ISO 9001 - Quality Management Standard

ISO 9001 - What is it?

ISO 9001 is the internationally recognised standard for the quality management of businesses. It

 applies to the processes that create and control the products and services an organisation
supplies
 prescribes systematic control of activities to ensure that the needs and expectations of
customers are met
 is designed and intended to apply to virtually any product or service, made by any
process anywhere in the world

ISO 9001 is one of the standards in the ISO 9000 family.

The benefits of implementing ISO 9001

Implementing a Quality Management System will motivate staff by defining their key roles and
responsibilities. Gain ISO 9001 certification by completing our Free Quote form. Cost savings
can be made through improved efficiency and productivity, as product or service deficiencies
will be highlighted. From this, improvements can be developed, resulting in less waste,
inappropriate or rejected work and fewer complaints. Customers will notice that orders are met
consistently, on time and to the correct specification. This can open up the market place to
increased opportunities.

Why seek certification to ISO 9001?

 Registration to ISO 9001 by an accredited certification body shows committed to quality,
customers, and a willingness to work towards improving efficiency.
 It demonstrates the existence of an effective quality management system that satisfies the
rigours of an independent, external audit.
 An ISO 9001 certificate enhances company image in the eyes of customers, employees
and shareholders alike.
 It also gives a competitive edge to an organisation's marketing.

How do you start to implement ISO 9001? What is involved?

 Identify the requirements of ISO 9001 and how they apply to the business involved.
 Establish quality objectives and how they fit in to the operation of the business.
 Produce a documented quality policy indicating how these requirements are satisfied.
 Communicate them throughout the organisation.
 Evaluate the quality policy, its stated objectives and then prioritise requirements to ensure
they are met.
  Identify the boundaries of the management system and produce documented procedures
as required.
 Ensure these procedures are suitable and adhered to.
 Once developed, internal audits are needed to ensure the system carries on working.

Assessment to ISO 9001

Once all the requirements of ISO 9001 have been met, it is time for an external audit. This
should be carried out by a third party, accredited certification body. In the UK, the body should
be accredited by UKAS (look for the ‘crown and tick’ logo). The chosen certification body will
review the quality manuals and procedures. This process involves looking at the company’s
evaluation of quality and ascertains if targets set for the management programme are measurable
and achievable. This is followed at a later date by a full on-site audit to ensure that working
practices observe the procedures and stated objectives and that appropriate records are kept.

After a successful audit, a certificate of registration to ISO 9001 will be issued. There will then
be surveillance visits (usually once or twice a year) to ensure that the system continues to work.
This is covered in more detail in ISOQAR’s ‘Audit Procedure’ information sheet.

Why choose ISOQAR for your audit?

ISOQAR has an enviable record for customer satisfaction for its certification services. A friendly
approach and a dislike of bureaucracy has led to unprecedented growth through referrals from
contented clients. ISOQAR only employs auditors that have empathy with this approach. They
are also carefully allocated by their experience in the industry they are auditing. This results in a
practical, meaningful audit, carried out in an air of mutual understanding. ISOQAR firmly
believes that its audits should benefit the organisation that requests it, not be an intellectual
exercise to ‘please’ the auditor.

What is the cost of an audit to ISO 9001?

Unlike a majority of its competitors, ISOQAR produces a guidance price list based on company
size. For a copy please get in touch.

For a fixed, written quotation however, we require a few more details. These can be submitted to
ISOQAR via a short questionnaire or alternatively contact ISOQAR for more details. Quotations
are provided without any obligation. An information pack about ISOQAR's certification services
can also be requested by clicking here - or calling us.

Where to obtain further information or help

The actual standard can be obtained from The Stationery Office. Visiting tsoshop.co.uk is the
easiest way. Try searching for ISO 9001 requirements to reduce the quantity of search results
youll get from ISO 9001 alone.

The Chartered Quality Institute operates a 'Quality Information Service' on 020 7245 6669.
Alternatively, go to thecqi.org

An organisation in Canada has translated ISO 9001 into plain English (in fact, American
English!). Although it is their own interpretation of the standard, it certainly makes for simplified
reading if you are new to the subject. Go to praxiom.com

A document named ISO 9004 (obtainable from The Stationery Office) provides practical
guidance and examples of how to interpret the requirements of ISO 9001. It also includes all the
requirements of ISO 9001, so you don't need to buy both.

If you prefer to ‘go it alone’, Croner’s Quality Manager is a one stop reference manual for
developing management systems. It contains model systems and covers quality, environmental
and health and safety. Visit croner.net.

ISOQAR provides a comprehensive range of Training Courses relevant to the standards we offer.
These range form awareness about the standards to knowledge about how to create an
appropriate management system. Full and current information can be viewed at
isoqar.com/training.

Additionally, we have set up a technical team that is available to help with any queries you may
have. Please Email Us or call us on 0161 865 3699 so that one of our team can discuss a variety
of solutions that are available to you.

We are just one click or call away from all the guidance you need.

ISOQAR India
For any details on the Certification Process, Certified Clients, Suspended & De-registered
Clients, Appeals & Complaints Process , Policies on Confidentiality and lmpartiality please
contact us.
 To e-mail ISOQAR - India - click here

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ISO 9001 - A Brief History and Overview
ISO 9001 has evolved considerably since its inception, and is now much more applicable to a
broader range of business types than was the case up until a few years ago.

BS5750, as it was originally known, arose out of production line style manufacturing, this being
the predominant industry in the UK at that time. This emphasis however caused many problems
with its use and interpretation when endeavouring to apply it to the service sector type businesses
that have proliferated since the 80s.

In 1987 the BS5750 name was dropped in favour of the international standard, known since by
its generic convention ISO9000, and the use of The Standard then grew throughout many other
industrialised countries as well as within the UK. A significant reason for the rise in registrations
in the UK was due to increasing demands by governmental type organisations and civil project
contractors that their suppliers were ISO9000 registered. This was intended to guarantee quality,
however this did not always happen, as The Standard did not really encourage business
improvement as such, and even more seriously, did not say much about customer service, rather
it was more a means of controlling conformance as well as the presumed nonconformities.

It became commonplace for organisations to focus so much on the ISO 9000 requirements
themselves that they missed the point about satisfying their customers and improving the quality
of their products or services. In some cases it seemed to be more about satisfying the external
assessors or auditors. It was not unusual for organizations to simply patch over weaknesses in
their ISO 9000 Quality Systems prior to the annual visit by the assessors, and in any event, the
ISO 9000 QMS was often seen as separate from the real day to day business.

Fortunately many of the earlier criticisms of The Standard were addressed in the Y2000 update,
which moved away from just managing conformance, and now covers many of the wider issues
concerned with managing a business, as well as laying greater emphasis on the key areas of
customer focus, people involvement, and importantly, continuous improvement.

A very recent update to the Standard was released in late 2008 and the now current version to
which organisations will be assessed is ISO 9001:2008, however the changes made in this
version are very minor and do not significantly affect the actual requirements; the changes being
mostly to clarification notes.

There are in fact a range of standards within the ISO 9000 family, and one that is definitely
worth a closer look is ISO 9004, which is in fact a very useful guide to implementing ISO 9001,
and can help users to understand more fully how to go about ensuring genuine continuous
improvement. ISO 9001:2000 was undoubtedly a big step in the right direction, and is certainly
more relevant to today’s service sector industries. However, as with the previous versions, the
key to ensuring that ISO 9001 delivers actual business benefits and service improvements is in
it’s implementation.