ISO is the acronym for International Standards Organization. ISO 9001 is a common standard that many manufacturers seek certification for. ISO 9001 certification shows the world that your manufacturing concern takes quality seriously, and is important in every phase of business that includes:
- People
- Facilities
- Training
- Services
- Equipment
Company Benefits of ISO 9001 Certification
Becoming ISO 9001 certified takes a lot of organizational effort, but, the rewards are many. Some of the benefits your company enjoys because it is ISO 9001 certified include:
- Creates areas of responsibility across your organization
- Offers senior management a proven and efficient management system
- To bid on government jobs ISO 9001 certification is often required
- Sends a message that you take quality seriously to workers and customers
- Highlights your company’s areas that need improvement
- Lowers Costs
- Offers a marketing edge
- Gives management ongoing assessment and improvement opportunities
Customer Benefits of ISO 9001 Certification
In addition to your company getting benefits from ISO 9001 Certification, your customers gain too. The most notable benefits that your clientele will undoubtedly gain with the implementation of ISO 9001 Certification include:
- Better service and product quality
- Guaranteed on-time delivery for their rapid manufacturing projects
- Great attitude from every employee of your organization
- Less returns
- Fewer complaints
What Your Company Needs to Get Certified
Since no two companies are 100% alike, each company’s road to certification will be slightly to very different. There are four important steps to becoming ISO 9001 certified.
- Write the needed documentation – the backbone of a successful ISO 9001 Certification is a written quality manual, written procedures, and most likely some forms too. Solid recordkeeping is a must and your records must meet the needs regarding documentation for the ISO quality standard. Likewise, your documentation must also be in line with your company’s quality goals. The purpose of this documentation is to explain what you do to ensure quality and how you do it. It also serves as proof that you and your teams carried out your quality innovations.
- Personnel Training – Implementing a quality program like ISO 9001 involves a company-wide training program. Every member of the organization will need some training, but, the amount of training for each worker depends on his or her responsibilities concerning quality.
- Test drive your Quality System – It is likely that as your company uses your new quality system you and your employees will uncover changes to make. These changes should be included in your quality documentation. Following the test drive of a few months duration your quality system and your workforce will be ready for the ISO 9001 registration audit.
- The registration audit – this is the most critical step in the process. How many auditors as well as how much time the audit takes depends on the size and intricacy of your company. During the audit process, the auditor and his or her team will look at your records and talk with your workers. To succeed in the registration audit, your people must be well-trained and conversant with your quality record keeping. When reviewing your documentation and talking with your staff, the auditor(s) write up quality issues as nonconformance. Nonconformance can be major or minor. Also, auditors may write up “observations.”
A major nonconformance can prevent a company from getting ISO 9001 certification, but, minor nonconformance may or may not prevent certification. It depends upon how many and how severe your company’s nonconformance items are. Auditors have discretion in their reviews and write-ups – they also enjoy a good deal of discretion in if your business is certified the first time it is audited.
Observations are different than nonconformance as they have no impact on certification – they are just suggestions made by auditors concerning making improvements to your quality system.
The Company You Keep is Important to Your Quality Efforts
As a manufacturer, you work hard to gain recognition as an industry leader by becoming ISO 9001 certified. It makes sense then, that your company use vendors that are also ISO 9001 certified too. One such vendor is 3ERP, an ISO 9001 certified rapid prototype maker and CNC machining company. Learn more about how we can help you by completing our online inquiry form, email, or call us at +86-760-8841-1100.
