually improve performance while addressing the needs of all interested parties.

Eight quality management principles that can be used by management in order to lead the organisation towards improved performance are outlined below:

Customer focus

Organisations depend on their customers and therefore should understand current and future customer needs, meet customer requirements and strive to exceed customer expectations.

Leadership

Leaders establish the purpose and direction of the organisation. They should create and maintain the internal environment in which people can become fully involved in achieving the organisation’s objectives.

Involvement of people

People at all levels are the essence of an organisation and their full involvement enables their abilities to be used for the benefit of the organisation.

Process approach

A desired result is achieved more efficiently when activities and related resources are managed as a process.

System approach to management

An organisation’s effectiveness and efficiency in achieving its objectives is attributed to the identifying, understanding and managing interrelated processes.

Continual improvement

Continual improvement of the organisation’s overall performance should be a permanent objective of the organisation.

Factual approach to decision making

Effective decisions are based on the analysis of data and information.

Mutually beneficial supplier relationships

An organisation and its suppliers are interdependent and a mutually beneficial relationship enhances the ability of both to create value.

These eight quality management principles form the basis for the quality management system standards within the ISO 9000 family.

More information on Quality Management, please go to http://www.iso9001store.com