Overview
of ISO 9001
What is ISO 9001?
ISO 9001 is an internationally
recognized standard for the quality management of a business. ISO 9001 applies
to the processes that create and control the products and services an
organization supplies. It describes systematic control of activities to ensure
that the needs and expectations of customers are met. It is designed and
intended to apply to virtually any product or service, made by any process any
where in the world, regardless of nature of the industry, either it is
manufacturing industry or service industry. Even though ISO 9001 is also known
as Quality Management System, but this does not means that the certification
certifies product produced by an organization. This is a management system
certification, not product certification or product labeling. ISO 9001 is
created based on basic concept where organization is required to identify their
customer requirements and take all necessary action to fulfill these
requirements. Necessary actions includes establishment of quality policy and
objectives, preparation of all required documentation, implementation of
control for all quality related processes, analyzing level of customer
satisfaction and always ensure that the implemented Quality Management System
is continually improved in order to enhance customer satisfaction, with the
ultimate aim to ensure customer is delighted.
Benefit of ISO 9001
- Customer satisfaction is improved; market place can
be opened up, thus increasing opportunities for the organization.
- Less
customer complaints due to high customer’s satisfaction level since
quality of product or service provided has been improved
- Implementing a Quality Management System will
motivate staff by defining their key roles and responsibilities.
- Cost savings can be made through improved efficiency
and productivity, as product or service deficiencies will be highlighted.
- Improvements can be developed, resulting in less
waste, inappropriate or rejected work and fewer complaints. .
There are four main bodies
involved in ISO 9001 certification for an organization. First is the
organization that wishes to be ISO 9001 certified, second is the Certification
Body chosen by the organization, third is the Accreditation Body and the fourth
one is Consultants. Although getting assistance from consultant is understood
to be optional for any organization, but this is known to be most popular
option among all ISO 9001 certified organization. Consultant will assist
organization from start of the certification project until end of project,
where the organization is recommended to be certified by their selected
Certification Body. Assistance from consultant comes from several different
ways, which includes support for documentation preparation, conduct of
training, implementation support, and this continues until the final part which
is auditing the implemented Quality Management System, before the organization
being audited by Certification Body.