ISO 9001 Certification is the most coveted of all the certifications that are out there, and this means that there are more demands now more than ever before as the hallmark’s reputation has skyrocketed due to their being so many fake products and substandard services. For any burgeoning small and medium-sized companies, having your company certified with the ISO 9001 Certification will help generate tremendous business opportunities all around for you as well as create a framework that enables perpetual growth and progress. Here, we will demonstrate the 5 Steps that everyone must take to get their ISO 9001 Certification.
The Preparation
The ISO 9001 is a standard which influences a significant part of your business processes and it is not just limited to quality control. This then requires you to be extremely prudent all of the things that you are going to make; therefore it is recommended that a really qualified person be involved in the changes that are going to be swept in.
You can either hire experienced ISO Consultants who would injectable steroids have the adequate industry experience as well as the insights into the ISO 9001 Standard and its clauses or you can appoint someone as your ISO 9001 Management Representative. The latter has to be trained in the various subtleties of the ISO 9001 Standard and then only should that person be allowed to run the whole certification program. You will also need to inform the employees on how to adapt to the changes that will come in; but before they should also be prepared about how to make the changes. It is imperative to make the employees comfortable.
The Documentation
The documentation of the ISO 9010 Standard is often the most difficult part of the whole Certification process and this is often why a lot of the companies never achieve their ISO Certification. The Certification requires documentation of that caters to all the difficult and arcane clauses of the ISO 9001 Standard and thus it needs to be perfect and seamless.
The new ISO 9001:2015 mandates these are there so that you can be compliant with the standard:
The Scope of the Quality Management System
The Quality Policy
The Quality Objectives
Criteria for Evaluation and Selection of Suppliers
These documents must be distinctive and unique to the policies of your company. It should contain everything from the detailed work instructions, the specifics of your company, and how the operational process works. It must be taken into account that any bureaucratic requirements that could potentially stifle or delay implementation of the plan must be weeded out and it should be a practical documentation.
The Implementation
The implementation of the plan that you have laid out in the documents is the next step in the process sand this you must do very carefully and in steps that are digestible for the current employees. The important thing here is to make sure that the employees are cognizant of all the advantages that are inherent in the ISO 9001 Certification.
To make sure the transition is smooth and bereft of any trouble, you must start the implementation process in the departments where it is very easy to see the advantage immediately. Document Control is one of the easiest ways for you to demonstrate the changes that occur inside the newly prepared management system.
The Internal Auditing
The Auditor is a designation of the person who actually does the final ISO Audit of your company and this is usually given to the professionals who comes ISO Certification bodies. However, your Management Representatives could also be considered for this post and can be called to do the auditing, although they will not be eligible to audit their own work, this would have to be done by someone else. That being said, the first option is the best one and it is also a good rule of thumb to have the auditing start as a test before the actual auditing take place. You can choose the auditor and the certification body based on these factors.
The Certification
For all your efforts to be rewarded, you need to be rewarded with the certificate. For this, you have to be ready for the actual audit, which you can specify to the certification body to come and inspect your management system. Since you have done your internal audits, you would have been prepared, and once the auditor in the capacity of the final auditor, he will ask questions at random, and you can answer them in earnest.
Once you have achieved your ISO 9001 Certification, then it is time for you to market the certification so that it is possible for your attract more investors and customers. The ISO 9001 is a hallmark of quality, and for any small or medium sized company, it is a boon that they can for various purposes. You can have a press release announcing the accolade; you can use the signs on your advertisements and billboards; have the banner be placed outside of your office as an ISO 9001 Certified company, and of course you can use it to gain the positive favor of your employees.
Following these steps will help you get an ISO 9001 Certification quite easily, and it will bring about great changes for your entire organization.
