How to Meet Quality Standards with ISO 9001
by Chris Anderson
Published on this site: December 4th, 2004 - See
more articles from this month...
In today's hectic business environment, it is vital that we
are all on the same page, right? But how do we know if we
meet those standards? Business owners and executives can avoid
the uncertainty, and that's where ISO 9001 certification comes
in.
Standardizing Quality Systems
The ISO, or International Organization for Standardization, was
established in 1947 to develop international standards for everything
from electronics to management systems. Having over 13,000 standards
currently in place, ISO has created the auditing and certification
process known as ISO 9001. This began the drive toward quality standards.
Improving Customer Satisfaction
Companies choose to implement ISO 9001 and get certified because
many customers and industries require it. By keeping customers happy,
they can increase sales and profitability for their business. And
if an area of the company's program appears to be too bureaucratic
and non-value-adding, then it might also be an area for continuous
improvement efforts.
Enhancing Company Performance
Both customers and industries alike use ISO certification
as a way to evaluate and audit their suppliers and products.
Through an independent verification process, customers can
gain assurance of their suppliers' products. And as a supplier
becomes certified, the testing requirement is waved, which
saves the company both time and money.
Developing Best Practices
Employed as a "Best Practices" model, ISO 9001 utilizes
the philosophy of the "Plan-Do-Check-Act" continuous improvement
cycle to achieve requirements. This process approach centers around
eight quality management principles used by management as a guide
toward improving performance and identifying the main elements needed
in a good quality system:
- Customer Focus
- Leadership
- Involvement of People
- Process Approach
- Systems Approach to Management
- Continuous improvement
- Factual Approach to Decision-Making
- Mutually Beneficial Supplier Relationship
Building Stable Processes
ISO 9001 policies, procedures and forms can provide employers,
managers and employees with a systematic and consistent approach
to implementing policies, plans, procedures and work routines. Instead
of building their own policies and procedures from scratch, some
companies prefer to hire professional writers that have already
prepared a set of written policies and procedures to help on the
way to certification.
Auditing a Company System
In the certification process, an independent registrar will perform
an on-site audit of a company's operations to verify that it complies
with the ISO standard. If the business complies, then that company
will be registered as ISO 9001 compliant.
Meeting Company and Customer Needs
On the way to certification, a business can meet its ISO needs
by:
- Using well-defined processes and procedures to build stable
processes
- Training in the audit and certification process
- Continuously improving with ISO 9001 standards
Noticing the Difference
With complete procedures manuals for ISO 9001 Quality Management
System, required HR procedures, and an ISO training class,
a template like an ISO 9001 Quality Manager Procedures Manual
Series can help a business on its way to ISO 9001 certification.
Sometimes the effort can be very great, but companies typically
notice a remarkable difference in efficiency and effectiveness
after the first year.
Chris Anderson has over 18 years of sales, marketing
and business management experience producing the business
process design, software and systems engineering. He is also
co-author of policies and procedures manual products, producing
the layout, process design and implementation of the information
to increase performance. He is currently the Managing Director
of Bizmanualz, Inc. Visit:
http://www.bizmanualz.com.
|
