ISO 9001 quality management certification is the international standard for Quality Management System (QMS). ISO 9001:2008 is quality management certification which can be implemented by any organization in manufacturing, services or any other business verticals. One of the best advantages of implementing ISO 9001 quality management system is to increase the efficiency of the organisation.
ISO 9001 quality management certification will help you manage your business and increase the efficiency with which your team delivers the products or services to your customers. It also helps you implement best practices which as per the global standards. ISO 9001:2008 certifications will also help you demonstrate your customers and associates that quality management is really important to your organization and that your company/organisation is committed to maintain best quality standards at all time.
Apart from the direct benefits that it brings for the organization who is ISO 9001 certified, it also brings several other benefits, such as:
Helps you create a good impression among your peers.
Increases the chances of winning contracts because your potential customers will be impressed and happy to hire you.
Apply for contracts where ISO 9001:2008 certification is a mandatory requirement.
Earn respect from the partners and associates.
How to get ISO 9001 quality management certification done in India
So you have decided to implement the ISO 9001 quality management standard? The latest version of ISO 9001 is 2008 and hence it’s called ISO 9001:2008 quality management certifications. In order to obtain or implement ISO 9001:2008 certification, there are certain preparation and evaluation that have to be done before applying for a certificate to any ISO certification bodies. ISO certifications are granted by certification ISO bodies. There are many certification bodies in India where you can apply for a certificate.
But can you really approach an ISO certification body directly to obtain an ISO certification? Not really, because before applying, you have to make sure that you are following the manuals and principles as prescribed by ISO under quality management system.
Let me take you through the following steps so that you can understand the process and get ISO certification done for your organisation.
Step 1 for ISO 9001 certification: Finding an ISO consultant in India
Role of ISO consultants is really very important because they are the ones who will be helping you. So the very first thing that you should do is get in touch with an ISO consultant who is willing to help you in obtaining ISO 9001:2008 certifications. They will be playing the key role because before even applying for ISO certification, you ought to prepare yourself, your team and do various types of documentations. We’ll be talking about all of that in the following sections. But at this point of time, you get an ISO consultant Involved. You may use ServiceSutra to get connected to an ISO consultants for free initial advise about ISO certification.
Step 2 for ISO 9001 Certification: GAP analysis and Documentations
Different organizations have different kind of challenges and that’s where an ISO consultant comes in. Your ISO consultant will be conducting a GAP analysis according to the industry and nature of business you are in. based on the GAP analysis and challenges faced by you, they will prepare certain manuals according to the ISO standards. They will be preparing manuals, templates and documentations that have to be maintained by your team in day to day operations.
Step 3 for ISO 9001 Certification: Training and Internal Audit
Once the templates are created, your team (employees) has to be trained and your ISO consultant will give training to your employees. They will make them understand all of the manuals and documentations and w to maintain that.
After completing the ISO training, your employees will be maintaining all those documentations and follow the manuals prepared by ISO consultants. After some time, ISO consultant will be doing an internal audit to assess the progress. Based on internal audit, they may make certain recommendations and observations. Your team has to implement those and improve the process as advised.
Step 4 for ISO 9001 certification: Final Audit and Certification
After successful training and internal audit, it’s time to apply for ISO certification though an ISO certification body. ISO certification bodies will again conduct a final audit and if everything found to be in line with the quality standards as prescribed for ISO 9001, they award ISO certificate to your organisation. Usually an ISO 9001:2008 certificate will remain active till 3 years and certification body fees have to be paid as needed though every year.
Costs of ISO 9001 certification in India
Although costs of ISO certification depends on the no of employees in your organizations and the certification bodies you are applying to, it’s safe to assume it to be from Rs. 10,000.00 or more. There are few ISO certification agencies who even claim to offer ISO 9001:2008 certifications below Rs. 10,000.00 but that’s up to you.
Summary
ISO 9001 is a quality management certification which can be obtained by any business even with just one employee. 2008 is the latest version and so it’s called ISO 9001:2008. Since ISO 9001 deals with quality management, it’s one of the most popular certification because it helps you build international standard management procedure for an organisation. Even if the process of ISO 9001 certification sounds complicated, it is not. If you get hold of a good ISO consultant, you can obtain ISO 9001 certification within a couple of weeks in India. But depending on the size and nature of your business, it may take up to 3 months to obtain ISO 9001:2008 QMS certification.
