ISO 9001 is a standard that sets out the requirements for a Quality Management System (QMS). It helps businesses and organisation’s to be more efficient and improve customer satisfaction.
A Quality Management System is a way of defining how an organisation can meet the requirements of its customers and other stakeholders affected by its work.
ISO 9001 is based on the idea of continual improvement.
It doesn’t specify what the objectives relating to “quality” or “meeting customer needs” should be, but requires organisation’s to define these objectives themselves and continually improve their processes in order to reach them.
ISO 9001 is suitable for organisation’s of all types, sizes and sectors.
In fact, one of the key improvements of the newly revised ISO 9001:2015 was to make it more applicable and accessible to all types of enterprises.
Smaller companies that do not have staff dedicated to quality can still enjoy the benefits of implementing the standard with ISO having many resources to assist them.
Implementing a Quality Management System will help you:
- Assess the overall context of your organisation to define who is affected by your work and what they expect from you. This will enable you to clearly state your objectives and identify new business opportunities.
- Put your customers first, making sure you consistently meet their needs and enhance their satisfaction. This can lead to repeat custom, new clients and increased business for your organisation.
- Put in place standardised documented processes & procedures for each department within your business.
Benefits:
- Work in a more efficient way as all your processes will be aligned and understood by everyone in the business or organisation. This increases productivity and efficiency, bringing internal costs down.
- Meet the necessary statutory and regulatory requirements.
- Expand into new markets, as some sectors and clients require ISO 9001 before doing business.
- Identify and address the risks associated with your organisation
Should I be certified?
- Certification – when an independent certification body audits your practices against the requirements of the standard – is not a requirement of ISO 9001, but is a way of showing stakeholders that you have implemented the standard properly.
- For some companies, third- party certification may be a requirement. For example, some governments or public bodies may only contract suppliers that have been certified to ISO 9001.
- ISO does not perform certification. For more information about the certification process, see www.iso.org and the publication ISO 9001:2015 – How to use it.
Key tips
- Define your objectives. Why do you want to implement the standard?
- Ensure senior management is on board. It is crucial that everyone is supportive of the initiative and its objectives. The publications ‘Reaping the benefits of ISO 9001 and ISO 9001: Debunking the myths’ may help with this.
- Identify your organisation’s key processes for meeting your objectives and customers’ needs. Within each of these processes, ensure you understand your customers’ requirements and can guarantee that these are met. This will form the basis of your Quality Management System.