How do I get ISO 9001 certified?

How do I get ISO 9001 certified?

In brief, ISO 9001 (International Organisation for Standardisation) is a Quality Management System (QMS) that has been adopted by over one million companies in more than 170 countries.

How do I get ISO 9001 certified?

Your business has to implement a quality management system using the required ISO 9001 standards which are the audited by an accredited ISO 9001 auditor.

The International Organisation for Standardisation develop and publish the ISO standards and are solely responsible for this. It is up to the company in question to meet the most up to date standards.

The ISO 9001 auditor has the authority to accept ISO 9001 applications once they are satisfied that all standards of the Quality Management System have been met. The audit lasts three years, after which time the organisation will be required to be assessed again.

What exactly is ISO 9001?

Published by the ISO, ISO 9001 is a Quality Management System that focuses solely on consistent quality, in terms of processes within an organisation, rather than products or services. ISO 9001 is part of the wider ISO 9000 family. All standards within ISO 9000 refer to quality management.

The ISO 9001 certificate is only issued once the organisation has been assessed on delivering high quality standards and processes throughout the organisation. These standards are broken down into ten sections:

Sections 1, 2, and 3: Introduction, references, and definitions

The first three sections are useful for understanding the rest of the ISO 9001 document, primarily consisting to introduce the certification and explain definitions used in the other sections.

Section 4: Context of the organisation

This is an explanation of the organisation in its current context: Factors include internal and external issues, company culture, objectives and goals, and to detect both risks and opportunities.

A list of interested parties and stakeholders of the company will also be included.

Section 5: Leadership

ISO Leadership is defined as “Leadership is the person or group of people who directs and controls an organization at the highest level. The top management has the power to delegate authority and provide resources within the organization. If the scope of the management system covers only part of an organization, then top management refers to those who direct and control that part of the organization”.

The section should include a list of top management within the company defining their roles and responsibilities. The focus is on the leadership’s roles in defining and implementing the Quality Management System.

Section 6: Planning

The Planning section looks at thinking about the risks and opportunities that might occur in the future and addressing these through adequate control measures with the quality management system.

Section 7: Support

This is all about how the organisation utilises its staff for best effects. Well trained, competent and motivated personnel help an organisation achieve its goal and as such form an important part of the Quality Management System.

This section also focuses on buildings, infrastructure, work environments, monitoring, and tracking resources.

Section 8: Operation

The eighth section focusses on operations and is a key element of the standard, and includes service-related operations as well as requirements for quality planning, product design and review.

Section 9: Performance evaluation

The organisation explains what, how, and when things are to be monitored, measured, analysed, and evaluated. Internal performance audits, and ongoing quality management system reviews are also required to be listed.

Section 10: Improvement

The emphasis is on the ongoing improvement of the Quality Management System and the organisations internal processes.

Why do I need ISO 9001 certification?

There are two clear advantages to becoming ISO 9001 certified. The first is the actual prevalence of ISO 9001 certification – it is used globally and suggests that your company consistently delivers a high level of service and, if applicable, a high standard of product.

The second benefit is that to your own business. Working with a structured high standard Quality Management System will only be beneficial for the businesses productivity and effectiveness.

Diamond Coatings ISO 9001 Certified

Diamond Coatings is registered to ISO 9001:2015 and employs the practice of quality control throughout the manufacturing process. Diamond Coatings undertakes continual quality assessment and improvements for the benefit of both our company and, of course, our customers.