In 1987 ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) released the first version of ISO 9001. It was a document that combined several Quality System standards. ISO’s intention was to provide guidance and a tool for businesses who wanted their products/services to consistently meet customer requirements at a determined quality level.
To stay current with the times, the standard is reviewed periodically. The most current version of the standard, and the one everyone should be certified to is ISO 9001:2015. ISO 9001 is divided in 10 sections. Most requirements are housed between sections 4 and 10.
At it’s core, the standard is driven by the PDCA cycle.
Plan – Do – Check – Act
The seven (7) Quality Management Principles were used as the foundation of the standard. These are: Process-based approach, Customer Focus, Leadership (Top Management) involvement, People engagement, Evidence-based decision making, Relationship management (supplier) & Continuous improvement.
Organizations of all types and sizes find that ISO 9001 helps them clearly identify & improve their processes and increase customer satisfaction. In the business world, ISO 9001 shows reliability and a focus on quality systems and many enterprises like using ISO certified vendors. Therefore if you get certified, you might get a bit of a bump in sales when you get ISO certified.
Once you are ISO certified, you will receive a 3-year certificate from a certification body (CB, also known as registrar) of your choice who will come for an annual check-up. Factor Quality has experience with several CB’s, please contact us if you’d like a registrar recommendation.
