ISO 9001 QMS
Quality Management System
Certification for Small Businesses
Quality Management for Small Business
An ISO 9001 Quality Management System helps companies constantly refine their day-to-day systems and create targeted, long-term goals for success. Led by the stringent quality requirements of the standard, that QMS in turn helps guide the ultimate achievement for business growth – constantly improving customer experiences and satisfaction. Successful small businesses rely on customer satisfaction and oftentimes repeat business.
What is ISO 9001?
ISO 9001 is a global quality management system (QMS)standard focused on defining minimum best practices for the production and delivery of a company’s goods and/or services. It focuses on efficiency, customer satisfaction, and continuous improvement, and guides organizations to the development of a formal quality management system (QMS). The QMS is made up of processes and documentation that control operations and ensure that requirements are met. ISO 9001:2015 is the most recent version of the standard.
Who Wrote it?
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) which is made up of the national standard bodies from more than 160 countries. The most recent version of the standard is ISO 9001:2015.
Who Uses it?
ISO 9001 can be implemented by any company of any size. The latest version of the standard ISO 9001:2015 is especially suited for small businesses. Currently there are more than a million organizations certified to the standard world-wide.
What are the Benefits?
Achieving certification to the ISO 9001 standard offers organizations the ability constantly and consistently improve their processes, refine their deliverables, and grow their business.
Who Issues the Certificate?
ISO 9001 certificates are issued by a third-party registrar (CertFast, Inc. for example) after an extensive audit of a company’s QMS. During the audit, they will evaluate compliance with the standard’s requirements. Surveillance audits must be repeated on an annual basis to maintain certification.
Who Needs to be Involved?
For ISO success, all members of an organization should be involved with implementation. Certification to ISO 9001 is achievable by any organization, regardless of industry or size. The process can be implemented by the internal team, but some companies choose to utilize outside consulting resources.
Is this the Only Certification?
ISO 9001 is the baseline standard that can catapult organizations into excellence in safety, environmental sustainability, information security, and more. By first certifying to the original quality standard (9001), companies position themselves for success through further standard pursuit and certification.
Together, these requirements make up the Quality Management System described in your company documentation and include the quality manual, procedures, work instructions, records, and other information used for day-to-day operational excellence. An effective QMS is one where a company follows its processes and documentation consistently, achieves the desired results of its objectives and key performance indicators, and continually improves to perform better for its customers.
For more information on the ISO 9001 Standard, download our ISO 9001 Whitepaper here or you can checkout our About the ISO Standards Page.