For more information about ISO 9001 visit https://consulting.itgonline.com/iso-consulting/iso-9001-consulting/
Contents
Introduction to ISO 9000 and ISO 9001 Certification
The ISO 9000 Standards series is one the most commonly applied Quality Management Certification within industry, ranging from manufacturing to Federal contracting.
The ISO 9000 family of standards is a series of guidance material specifically focused on assisting organizations on the implementation and certification of a general quality management system. The ISO 9000 Standards series includes the following guidance:
- ISO 9000 Quality Management Systems – Fundamentals and Vocabulary: Overview of basic quality terminology and vocabulary, as well as the explanation of strategic principles for the development and implementation of quality management systems
- ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems Requirements: Specific requirements for use by an organization in the implementation and operation a quality management system to meet customer and regulatory requirements
- ISO 9004 Quality Management Systems – Guidelines for Performance Improvements: Additional guidance on quality management systems, beyond the ISO 9001 requirements that is specifically focused on the continual improvement of performance of an organization
ISO 9001:2015 in the Global Workplace
Over 1,000,000 companies across the world have incorporated ISO 9001 guidance into the development of their quality approach and business practices. ISO 9001’s global popularity can be explained by a variety of reasons, including that it supports:
- A framework for management to establish and measure common objectives;
- Defining of an organization’s functional and operational capability;
- Increased focus on Customer Satisfaction; and
- Demonstration of Quality Assurance and Quality Control.
Why ISO 9001?
ISO 9001 has continued to gain popularity because of the flexibility of the standard’s Quality Management System guidelines that are applied to virtually every industry, business model and company. Multiple studies have shown that companies that implement ISO 9001 tend to outperform similar organizations, which have not implemented an ISO 9001 based quality management system. The performance difference is apparent in many ways, such as:
- Reduced error rates in the delivery of goods or services,
- Improved return on business assets,
- Improved customer satisfaction, and
- Increased marketability.
ISO 9001:2015 Implementation Requirements
An organization ultimately needs to understand the ISO 9001:2015 requirements and apply the principles to the way operations are performed.
ISO 9001:2015 is comprised of seven major sections of guidance that must be implemented by a company:
| Section Number | Expectations | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | ISO Scope, References, Terms | General introduction notes to the standard |
| 4 | Context of the Organization | Determining the scope of an organization’s Quality Management System (QMS) Plan and Implement QMS |
| 5 | Leadership | Leadership Commitment Quality Policy Customer Focus |
| 6 | Planning | Quality Risk Management Quality Objectives Change Management |
| 7 | Support | Resource Management Monitor and Measure Maintain Organizational Knowledge Communication Document Management |
| 8 | Operation | Operational Planning and Control Planning and requirements for product/service Production and Service |
| 9 | Performance Evaluation | Customer Satisfaction Analysis of Performance Internal Audit |
| 10 | Improvement | Corrective Action Continual Improvement |
ISO Objectives and Methodology
The objectives of ISO 9001:2015 requirements are to provide a methodology on how an organization implements and operates a Quality Management System. The standard is written in a way that allows the principles to be applied to any organization, with attention to the development of Strategic Quality Objectives and Support to an organization’s operational and customer commitment.
An ISO 9001:2015 registration, or commonly referred to as a certification, is a method in which a company can verify that they have successfully implemented the ISO Standard Requirements.
After establishing a quality approach and performing reviews, a company may then employ an independent auditing company to review their processes and ensure that the company is adhering to both their processes and ISO 9001:2015 requirements.
At the end of the assessment, the company is presented a Certificate of ISO 9001:2015 registration.
Challenges of ISO 9001 Certification
A common challenge that many organizations face is that ISO 9001:2015 contains generic guidance on the application of a quality management system. When an organization begins to apply the standard to their operations, unnecessary or complicated solutions are created for simple challenges.
By over engineering the standard to your operations, organizations expend resources and time, as well as have a less favorable opinion of the benefits of implementing ISO 9001.
Since each organization will have a different interpretation of the ISO 9001 requirements and clauses, many organizations choose to enlist the support of a consultant to help.
In doing so, ITG’s experienced consultants can:.
- Reduce the timeframe for implementation;
- Minimize the costs associated with implementation and maintenance of requirements;
- Transform existing practices to meet requirements and minimize impact to the organization’s operations;
- Instruct staff on expectations of the standard; and
- Ensure successful achievement of certification.
Flexible Solutions to Meet Your Budget
ITG is here to help; we offer a catalog of services that are customized to fit your budget, the experience of your team, availability of resources, and time constraints of your project. ITG believes in a work-share approach that allows you to determine how much or how little support needed to achieve your objectives.
ITG provides flexible solutions—from complete system development to company specific augmentation—providing valuable insight, advice, and troubleshooting along the way. Our goal is to ensure that you understand your system, support you in any way possible, and leave you with the tools to manage your system after implementation. Our goal is to understand your needs and provide you with the services that will meet your organizational goals, budget and timeframe.
The basic tenets of “the ITG Advantage”, are that we:
- Believe in what we do, comply with the standards we promote, and improve every day;
- Are a flexible business that understands the cost of the commitment and work to keep investment and retention costs reasonable;
- Invest in training and tools to keep our techniques current;
- Strive to understand your needs and create solutions that are functional and effective;
- Adapt to what you need to ensure success;
- Create relationships of mutual benefit that are based on customer satisfaction; and
- Focus on making your system user-friendly rather than compliance-driven.
Please contact us today to discover how we can help you achieve success. For more information about ISO 9001 visit https://consulting.itgonline.com/iso-consulting/iso-9001-consulting/