Do You Actually Know The Nuts And Bolts Of an ISO 9001 Certification?

A legitimate ISO 9001 certification is an absolute boon for any business, provided that each and every aspect of it is fully understood and appropriate related practices are put to work. A good understanding of what such a certification really means for a business, however, escapes a lot of people.

For one, realizing the full benefit of a management system by viewing and managing real processes affecting service and product quality relies on a crucial concept called “process approach.” Such a concept is not new—in truth, it’s specifically how the coveted ISO 9001 certification is designed to work from day one. The thing is: not everyone is taking a process approach these days; they’d rather take a standard-based approach, which is born of a misconception.

That misconception purports that ISO 9001 was “intended” to instruct a company’s top brass how to manage, and even contain specific instructions for how to run, a business. It’s not. ISO 9001 is merely intended to provide auditors with a definite set of criteria with which to gauge existing quality management systems (QMS). It is meant to be a set of principles meted out in specific requirements, aimed to offer a basis for a fair assessment and nothing more.

Once such a misconception’s roots are eradicated, only then can a company fully reap the benefits of such a certification. Certified companies are generally viewed to be very secure—they have a better chance at giving individuals great job security, as well as the guarantee that any product sold or service rendered is fit for a customer’s use and is set to improve over time. This of course leads to stakeholder satisfaction.

Typically, companies become ISO-certified with the help of firms like the International Standards Authority, Inc. simply because customers downright require it. For instance, a good number of European customers actually demand that a company be ISO-certified, apparently knowing that ISO 9000 certification proves a company’s overall reliability—something that can help greatly in with marketing. A stamp of ISO 9000 approval basically assures customers that they’ll get what they pay for if they do business with such a company.

It is one thing to claim that your services and products are excellent, but a different thing if a third party with a universally accepted set of standards vouches for it³. This is what makes an ISO 9001 certification such a boon to any business. This is what it really means to be certified.

Sources:

Misunderstanding ISO 9001, QualityDigest.com, April 21, 2014

What Should ISO Mean To You? BusinessKnowHow.com

What It Means To Be ISO Certified, Public.IAState.edu

ISO 9001 Certification – What Does It Mean? QualityManagementSystem.com