Understanding ISO 9001 Certification
ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization. ISO is an official governing body for quality management systems standards across the globe. ISO 9001 is open to any business in any industry, from small to large scale. Subscribing to an ISO9001 management system shows your clients that you follow a set of standards to maintain quality of your products and services.
Today, it is an expectation that companies must be ISO 9001 certified to trade their products and services in some industries. Being an internationally recognized standard helps these businesses compete in a global economy. The most common and large-scale industry which has to follow ISO 9001 standards is the construction industry.
ISO9001 is the most widely recognized standard used by hundreds of thousands of businesses globally. Aside from increasing your business performance, it shows a universal understanding of how your business interacts with other certified organizations.
Benefits of ISO 9001 Certification for Small Businesses
There are many benefits if you are ISO 9001 certified for your small business:
- Increases business opportunities with potential clients
- Many large-scale companies prefer doing business with ISO-certified small companies
- Increases the revenue of the company
- Helps build healthy relationships with new and repeat customers
- Enhances company reputation globally
- Improves product/service quality and customer satisfaction
- Facilitates continuous improvements in the company
- Can lead to increased sales in a short time
- Helps attract talented employees
- Saves money by streamlining and improving processes
- Increases business turnover and trust
Why is Certification Necessary?
There are many benefits of getting registered to ISO 9001. They have a defined set of rules for the Quality Management System (QMS). Customers always want better and improved products and services.
For example, if you have a food company and sell your products in different areas and countries, you must have ISO 9001 certification to sell your products internationally. Because it is now a worldwide standard, people tend to trust companies that are ISO 9001 certified. Consumers prefer products that meet health and safety requirements.
Requirements for ISO 9001 Certification
There are several requirements to get your company or organization ISO 9001 certified. The requirements are understandable and can be implemented systematically:
- Clearly define every product and service scope to customers and stakeholders
- Establish healthy relationships with valued customers
- Welcome interested parties and consider their needs
- Leadership must conduct regular meetings with staff and partners
- Ensure QMS is applied to all products
- Assign clear responsibilities to organization members
- Implement proper checks and balances on all matters
- Identify internal and external issues that may affect goals
- Verify customer requirements are properly established
How to Improve Your Quality Management System
Organizations should implement these practices to enhance their QMS:
- Develop clear plans for objectives and requirements
- Conduct regular meetings with stakeholders
- Evaluate planned actions to check results
- Create proper schedules to implement objectives
- Establish a support system with available resources
- Ensure all members have necessary information
- Learn from previous experiences to improve services
- Implement measuring and monitoring methods
- Develop evaluation systems for desired results
- Perform regular internal audits of the QMS
- Conduct surveys to review QMS alignment with strategy
- Make continuous improvement a mandatory process
How to Get ISO 9001 Certified
ISO 9001 certification applies to organizations, not individuals. Follow these steps to achieve certification:
- Learn about ISO 9001 requirements
- Perform a gap analysis of current systems
- Develop a comprehensive project plan
- Train your employees effectively
- Document your management system
- Implement the ISO 9001 QMS
- Perform internal audits
- Prepare for the certification audit
- Monitor and continually improve your QMS
After following these steps, a Certification Body will audit your systems. If successful, you’ll be ISO 9001 certified for three years, after which you can renew your certification.
Implementing QMS requires strategic decision-making to improve services and products. By adhering to these standards, companies can better meet customer requirements and operate more efficiently and effectively.
