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ISO 9001

A START TO ISO 9001

Some people consider ISO 9001 consulting as a valuable asset for enhancing their company's performance, while others perceive the standard as burdensome and potentially obstructive to business objectives. Often, these differing views are shaped by individuals' past experiences or industry hearsay. Regrettably, ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems are sometimes established merely to fulfill standard requirements, leading businesses to compartmentalize their operations and the standard's mandates in order to mitigate any adverse impact on their business processes.
Quality Standards
Quality Standards

Why ISO 9001 Consulting is Important?

ISO 9001 Consulting not only showcases your dedication to quality but also provides your customers with the confidence that you have implemented a robust Quality Management System. The impact of ISO 9001 consulting extends beyond mere certification; it serves as the foundation upon which numerous industry-specific standards are built. Glacier Consulting's expertise in ISO 9001 consulting makes it a trusted resource for developing tailored quality management systems across various sectors. ISO, as a global organization, is committed to establishing comprehensive sets of requirements and guidelines, promoting consistency in organizational operations worldwide. With an extensive repertoire comprising over 22,450 standards, ISO plays an active role in the development, publication, and maintenance of global standards.

IT’S THE FOUNDATION OF HOW YOU:

  • Identify your business risks
  • Put controls in place to ensure you have a repeatable outcome
  • Ensure employees are aware of their responsibilities
  • Find ways to continually improve your business
How you do that while meeting the ISO 9001 standard requirements is completely up to you. Don’t let the stigma of ISO 9001 certification stop you from growing your business. Get the industry recognition for having a quality business that will take your business to the next level. It is often assumed that ISO 9001 is primarily for the manufacturing industry. That is definitely an industry that commonly obtains ISO 9001 certification, but it is by no means the only industry. ISO 9001 can be used by any organization, large or small, regardless of its field of activity or its industry. ISO 9001 has been implemented by over one million companies and organizations in over 170 countries. When it comes to ISO 9001, we don’t consider ourselves quality consultants as much as we consider ourselves business consultants. The iso 9001 consulting Services is based on a number of quality management principles including a strong customer focus, the motivation and implication of top management, the process approach and continual improvement. ISO 9001 helps ensure that customers get consistent, good quality products and services, which in turn brings many business benefits.
  • ACHIEVE INTERNATIONAL QUALITY RECOGNITION
  • MEET CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS
  • GET MORE REVENUE AND BUSINESS FROM NEW CUSTOMERS
  • IMPROVE COMPANY AND PRODUCT QUALITY
  • INCREASE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION WITH YOUR PRODUCTS
  • DEVELOP A PROFESSIONAL CULTURE AND BETTER EMPLOYEE MORALE
  • IMPROVE EFFICIENCY, REDUCE WASTE, AND SAVE MONEY
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ADDITIONAL ISO 9001 RESOURCES

ISO 9001: QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION

In the era of information, knowledge, and technology consumers have more buying power than they used to. As a result of this shift in the purchase-power dynamic, quality of product and service, as well as the consumer experience has become much more important. So vital, in fact, that many companies are making the consumer experience their number one priority. ISO 9001 Quality Management System, also prioritize quality in product, service, and consumer experience.
Pursuing ISO 9001 certification yields many benefits to organizations. As with all ISO certifications, ISO 9001 is obtainable by organizations of any size or stature. In other words, companies as small as a single-person, or as large as a conglomerate composed of multiple entities.

QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES

The quality management principles laid out in ISO 9001 address quality management at a high level. In other words, certain aspects of ISO 9001 will only apply to specific types of organizations, while others will be universal.
Companies that are pursuing certification in ISO 9001 should conduct the specific research related to their field or industry to ensure they’re integrating all of the applicable sections of ISO 9001. No matter how robust your implementation of ISO 9001 is, the categorical results should be nearly identical across organizations and companies no matter their size.
The core of quality management comes down to the executive level employees, c-suite executives, and leadership of the company. With any large-scale or company-wide initiative, the support and reinforcement from upper management is extremely vital to garnering organization-wide support, and employee buy-in.
After establishing a culture that is ready to accept quality management principles of ISO 9001, the company will see a whole series of positive results.

BENEFITS OF ISO 9001

Investing in quality management should already be a priority in your organization. Emphasizing quality management improves many layers of the organization that are vital to improving and growing business.
With easier access to information, consumers are more readily equipped with the data they need to make informed product decisions when it comes to purchasing. In other words, with the era of the internet, and an oversaturated marketplace that is full of competition, consumers have the ability to choose from any number of companies offering similar products or services.
In fact, after a single negative experience with a brand, even long-standing consumers will choose to jump-ship and head to the doors of a competitor.
ISO 9001 enhances the consumer experience overall by dedicating the organization to buying into and developing quality management practices that relate to the products and services that the company offers, as well as the consumer journeys.

Frequently Asked Question

ISO certification follows the same process, regardless of the ISO standard you are seeking:

  1. Establish, implement and verify your ISO management system
  2. Stage 1 audit – Documentation Review
  3. Stage 2 audit – Full system audit
  4. Closure of any findings
  5. Certification!

The standards that best suit your company vary by the industry you are in. In order to identify the standards that will provide your company with the greatest benefits, we recommend the following:

  1. Talk to your customers – many of them may require certain ISO standards.
  2. Evaluate your companies risks – see where your companies great liabilities are what needs to be controlled (e.g. quality, environmental aspects, health & safety hazards, IT security, etc.).
  3. Be proactive and identify new business opportunities – evaluate new areas / industries you want to grow your business. Often times, these new industries may require some sort of certification in order to enter. Certification takes time, so being proactive and having the certifications before bidding on projects can put you ahead of your competition.

The time to become ISO certified really depends on a few different factors:

  1. The resources you have available to support the ISO process
  2. Your own internal timeframe that you need / want to be certified by
  3. The standard’s requirement for how much evidence you need to support certification

Certification requires you to show through objective evidence that you have an effective ISO management system in place. In order to do this, you need to show that you have sufficient evidence available to support this claim. At a minimum, most standards will require 3 months of evidence of implementing your management system in order to be certified.

Some standards, such as IATF 16949, may require a minimum of one year of evidence to support certification.

The cost for certification can vary greatly from one company to another. There are typically several factors that go into the costs for certification:

  1. Certification body fees
  2. Certification body audit day rates
  3. Auditor travel costs
  4. Standard license fees (e.g. R2, RIOS, eStewards license fees)
  5. Consulting Fees

Audit time and consulting time is typically based on the following factors:

  1. Number of employees
  2. Number of processes and the risks associated with those processes
  3. Number of locations

We have the experience to help you navigate the certification body costs and possible discounts they can offer.

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ISO certification shows your customers that you follow industry best practices and that your business is well structured and ready for growth.

Each ISO standard has its own benefits, for example:

  • ISO 9001 – Ensures you provide your customers with a quality product or service
  • ISO 27001 – Protects your information, data and reputation
  • ISO 14001 – Reduces your environmental impact
  • ISO 45001 – Protects your workers
  • Responsible Recycling (R2) – ensures responsible management of used electronics

Common benefits across all ISO standard include:

  • Increased efficiency
  • Reduced costs
  • Improved customer satisfaction
  • More engaged employees
  • Reduced risks
  • Reduced insurance premiums
  • Helps with project bidding

By achieving and maintaining an ISO certification, you are showing your company’s commitment to achieving your objectives, improving your business and increasing the credibility and customer confidence in your product or service.

Yes. We have been providing remote auditing and consulting services for years. We have found remote auditing and consulting to be just as effective as on-site. We use a variety of tools to ensure we are thorough in our remote services, while saving you time and money.

The great thing about working with Glacier consulting is that you don’t need anything in place to get started. We will work with you ever step of the way to ensure you have everything you need to get certified.

Most companies have far more in place than they realize. Just because it may not be documented, doesn’t mean you don’t have processes in place. We will work with your team to improve, streamline and formalize these processes.

One of the most common questions we get is how much time and effort does it take to get and maintain certification. The bulk of the effort should be at the beginning to get your management system established and implemented. To do this, we take what you already do and formalize it to meet the standard requirements. There may be some minor tweaking done, but this typically only improves and streamlines your process.

Once your ISO management system is in place, maintaining it should be as easy as breathing because it should become part of your culture and everyday operations. At the end of the day, you shouldn’t think of it as your ISO system, you should think of it as simply your way of operating your company.

We work with countless ISO standards. We’ve only listed the most common ISO standards typically sought after. We have a diverse team with tremendous knowledge in many of the ISO standards. Contact us and let us know what standard you are interested in. If we don’t offer that service, we can find you someone who can.

We can tailor a service specific to your needs to help you along your ISO journey. We can provide basic guidance to full “White Glove” support. If it’s business or ISO related, we’ve got you covered. A few of our services include:

  1. General ISO Consulting
  2. Documentation Prep
  3. Training
  4. Auditing
  5. Maintenance

Contact us with any questions you have or for services not listed here.