Certifications solve certain purposes and organizations seek them to impart some value to their unit. ISO 9001 increases productivity of the firm and consequently there is reduction in costs. The most important aspect that is accomplished by International Organization for Standardization is the Quality Management System. Creation and management of different products and services are easily incorporated by achieving certification.

This kind of salutation by International Standards demands maintaining the productivity value. Every procedure of your organization will be groomed through this remarkable achievement and they all will be streamlined to deliver optimum output to customers.

Activities like finding loopholes and ineffective areas along with rectification are easily entertained by using required changes.
All this is possible due to outcomes of ISO 9001. There are attributes such as Senior Management Commitment, design process, supplier vetting, internal audits, testing and inspection that governs overall performance of every organization. ISO encompasses these dimensions so that you can impress your potential client with expert product supply and supporting services.

The approach followed by certified organizations is well planned and structured so that every plan is implemented in a thorough and recognizable way. It opens up the market in broad way since it supports your integrity with proof.  In order to remain competitive in the business arena, ISO 9001 certification has become a must for accomplishing the task with other companies.

Any major company seeking services offered by you will look for this certification as it makes excellent impression. Moreover, it adds brand value to your organization. This allows you to project a systematic, continuous and proactive approach of your firm to the world by assuring high productivity and efficiency. Becoming the integral part of certification assures that your organization strives for regular improvement and maintains the reputation with superior quality and integrated services. ISO 9001 adds recognition to your firm and grooms your organization for new and refreshing challenges.

ISO 9001 is one of the nuclear standards of the family of ISO 9000, which was put forward by International Organization for Standardization in 1994, with the purpose of helping various organizations to succeed through improving customers’ satisfaction and enthusiasm of the staff. At present, more than 160 countries and 750 thousands of organizations are using this frame.

What kind of organizations ISO 9001 is appropriate for?

No matter small or big, what department it belongs to, any organization that has a desire to improve its management can use the quality management system of ISO 9001. But if an organization wants to get the maximum Investment returns, it should implement the system in the whole organization, rather than in special locations, or a certain department. Furthermore, using a combination of ISO 9001 and other system standards, such as OHSAS 18001 can bring more efficient effect.

Quality management principles

The main principles include:

An organization depends on its customers. Therefore, it should know its customers’ needs, and try to satisfy their requirements.

Leaders should have the ability of creating and maintaining an internal environment that keep the staff active in participating.

Other principles are all the people involved, process method, system method of process, Decision-making method based on facts, and mutual benefit relationship with the supplier.

The authentication process

First, the organization should hand in the completed certification application form and corresponding materials to the authentication institution. The authentication institution will make preliminary examination. If the requirements are met, the institution will release acceptance notice. After getting authentication fee from the applicant, the institution will give a notice of on-site inspection. The examination team of the institution will compose audit reports according to the application materials and inspection result, and submit them to technical panel for review. The authentication center collects the examination opinions, and makes a summary for the general manager. If everything goes well, the authentication center will issue authentication certificate to the organization.

Thousands of companies all over the world have obtained ISO 9001 certification with the common objective of implementing good management practices and bringing up their organization to the world class levels. These companies are from various backgrounds and all have realized their own unique benefits made possible with help of ISO 9001.

The most important benefit expected by implementing ISO 9001 is the improvements obtained in the consistency in the outputs made possible by clearly defined and documented procedures and processes. It helps the companies to assess the customer expectations regarding the quality parameters. This will greatly enhance the acceptability of products and give increased acceptance in the market. The companies that require working with vendors for outsourcing many of the components and services find that clearly defined procedures offer better coordination with these vendors.

One of the major factors determining the growth of the companies is the consistent quality of the products. ISO 9001 makes it possible to ensure that the quality is constantly monitored. It is of utmost importance for the companies planning for growth as the quality can be compromised as quantity increases. Only way to avoid this is through proper procedures laid in advance to keep track of quality. ISO 9001 standardization is the best means of ensuring this.

The procedures laid out for quality monitoring, ensure that the defects are detected in the early stages and this reduces the chances of compounding effects of defective components or systems. This reduces the losses due to rejections at final stages and moreover avoids the possibility of defects being observed by the customers causing greater financial losses and loss of reputation.

The documented procedures make it easy for the new employees to grasp the requirements and this reduces the cost of training and makes the system to work consistently independent of few experienced employees.

All these result in increased market share as the company will be able to offer the products and services that are reliable and cost effective.

ISO 9000 is designed to help stakeholders meet their customers need ISO 9000 family is a system of quality management system that is offered by ISO. It deals with fundamentals of quality of management systems. ISO name come from the Greek word isos, which means equal. More than one million organizations are certified with ISO 9001 worldwide making ISO 9001among the most used tools of management in the world.

DO STANDARDS MATTER?
We tend to take for granted that products t and services meet our standards, however when they don’t and are of poor quality then we notice. If systems, products and machinery meet good standards it’s because they have a set standard.  Standards matter because they ensure quality of services and products, safety, reliability, environmental friendliness, and interchangeability at economical costs.
Standards facilitate fair trade between countries, they make supply, manufacturing and development of services and products cleaner, efficient and safer, spread innovations, help in safeguarding consumers from substandard services and products and provide solutions to problems.
Standards benefit businesses because suppliers offer products and services that have meet international specifications. They help technological innovators to develop marketable and manufactured products. Customers are given a wide choice; standards also help them because they benefit from completion therefore getting goods and services at a lower price.
Conformity of services and goods to standards gives consumers assurance that the products are reliable, quality and safe.
They help developing countries know the standards services and goods are supposed to meet and where to invest their resources.
International standards contribute to quality of life for people in general because they ensure that products are of a certain standard.
ISO 14001 has generic requirements for environmental systems while ISO 9001 is for quality management. ISO 9001 is the only one of the ISO 9000 that can be used for conformity assessment purposes. The ISO does not certify organizations itself it has accreditation bodies that have been authorized in different countries for authorization of certification bodies the two bodies charge fees for services rendered.
Organizations wishing to apply are assessed based on their functions, where they are located, services and processes, a list of problems if any is brought to the knowledge of the management, if there is none or they produce a good improvement plan showing how the problems will be dealt with they are issued with an ISO 9001 certificate. ISO certificates are rewarded at intervals e.g. once every two years depending on the certification body.

Every organization in this world seeks improvement, or we can better say that they want quality in their procedures and systems. ISO 9001 is the universally accredited standard for the quality management in businesses. It is applicable to the processes that initiate and control the services and products that an institution or organization supplies.

It suggests the ways to control the day to day activities in a systematic manner to make sure that the expectations and needs of customers and other stakeholders are met. It is generally designed and is intended to be applicable to virtually any service or product, no matter the said service or product is created in whatever country by whatever process. ISO 9001 is an important member of the ISO 9000 family.
There are several benefits linked to the implementation of ISO 9001 within an organization. Employees will be highly motivated after its implementation as ISO 9001 clearly defines their roles and key responsibilities. After ISO 9001′s implementation, the service or product deficiencies will be clearly highlighted eventually helping an organization to save remarkable cost. From ISO 9001, improvements can be established, resulting in fewer wastes, incorrect or precluded work and less objections. Customers will observe that the orders are now met reliably, with correct requirement and well within time.
ISO 9001 is applicable to any kind of organization regardless of the size or strength of any particular company. But the companies who are able to get most out of it are those which implement the standard throughout the organization and not just in one particular department or area. In addition to this, the ISO 9001 system is widely compatible with other international management standards such as ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 so they can be integrated together seamlessly.

Till now ISO 9001 is the most established quality framework, currently implemented in approximately 1064000 organizations worldwide providing them the aid required to not only set their quality management systems but is also supporting their management systems in general.

ISO 9001 is an internationally recognized standard for business quality management. It is applied in the control of products and services in organizations’ supply. It uses systematic control to ensure that the customers’ needs are satisfactorily met. It is made in a manner that it can be used in almost any product and services regardless of the process.

To get an ISO 9001 registration certificate, the organization must meet all the requirements. Then a third party should take an external audit on the organization. The outcomes of the audit should then be scrutinized by the chosen certification body. This entails authenticating whether the organization’s management targets are achievable and measurable.

The scrutiny also looks at the organization’s products and services quality. After the scrutiny, an on-site audit is conducted to ensure that the organization meets all the requirements. If the certification body is satisfied that the requirements are met, then a certificate of registration to ISO 9001 is issued to the organization.
Before applying for an ISO 9001 certificate, the organization should formulate quality objectives and ensure they are compatible with the business’s objectives. The organization should also document a quality policy describing how it plans to meet the ISO 9001 requirements. The policy should be communicated to the entire organization’s workforce. This would ensure that the stated objectives as per the quality policy are prioritized so that they can be adequately met. The organization should also set and document the management system boundaries. Once all these requirements are put in place and successfully implemented, then an internal audit should be conducted to unsure that everything is in order.
Employees of the organizations which have the ISO 9001 certification are motivated because their responsibilities and key roles are clearly defined. The organization is also able to give quality services and produce quality goods. Consequently it becomes competitive in the market.

Did you ever proofread a document several times only to have someone come along and still find errors? You wonder “how the heck did I miss that”? Simple! You became so “close” to the document that only a fresh set of eyes could see what had been overlooked. A Pre-Assessment Audit is that “fresh set of eyes”.

A Pre-Assessment Audit is sort of a “mock, or practice, audit”. Structured much like the actual Certification Audit, the Pre-Assessment Audit will take a sampling of the Quality Management System and check it’s conformance with the standard being certified to. To get the most of the sampling, the auditor will rely on not only their knowledge of the standard, but also their experience in audits conducted at similar companies, and where issues are most commonly found.

The Pre-Assessment Audit gives clients the opportunity to make necessary changes, improve areas of weakness, or implement training, which helps to minimize the possibility of receiving a non-conformance, or even a complete stoppage during the Certification Audit. In addition, the Pre-Assessment Audit is one that is shared only between ISA Registrar and the client. It is intended as a resource to help make that final step towards readiness for the Registration Audit.

Another advantage of the Pre-Assessment Audit is the opportunity to interact with the Auditor who will be conducting your Certification Audit! We do our best to assure that the auditor we send for the Pre-Assessment Audit is either the Lead Auditor or an Audit Team Member who will also be part of the Certification Audit. The consistency and relationship this offers makes for a stress free and positive experience each time.

Still have questions about the Pre-Assessment Audit, or would like to know some of the other advantages it offers, then please give us a call or send us an email. You may also comment this Blog and we will respond directly.

ISA is pleased to announce that we received confirmation today from ANAB that our accreditation has been granted.

We are among the first Registrars to hold accreditation to AS9100C and AS9120A as well as having Auditors certified to perform audits to these new standards.

Is your company ready for AS9100 Rev. C or AS9120 Rev. A?  Still thinking about it?  Not Sure?  Then please give us a call at 951-736-0035 or click on the request for a quotation to your right.

Also, check out our video on You Tube regarding the AS9100 B to AS9100C and AS9120 to AS9120A Transition!

AS9100C Transition – Are You Ready?

Depending on where in the audit cycle your company is, the required certification date to AS9100 Rev. C may well be over a year away however, for some, the certification date may come as early as July1, 2011.

Are You Ready?

For a lot of companies out there, the answer is not without hesitation.  Whether your organization thinks they’re ready, or not really sure where to begin, ISA would like to share our knowledge with you!ISA is pleased to announce that a handful of our auditors were among the first to take the AS9100C Certification Course and are now certified to conduct AS9100 audits.  So!, while we work on the final preparations to roll out our AS9100 Rev. C Audit and Certification Services, ISA has prepared a video presentation for the AS9100B to AS9100C Transition.

In order to view this presentation, you must already be a client of ISA  or has signed up for a no-obligation quotation.  An email was sent to everyone this afternoon with a link to this exclusive video presentation.

 Special Resource Alert: Already an ISA Client? 

Another email will follow shortly with instructions on how to access a special presentation we’ve prepared in which the changes and additions between AS9100 Rev. B and AS9100 Rev. C are highlighted in a line by line format.

If you don’t receive an email, please contact us directly.  Need to request a free, no-obligation quote, please fill out our form here on the website by clicking where you see “Request for a Free Quote” to the right.

After you view the presentation(s),  we would appreciate your leaving feedback for us!  Also, if you have any questions, please feel free to give us a call!  We would be happy to assist you. 

Enjoy!

Hello and Welcome to ISA’s Blog!

We created this blog as a way to communicate information on topics of interest related to our certification services.  Although our blog is available to everyone who visits our site, when you become a client, you will have access to special resources not available to anyone else!

Certification is serious business!  Keeping that in mind, we are still going to try to have a little fun once in a while.  So we hope you will check back with us or better yet, why not subscribe to our blog?  We will be publishing regular updates, but not too many unless important changes to the standards occur, then you might get a few extra posts here and there.

Our blog will be open for comments and we welcome your feedback.  As we are not permitted to provide consulting, this would be a great place to share with others on how you addressed a situation that relates to the subject of that blog.  We hope to build a community where we can all share our knowledge and learn from each other too!

Again, we’d like to welcome you to our blog and hope you will find it useful and enjoyable!