The International Organization for Standardization, (ISO), is the largest global developer of voluntary International Standards. The standards provide best practices and solutions to almost any type of technology or business. They help companies and organizations improve their performance, while also protecting the environment.
They were created through global consensus. Their standards are intended to remove barriers to international commerce. Some of the most popular standards are ISO 9001 for quality, ISO 14001 for environment and ISO 27001 for information security management.
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ISO 9001 is the internationally recognized Quality Management System Standard (QMS).
It is designed to assist organisations in meeting the needs of customers and other stakeholders. It does this by creating a framework for consistent quality in the delivery of goods and/or service.
The 7 principles of quality management are incorporated into the standard. They include strong customer focus, top management involvement, and a commitment to continual improvement.
These seven quality management principles are:
1 – Customer focus
2 – Leadership
3 – Engagement with people
4 – Process approach
5 – Improvement
6 – Evidence-based Decision Making
7 – Relationship management
The principles are not ranked in order of importance. Each principle’s relative importance may vary from one organization to the next and could change over time.
Why ISO 9001 certification?
Your staff, partners, clients, as well as the outside world, will be able to see objective evidence that ISO 9001 certification is a sign of customer satisfaction.
ISO 9001 has key benefits
Increased revenue: Taking advantage of ISO 9001’s reputation can increase your chances of winning more contracts and tenders. Customers will also be happier and retain you.
Enhance your credibility: It is often necessary to have a quality management system (QMS) based on ISO 9001 when organizations are searching for new suppliers. This is especially true for public sector organisations.
Increased customer satisfaction: By understanding customers’ needs and reducing mistakes, you can increase customer confidence and your ability to provide products and services.
Lower operating costs by following industry best practice and focusing quality.
Improved decision making – You can quickly identify problems and take action to prevent them from happening again.
Improved internal communication can increase employee engagement. It ensures everyone follows the same agenda. Engaging employees in process improvement design makes them happier, more productive.
Process integration can be improved: By looking at the interactions between processes, you can identify efficiency improvements, reduce errors, and save money.
The third principle of ISO 9001 is a culture of continuous improvement. It is a systematic way to identify and take advantage of opportunities to improve.
You can build better relationships with suppliers by using best-practice methods. This will lead to more efficient supply chain and certification will point you to these processes.
Learn more about ISO 9001 certification
It takes planning, dedication and resources to be ISO 9001 certified. QMS, our certification body, recommends a three-step process.
Gap Analysis
The standard required that a consultant visit our offices in order to assess and document our current processes, and then highlight any areas that are not up to the standards.
Implementation
Any necessary changes to existing procedures and processes are made.
Certification
A certified auditor visits our office every year to ensure that all processes are being completed correctly. After they are satisfied, a new certification is issued.
How can you select a certification body for your organization?
UKAS accredited certification bodies can independently audit and certify your organisation to ISO 9001 certification. International Accreditation Forum provides a listing of comparable international bodies.
Evaluate several certification bodies.
You should verify that the certification body is authorized and follows the CASCO standard.
While accreditation is not a requirement, it does provide independent confirmation of competence.
Why is ISO 9001 so crucial?
We have created thousands of hours worth of elearning content for clients, including custom learning experiences and rapid elearning. We create modules that are responsive, easy to use, engaging, and consistent with our clients’ style guidelines. But the quality of the product itself is only half the story. The process governance is another important aspect.
Process governance is our ability to effectively partner with our clients in order to ensure a consistent and transparent development process that can reliably deliver high-quality, on-time e-learning courses within budget.
Since 2002, our ISO 9001 accreditation has been a key component of our process governance. It has been renewed every year. This certification demonstrates our dedication to quality and informs our organisational structure and systems for building, editing, and reviewing content. It also guides our client communication.
We must continue to improve our systems, staff skills, organisational structure, procedures, and processes in order to maintain ISO 9001 accreditation. This will ensure that we achieve success for our clients.