International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

ISO 9001 is a series of standards, developed and published by the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO). It defines, establishes and maintains an effective quality assurance (QA)
system for manufacturing and service industries.

What is the main objective of ISO 9001?

ISO 9001 is the world's most recognised Quality Management System (QMS) standard. It aims
to help organisations meet the needs of their customers and other stakeholders more effectively.
This is achieved by building a framework to ensure consistent quality in providing goods and/or
services
The objectives of the ISO are to develop and provide international standards in response to
market needs. You can order copies of these standards and apply them to the operations of your
company to achieve certification of ISO compliance or to ensure your business satisfies
internationally recognized procedures.

What are ISO standards?

ISO standards were created to offer guidance, coordination, simplification and unification of
criteria to companies and organizations in order to reduce costs and increase effectiveness, as
well as to standardize product and service standards for international organizations. ISO
standards have been developed and adopted by many companies in many countries out of a need
and willingness to standardize quality parameters.

ISO makes documents with required standards, specifications, guidelines or characteristics that
can be used by companies to ensure that materials, products, processes and services are suitable
for their purpose. Additionally, ISO ensures that these requirements are accepted in all member
countries, to ensure standardization.

Response to Needs

One of the ISO objectives is to respond to the requirements of the marketplace. The organization
develops standards in response to requests from groups who express a need for help with their
activities. This means that, when you order a copy of an ISO standard, it addresses specific
business needs directly rather than using a theoretical approach. The quality standards, for
example, contain detailed guidelines that allow you to improve the quality of your operations and
the products you design and manufacture.

Expert-Based

The ISO technical committees are responsible for developing its standards. These committees are
made up of experts from all over the world, and the ISO objective is to distill expert knowledge
into standards that you can apply in any country. When you implement an ISO standard, you can
be confident that the guidelines represent current expertise. Based on the advice of these experts,
the standards define the terms used and the scope of application to facilitate your
implementation. To help you further, the ISO publishes examples of successful implementations
such as for the standards on energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Involve Stakeholders

A key objective for the ISO is to develop its standards with the involvement of all interested
parties. In addition to the more than 250 technical committees, consumer groups, industry
representatives and NGOs can have input. With a broad base contributing concerns, your
implementation of an ISO standard is unlikely to run into strong opposition in your own
company or locality. ISO standards are designed to guide technical and organizational
implementations in a non-controversial manner. This orientation allows you to propose adhering
to ISO standards in your company without major controversy.

Consensus

The ISO not only welcomes input from all stakeholders but allows such input to influence the
standards within their objective of developing guidelines based on consensus. This consensus-
based approach promotes widespread acceptance and implementation of ISO standards. When
you order and start implementing a standard, such as one on risk management, you can be sure
that other companies are using it successfully and, if problems were found, they have been
resolved within the consensual model. If you hire a consultant to help with implementation, he
usually will be able to give you examples of companies similar to yours in which the ISO
standard is already in place.
7 quality management principles of ISO 9001,2015

With ISO 9001:2015 comes a push for leaders to make quality a top priority for every employee
—not just the ones directly involved in quality management. But what does it really mean to
make quality an underlying part of all business operations?

The 7 key quality management principles

The shift to risk-based thinking under ISO 9001:2015 is supported by 7 key quality management
principles—customer focus, leadership, engagement of people, process approach, improvement,
evidence-based decision making and relationship management.

1. Customer Focus

The ultimate focus of quality management is to meet and exceed customer expectations. This
means treating every customer interaction as an opportunity to deliver more value, increasing
repeat business, revenue and your brand’s reputation in the process.

 Connect organizational objectives to current and future customer expectations

 Actively manage customer relationships for long-term success
 Monitor customer satisfaction and proactively address issues
 Enable direct feedback from customers to reduce the time to respond to issues

2. Leadership

 Unify the purpose and direction of your workforce and create productive environments
for all employees to pursue quality objectives. When strategies and processes are aligned
across all departments, you’re able to meet quality objectives more efficiently, maximize
collaboration across business functions and coordinate your operations around risk-based
thinking. Quality shouldn’t be thought of as an “add-on” or separate process; rather,
quality should just be the norm for how the organization operates.
  Communicate your mission, vision, strategy, policies and processes clearly across the
organization
 Build a culture of quality that’s rooted in trust and integrity
 Recognize and reward the contributions that people make toward organizational quality

3. Engagement of People

Effectively and efficiently managing quality at all levels of your organization requires deep trust
and respect for all employees and stakeholders. Recognizing, empowering and enhancing the
competence of your people will increase their understanding of quality objectives, maximize
their attention to the quality culture and improve professional development.

 Ensure employees understand the importance and value of their contributions

 Empower people to take initiative and promote the quality culture without fear
 Conduct regular surveys to assess workforce satisfaction and response appropriately
 Celebrate identifying and fixing quality issues

4. Process Approach

A modern quality management system (QMS) includes a wide array of inter-related processes to
produce consistent and predictable results. When all stakeholders have a deep understanding of
how the QMS produces results, you’re able to focus more effectively on opportunities for
improvement, optimize cross-functional performance and convey confidence to partners that
you’ll provide consistent quality.

 Define objectives clearly and create formal processes to achieve them

 Understand process interdependencies and analyze the impact of any changes
 Address risk proactively to optimize the overall outcomes of quality management
 Involve everyone in defining and understanding your processes – including not just your
internal teams, but external parties such as suppliers, as well

5. Improvement

Risk-based thinking and quality management aren’t one-off events. Successful organizations
focus on continuous improvement to streamline root-cause investigations, enhance the drive for
innovation and boost your ability to anticipate and react to both internal and external
opportunities.

 Educate and train all levels of employees to run basic quality management tools and
methodologies
 Connect improvement considerations to the development of new products
 Deploy specific processes to execute improvement projects across your organization
 Measure the results – employee training, process improvements, quality levels

6. Evidence-Based Decision Making

All decision making involves some level of uncertainty. But basing your decisions on analysis
and evaluation of data is the best way to minimize risk. Evidence-based decision making will
help you maximize operational efficiency, assess process performance effectively and gain a
deeper understanding of potential unintended consequences.

 Develop a centralized location for all data to provide a single source of truth
 Provide easy access to all necessary data to those that need it
 Modernize approaches to analyzing and evaluating data quality
 Strike a balance between evidence, experience and intuition when making decisions
 Strike a balance between evidence, experience and intuition when making decisions

7. Relationship Management

Quality management extends beyond internal operations to include how you manage
relationships with external partners like your suppliers. Effectively managing partner
relationships will increase your ability to deliver value to customers, support an efficient supply
chain and enhance the overall performance of your organization.

 Map out all relevant relations with suppliers, partners, customers and investors
 Define KPIs and goals for each relationship
 Prioritize relationship management based on quality impact
 Measure the performance of each relationship and provide feedback to partners
Advantages of ISO standards certification

International Standards mean that consumers can have confidence that the products are reliable
and of good quality. The ISO certificate can be great more for companies because an
international recognition offers the possibility to operate beyond national borders, which means
that companies can increase their sales and revenue. Companies with an ISO label use this
improve their image and show the rest of the world that they work in conformity with
international standards. For many buyers and customers this is a sign that the companies offer
excellent products and services.

ISO standards attempt to ensure quality, consistency, and safety and show us how to check for
quality. There are many benefits for businesses, which embrace these standards. Some of them
are:

Reliability

With an ISO certification, companies have the opportunity to demonstrate their reliability to
purchasers, suppliers, business partners and government. Reliability means quality, safety and
durability of products and/or services. With an ISO standard, companies demonstrate that they
meet the requirements of international legislation and regulation and adhere to these. With ISO
certificate, companies show that they are a serious player.

Improved performance

ISO standards improve performance by giving organizations the knowledge they need to
optimize their operations in order to be able to perform at their best. This also help them to have
satisfied customers and more efficient ways to work, as well as, the ability to implement new
working practices more efficiently and faster.

Better quality

ISO standards help organizations improve the quality of their services, manage projects in the
most effective way and access new markets is also a benefit as products and services can be
compatible with international standards. This will also increase consumer confidence as they see
the International Standard logo as a trusting sign and as a synonymous of good quality. ISO
standards help to improve your reputation, providing your customers greater confidence on your
products and services.

Increased revenue

Once a business becomes ISO certified, they can advertise their quality certification as well as
respond to requests for quotes from firms, which make the ISO certificate a must have.
Therefore, ISO certification can increase your sales and revenue. In fact, many large companies
require their suppliers to be ISO certified and this certification can be particularly important if
you attempt to enter foreign markets. Opening up global markets has no doubt been a key
benefit; these standards have meant that the movement of goods, services and logistical
technologies are now compatible making trading easier but also safer too.

Risk reduction

One of the main benefits of ISO standards is that it prepares organizations in advance to deal
with risks and turn them into opportunities. These standards also ensure that you understand how
to manage and mitigate risks. Therefore, if problems arise, organizations are better equipped to
survive them and then recover faster.

Sustainability

Sustainability has become increasingly important and these standards help organizations to prove
that they are actually committed to deal with environmental and social challenges.

By helping businesses to take a close look at how they are using resources, energy and
controlling waste, ISO standards helps them to save money and improve their own image while
benefiting the environment.

Innovation

ISO Standards benefit organizations that want to commercialize emerging technologies. These
standards help businesses to establish the core characteristics of quality products or services. By
implementing ISO standards, you demonstrate your credentials to your customers, your
employees, and other stakeholders.

International Standards (ISOs) ensure safety and quality, showing consumers that businesses they
buy from are operating in a safe way, producing reliable goods without unduly harming the
environment.

How to become an ISO–certified business?

All ISO regulations have a main purpose; improving the results of the company. Precisely, with
ISO regulations, quality can be ensured in business management, and this certification produces
a quality guarantee effect at an international level that generates confidence in the products and
services offered by the company.

An ISO 9001 certification require time, effort and improvement from many areas of the business.
However, the steps that must be taken are worth it for any company because they will benefit
business owners, employees and customers. To become eligible as a company for an ISO
certification, you should start by completing a certification process. A QHSE Management
advisor, who focuses on Quality, Health, Safety and Environment, supervises this measure. You
can find many companies that focus on QHSE specialization and help organizations in the
process of ISO certification. A QHSE specialist prepares an organization and pays attention to
small details.

To arrive at a maximum result, the organization must be open to setting up a good quality
management system and possibly improve this. Together with the organization, the QHSE
advisor looks at and maps the most important risks. In a joint audit plan, it is agreed which
business elements will be scrutinized. Periodic audits are used to establish whether the
organization continues to meet the established standard and is still ISO worthy.

ISO certification comes at a cost. For companies is also necessary to accept related laws, such as
the Data Protection Law, licenses adapted for commercial activity, labor and professional risk
laws, as well as local, regional, and national regulations. Additionally, it is required an adequate
training of the companies’ members. Besides that, maintaining ISO standards requires the
commitment of each of the members of the organization, especially senior management. Finally,
one of the things that weighs most when it comes to external auditing is the experience of each
organization.

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