Are you looking for a stable position in the business market of India? Want to impress your targeted customers? Or do you want to gain global recognition? ISO 9001 certification is key to opening new opportunities for your business.
Through this article, you can learn more about the ISO 9001 Certification and the steps involved in obtaining the ISO 9001 Certification.
ISO 9001 Certification – Why is it Important for My Business?
ISO 9001 Certification establishes a well-designed ISO 9001 quality management system. This certification helps you grab the attention of potential clients and customers. It also lets them trust your management system processes, systems, products, and services. This quality management system certification is applicable to all types and sizes of organizations such as manufacturing industries, construction companies, food business organizations, hospitality, etc.
ISO 9001 is an international standard of ISO (International Organization for Standardization), effectively implemented by millions of organizations around 160 countries across the globe. This standard helps organizations to ensure consistent improvement in the quality of products and services they provide and also enhances the overall performance of the quality management. This international standard ensures effective improvements in the entire processes of your organization.
This article is mainly developed to help the quality management professionals and business owners who are looking to get ISO 9001 certification in India for their organizations.
Costs Involved in ISO 9001 Implementation
The cost of ISO 9001 Certification differs from one organization to another. There are various factors that affect the ISO 9001 Certification cost of an organization, for example, the size of the organization, number of sub-branches, number of employees, the complexity of the organization’s operation process, and the complexity of the system, etc.
Sometimes, in order to meet the requirements of the ISO 9001:2015 standards, the organizations need to spend part of the ISO 9001 Certification cost on the implementation of the ISO 9001 standard.
ISO 9001:2015 Implementation Process
Buy a copy of the ISO 9001 standard material to learn about ISO 9001. Conduct a gap analysis of your existing quality management system to find out the errors in your organization’s processes as well as management.
Once the organizations decided to implement the quality management system standard in line with ISO 9001:2015, they need to bring effective changes in the organizations’ process, management system, manufacturing process, employees’ daily work, and ongoing projects in compliance with ISO 9001:2015. To ensure the quality of the products and services, they need to improve their operating system and process with the best practices and quality equipment.
Providing awareness training to the employees is also a major requirement in the implementation of the ISO 9001 standard. Educate employees about the new changes in your organization and system as well as the benefits of developing the ISO 9001 standards requirements. This helps employees have better interaction with auditors during the third-party certification audit.
Assign a team of professionals who have excellent knowledge about the standard to monitor the ISO 9001 implementation process.
External Expert (ISO consultant)
Hire a consultant from the third-party certification body if you don’t have a professional within your organization to help you in the implementation of ISO 9001. They will show the perfect path to implement each requirement specified in the ISO 9001 criteria. Even though hiring a consultant is a little expensive, it is better to have an expert who has exceptional knowledge and years of experience by your side to avoid the non-conformities during the external audit.
Internal Audits
After the implementation of the ISO 9001 standard in your organizations, conduct frequent internal audits to identify the gaps in your ISO 9001 implementation process. The internal audits help you continually improve the management system without any errors. Internal audit reports are an important element in third-party audits. The organization should undergo an internal audit at least once before the third-party audit begins.
The internal audit can be performed either by certified auditors in your organization or by auditors from a third-party organization.
Process to Get ISO 9001 Certification in India
Begin the third-party certification audit process, once you’re confident about your organization’s operational processes and quality management system in delivering consistent quality products and services to the customers.
Find the Right ISO Certification Body
The process of certification audit is not carried out by ISO (International Organization for Standardization). ISO does not involve in the conformity assessment or certification process. It is done by the third-party certification body which is accredited by the accreditation body. The certification body should be a member of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) to perform the management system audits.
So, when you are planning to choose the ISO certification body in your country, choose the best certification provider that has accreditation, and global recognition. Getting certified to ISO 9001 from a globally recognized certification body helps you gain international recognition.
Application process
Now send the application to the ISO Certification body you have decided to partner with in your certification process. The scope of your certification should clearly describe the operational process of your organization (What exactly your organization is doing).
ISO 9001 Certification Audit
After receiving the application, the ISO registrar will send a quotation. If you’re ok with their terms and conditions then accept their proposal and sign the contract.
The certification body will come up with a better audit plan and initiate the auditing process in your organization.
The certification audit includes 2 stages. First, they will evaluate the documents, files, records, and reports of the internal audit. This is called a readiness audit. If there are any deviations found during the audit, the certification body will raise the non-conformity. The applicant should take effective actions on the given non-conformities within the specified time given by the auditing team.
In the stage 2 audit, the certification body will perform a conformity assessment for all the processes that come under the scope of the certification. This is called an effectiveness audit that ensures the effectiveness of the system in compliance with ISO 9001. Finally, they will close the non-conformities if they meet the desired requirements of the ISO 9001 standard.
Final Audit Report
The audit team will prepare the audit report to state the effective implementation of your management system. This audit report includes all the actions carried out during the certification audit.
Get ISO 9001 Certificate
At last, at the end of the whole auditing process, they will issue the ISO 9001:2015 Certificate. Now you can use it to advertise/promote your business. This initial certification is valid for 3 years.
The surveillance audits help you maintain the continual improvement of your management system. Before the validity of the initial certification is over, you should renew your certificate to maintain the certificate. Do you want to get ISO 9001 certification in India? Feel free to contact us! We are here to help you with the auditing procedures and certification process.