ISO 9001 Registration Process: What Companies Need to Know Beforehand

Receiving an ISO certification is a way for companies to establish better control over their operation and management of business processes, to improve customer satisfaction, and to enhance their image. Going through the ISO registration process motivates companies to make changes to their management system and improve their business operations further. It’s not just about getting the certification, but also preparing for quality management systems.

The best way to prepare for ISO is to use the standard as a guide. One of the tasks is to develop a quality management system. This is a big challenge for most companies, but with on-going commitment, it can be successful. A quality management system seeks to create policies and objectives to control the company in terms of quality. It is important that top management is fully on-board for the creation and execution of the quality management system as well as for maintaining it.

Part of the registration entails reviewing the documents to determine if the requirements are met. These include the quality manual, quality policies and objectives, and documentation detailing how employees are doing their jobs. In case there are any problems found in the documentation, this will be brought to the attention of management so it can be corrected.

Once the ISO 9001 certification is in place, this means that the quality management system is working and that the company is moving towards meeting the quality goals. The company will encounter fewer problems with failures in product quality or service, and better recognition when things are going wrong and what to do about it. On the other side of the coin, consumers are more likely to trust and conduct business with a company that is ISO-certified and perceive their products and services as being of high quality.

The thing about the ISO 9001 registration process is that a company already benefits during the preparation. They are not only doing it for the certification but for themselves. After getting certification, an annual surveillance is performed for the following two years to check and see if the implementation of the quality system is ongoing. These surveillance audits target specific areas of the quality system. Once a three-year cycle is complete, a full registration is performed again.

Those who want to get ISO-certified should contact certification bodies such as International Standards Authority, Inc., whose certifications ultimately result in long-term benefits for their clients.

Sources:

How to Get ISO 9001 Certified, 5m Solutions

How to pass the ISO 9001 certification test, TechRepublic, June 26, 2012