All organisations have a management system of some sort, documenting some of the ways they do things (processes/procedures) and their rules (policies), as well as keeping certain records. A Gap Analysis identifies how much what you do already will meet ISO Quality Management System requirements, and where different or additional information is needed. So don't waste time and money reinventing the wheel.
Not sure why you should bother with an ISO 9001 Quality Management System? Here are 10 FAQs explaining how it will help your business save time and money, improve customer satisfaction and increase revenue.
Need ISO management system certification? Click to see an infographic showing a simple summary of the 10 steps — from identifying key drivers, through to development, implementation and auditing. They apply whether your focus is on Quality, Safety, Environment, Food Safety, or any other ISO standard.
When it comes to processes, the introduction of new ideas and improvements can cause conflict within the organisation and inconsistent customer experiences outside the organisation. But documenting your knowledge succinctly and accessibly can help you make the case for change and foster innovation.
Understanding your organisation's 'context' means considering the external and internal issues that are relevant to its strategic direction, as well as how these could impact on your Quality Management System, and how your QMS could support your organisation’s strategy.
Training helps to turn the theory of quality and safety into reality. Effective training should be a fundamental part of a company’s management system as it can help prevent many quality, safety and environmental problems from ever occurring. Dare I say it – training even improves profitability. Some Facts A study by the American Management Association found that companies that INCREASED their training after changes to their business reported: 63% higher productivity. 69% higher profits. 74% higher quality. In contrast, [...]
I have quite a few clients due to be audited soon so I thought I’d write about the things auditors tend to ask. Of course no one can predict all their questions (they are human beings after all), but you can bet that the following 5 questions will be amongst them. 1. What is your policy? Quality/OHS/Environmental/Energy/Food Safety or a combination of them into one integrated policy. This is often one of the first questions asked during a certification audit. [...]
A recent newsletter was about setting meaningful objectives and targets for ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems, AS 4801 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems, and ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems. You know, the sort of objectives that help your business grow, reduce costs and even save lives. If you have objectives you need action plans. Action Plans are simple lists of all of the tasks that you need to finish to meet an objective. They differ from to-do Lists in [...]
ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems, ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems, and AS 4801 OHS Management Systems all require the setting of relevant objectives. Why? Objectives are goalposts and as such they drive improvement. The reason why many organisations do not reach their full potential or remain stagnant is that they don’t have this mechanism. They simply run around putting out fires, tackling surface issues, and responding to the “problems of the day” rather than addressing process performance issues based on [...]
Many companies want ISO certification so they can tick a box on tender requests and thus increase their chances of being shortlisted for valuable tenders. This is one good reason but ISO systems can do so much more. When an ISO system is written with your business needs and goals in mind, when it is tailor made for your products, services and processes then it will reduce costs and improve performance too. In fact, it will be one of the [...]
