Obtaining ISO 9001 certificate, what are the steps to get ISO 9001 immediately?
How to get ISO 9001 certificate? ISO 9001 guarantees the requirements and guidelines of the quality management system. Obtaining the ISO 9001 certificate is a written document confirming the implementation of the requirements of the ISO 9001 quality management system standard, which is issued by the ISO certification authority to the applicants.
What is the ISO 9001 standard?
The ISO 9001 standard is developed as a reference standard by the International Organization (ISO) and specifies the requirements of the Quality Management System (QMS). Organizations, businesses and all companies, regardless of the type of activity they have, can use this standard to demonstrate the continued ability of a product or service to meet customer requirements and guidelines.
The ISO 9001 standard was published for the first time in 1987 by the ISO International Organization, and the latest edition of this standard is in 2015. Therefore, it can be said that the ISO 9001 standard is the first and most important standard developed by the ISO organization, which is particularly popular among businesses.
Through this article, the technical experts of “Iran Govah Company” inform the applicants for ISO 9001 certification, what is the history of ISO 9001 standard, how is it to obtain ISO 9001 certification, what are the procedures for obtaining ISO 9001 certification, why is it important to obtain ISO 9001 certification What are the benefits of ISO 9001 certification, what are the documents required for ISO 9001 certification and who is the ISO 9001 certification Body?
What is the history of the ISO 9001 standard?
In answer to the question of what is the history of the ISO 9001 standard, the history of the ISO 9001 quality management system can be traced back to the 1950s with the US and UK government departments creating standards for military procurement.
Therefore, the ISO 9001 standard was not published by the ISO organization for the first time, but a number of large organizations such as Ford and the Ministry of Defense published their quality management standards. The Ministry of Defense had the greatest influence on the rapid adoption of the quality management system because it dealt with a large number of different suppliers.
Therefore, in order to do business with government agencies, companies were required to follow various quality assurance guidelines for each contract that was signed, which led the Department of Defense to recognize NATO’s AQAP, MIL-Q, and Def Stan standards.
BSI published the first British Standard in 1971, BS 9000, which was designed specifically for the electronics industry. They also published BS 5179 and BS5750, the first specific quality management system standard applicable to entire industries, published in 1979 by the British Standards Institution.
Based on the success of BS5750 to formulate the quality management system standard, the ISO 9001 standard was developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to expand the scope of quality. Then the text of the ISO 9001 standard was approved by the ISO committee members and finally approved. The ISO organization first published the ISO 9000 standard in 1987.
This standard is periodically reviewed by the ISO Technical Committee every 5 to 8 years to ensure that it is relevant to the demands of global trade and to demonstrate its continuous improvement cycle.
The ISO 9001 standard is part of the quality management system (QMS) family, the ISO 9000 standard series includes the following.
- ISO 9000:2015 Quality Management System – Basics and Vocabulary
- ISO 9001:2015 Quality management system – Requirements
- ISO 9004:2018 Quality management system – Management for the sustainable success of an organization (continuous improvement)
The changes in the text editing of ISO 9001 standard during the last year are as follows.
Changes from 1987 to 1994
ISO 9001:1987 had a compact structure with twenty requirements, but it focused on compliance with procedures and the big picture of creating a high quality process was somewhat lost. ISO 9001:1994 had similar problems in enforcing compliance. This meant that organizations struggled under the pressure of rules and regulations and piled on burdensome guidelines that often hindered their quality management system processes rather than helping them.
Changes from 1994 to 2000
In 2000, the ISO organization made the biggest changes in the text of the ISO 9001 standard guidelines. With the change from 1994 to 2000, the ISO organization shifted the focus of this standard from documenting and creating a QMS manual to implementing a QMS and helping organizations move forward.
The nine key principles established in the 2000 edition are as follows.
- Focus on the customer
- Effective leadership
- Engaging people at all levels of the company
- A process-based approach to management
- Seeking continuous improvement
- Decision making based on evidence and data
- Focus on a mutually beneficial relationship between the supplier and Customer
- Traceable compatibility
These nine principles give companies much more freedom to create QMSs that fit their business while meeting high quality standards.
Changes from 2000 to 2008
The next update of the ISO 9001 standard is from 2008. ISO 9001:2008 did not include major changes like the last edition. The organization sought to clarify the requirements of the latest ISO and improve the way it aligns with other standards, such as ISO 14001 (Environmental Management System).
Changes from 2008 to 2015
The latest edition, ISO 9001:2015, was launched to ensure that the ISO organization reflects the best and latest developments in QMS good practice. Made changes to ensure easier integration with other ISO standards and management systems, with fewer mandates allowing your business to create a QMS that suits you.
What is ISO 9001 certification?
ISO 9001 certification focuses on the implementation and maintenance of a quality management system (QMS) and specifies the requirements that organizations, companies and businesses must meet to obtain ISO 9001 certification.
Organizations receiving ISO 9001 certification assures customers that the products and services offered continuously meet their needs and that our company is constantly improving.
ISO 9001 certification can be granted to any organization, regardless of size or industry. Many large companies require their suppliers to have ISO 9001 certification.
What are the necessary documents to get ISO 9001 certificate?
To obtain ISO 9001 certification, a company or organization must provide documentation that documents its internal processes, procedures, and standards. These documents, which are related to the implementation of the quality management system, determine that a company is able to provide quality products and services continuously.
But what are the requirements and documents for obtaining the ISO 9001 certificate? All requirements of ISO 9001 are set by ISO organization in ten clauses as follows.
- Document the activity of your organization
- Documentation related to the identification of risks and opportunities
- Personnel training documents
- Documentation related to the services you provide to customers
- Document records of customer communications
- Record negative feedback received by partners or customers
- Record customer satisfaction measurements
- Set up your internal audit program
- Document the results of internal audits
- Document records of corrective actions
- Documents related to the storage location of the organization’s equipment
- Specify the document and record control procedure
- Specify documentation related to production steps or service delivery steps
What are the procedures for obtaining ISO 9001 certification?
The procedures for obtaining ISO certification are as follows:
quality system
The first document required to obtain ISO 9001 certification is a quality manual that contains all the details related to the organization’s structure. These documents should also be consistent with the relevant management systems and explain how the objectives are met while maintaining the basic quality.
Documents related to the implementation of the quality management system
The documentation of the implementation of the requirements of the quality management system is your work process, which must be declared in a documented form. Refer to the documents required for ISO 9001 certification.
Instructions for describing the work process
A work order is a detailed document that mentions all the details of various activities carried out in an organization. In fact, it mentions even the smallest steps that help to achieve the desired result.
Internal audit records and forms
After creating the documentation, you should do the internal audit stage. Internal audit helps organizations to have a smoother path to ISO 9001 certification. You find non-compliance with ISO 9001 standard by conducting internal audit and define corrective action.
External audit
After creating all the documents, notify the ISO 9001 certification authority and announce that you are ready for an audit. They audit you and issue ISO 9001 certification if all work processes conform to ISO 9001 standard.
Record keeping
ISO 9001 certification is not the end of your journey. You should be diligent in maintaining the records you have created because next year is the time for your maintenance audit to renew your ISO 9001 certification. You need all the ISO 9001 documents to renew your ISO 9001 certificate.
Who is the ISO 9001 certification authority?
Some ISO 9001 certification bodies have received ISO 9001 certification under the accreditation of the IAF Accreditation Association. You can obtain ISO 9001 through these companies. Please note that if the ISO issuing authority is accredited by the IAF, the issued ISO 9001 certificate must be able to be queried on the iafcertsearch.org website.
How much does it cost to obtain an ISO 9001 certificate?
The cost of obtaining the ISO 9001 certificate depends on the level of accreditation of the ISO issuing authority, the size or smallness of the applicant organization, the number of personnel of the organization, the type of activity of the organization and finally the number of sites of the applicant organization.
If the ISO 9001 issuing authority operates under the accreditation of the IAF Association, the cost of obtaining the ISO 9001 certificate is about $899. The duration of obtaining the ISO 9001 certificate from these companies is about three working weeks.
What are the benefits of ISO 9001 certification?
The most important reason for obtaining the ISO 9001 certificate is to guarantee the quality management system of companies and organizations. By receiving ISO 9001, companies show their organization’s commitment to customer satisfaction, providing services or producing goods. Businesses gain countless advantages by obtaining ISO certification, for more information.
The 10 advantages of obtaining ISO 9001 certification for companies are as follows:
Having ISO 9001 certification can greatly help a business to secure partnerships with the public and private sectors, thereby improving your business. In public sector tenders, providing ISO 9001 certification is a strong signal that a business is well run and reputable, eliminating the need for due diligence. Similarly, many private sector organizations have required ISO 9001 certification for their suppliers.
Customer satisfaction
One of the most important aspects of the ISO 9001 standard is tracking customer satisfaction and responding to issues. Companies seeking ISO 9001 certification prove that they take this issue seriously.
Reduce problems
ISO 9001 certified businesses are more prepared to deal with the unexpected. For example, if a product leaves the production line without defined quality requirements, there will be processes in place to ensure that the problem is effectively addressed and will not reoccur.
Better management
Proper analysis and reporting is a key factor in running a business well. The ISO 9001 standard helps businesses do this right.
Increasing stability in business
Implementing standard required practices provides consistency that benefits everyone, including customers. This ensures that processes within a business are common and understandable. It helps employees to be more clear on the tasks involved instead of spending time thinking about what to do or even if the solution is right.
Increase employee satisfaction
Employees have more job satisfaction and feel more secure about their jobs in businesses where processes are well defined and clearly managed.
lower cost
The benefits of having ISO 9001 certification and maintaining the requirements of the Quality Management System (QMS) standard prevent rework, less waste and ultimately lower costs for applicants.
Simple work process
The structure of the instructions and requirements of the ISO 9001 standard is such that it avoids unnecessary paperwork and makes work processes easier. The inherent order of the ISO 9001 standard is that the business process should be simplified.
Continuous improvement
A good quality management system (QMS) provides a solid foundation for improvements to be made year after year.
more profit
The total of the ten advantages stated above are the most beneficial for companies that have ISO 9001 certification.
