A manager, department head, or director of operations will be among the employees most qualified to create a focused Quality Management System. If you’re a controlling officer for your company, you may be more comfortable taking on the responsibility yourself.
Think of your Quality Management System as a comprehensive overview of what your company hopes to achieve with a particular product, service, or business model, and the exact steps they follow to achieve it. If you’re seeking certification for a product, the purpose of your analysis will be to describe the product’s design and materials, your company’s system of production, and your company’s internal quality-assessment process. This is the most demanding step in securing ISO certification, so take your time to make sure your documentation is meticulous.
Instruct your internal auditor to keep an eye out for inconsistencies between your Quality Management System documentation and the way things are actually being done. [4] X Research source Name someone other than the project supervisor to the role of auditor. This will help ensure impartiality and decrease the chances of potential gaps going unnoticed.
Meeting your targeted performance standards may require you to implement new policies, explore safer or more efficient procedures, or retrain employees.
The ISO organization only devises industry standards and provides accreditation to independent certifying bodies—it doesn’t actually issue certifications. The ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB) has compiled a directory of accredited certifying bodies for businesses applying for an external audit. [7] X Research source Selecting the right registrar for your business can take a while. Begin your search while you’re still developing your Quality Management System documentation to give yourself plenty of time.
Accreditation is a major plus, but it’s not a necessity. A registrar may still be highly qualified even if they aren’t on a list of accredited certifiers.
Due to the need for strict international standards across the board, it may not be possible to negotiate the terms of your application contract.
If you opt to go through with a pre-assessment, you’ll need to provide your chosen certification body with a complete, up-to-date copy of your Quality Management System paperwork. Be aware that the pre-assessment period may add 2-4 weeks to the certification process.
You or your employees may be separately interviewed or called upon to explain details of policies and procedures that are central to your operations. [10] X Research source The actual audit is an ongoing process that may take anywhere from days to weeks. The exact length will depend on the complexity of your Quality Management System and the size and organizational structure of your company.
Make sure your project supervisor, internal auditor, and all other key employees are present when you go over the findings of your audit report.
Minor Nonconformities refer to small procedural errors or instances where policy and practice don’t quite line up, but don’t ultimately impact that quality of your product or service.
Major Nonconformities could also leave you subject to fines or similar penalties if they are discovered to be in violation of the law. If your audit report comes back with more than one Major Nonconformity highlighted, you may need to reconsider the content of your Quality Management System to determine whether it’s feasible in its current form.
It may take 2-3 weeks for your certificate to arrive after you’ve gotten word of approval from the certifying body. Your business will also be added to a register of companies with ISO certification, which can be viewed by consumers as well as other businesses.
