In industry, ISO 9001 certification seems to be the norm for successful companies (a prerequisite for working with numerous clients). That said, beyond a sometimes restrictive administrative approach, ISO 9001 is also a great way to improve the agility of your company and involve teams in the process of continuous improvement.
The ISO 9001 standard: Definition
The international standard ISO 9001 describes the requirements that must be met by the Quality Management System (QMS — Quality Management Systems) of a company or organization. It is part of the family of ISO 9000 standards, published by the International Organization for Standardization (IOS — International Organization for Standardization).
Created in 1987 and regularly updated, the standard was updated in 2015. It can be used by any organization, regardless of industry and size. In Europe, more than 500,000 companies have already implemented it and more than 35,000 have been ISO 9001 certified in France.
The standard allows a company to implement a systematic approach to provide quality products and services and continuously improve customer satisfaction.
Why implement the ISO 9001 standard
The general idea of ISO 9001 certification is to structure the organization and processes of the company in such a way as to optimize operations and enhance customer satisfaction.
First of all, this involves the establishment of an ISO 9001 quality management system. The QMS is the framework that describes the methods of operation of the company at all levels, with the main objective of customer satisfaction. The processes, thus reviewed, optimized and clearly entered in the QMS, contribute to the improvement of operational performance.
ISO 9001 also promotes the analysis of operational data, thus giving managers the material to make their decision-making reliable.
Finally, all employees are involved in setting up the QMS, allowing everyone to contribute to the improvement of company operations. Thus, all employees enter into a continuous improvement process, allowing the company to grow without risk and to gain in reactivity in the face of market changes.
The second contribution of an ISO 9001 certification, a direct consequence of the first, is the commercial advantage it represents.
Its international recognition contributes to improving the brand image and the credibility of companies with their prospects. On the other hand, by placing customer satisfaction at the center of the company's concerns, it makes it possible to strengthen the relationship of trust with partners and to develop the business.
We now understand better why nearly 35,000 companies have been certified in France. But then, in concrete terms, what does the implementation of this QMS consist of?
The QMS, what?
The quality management system (QMS) consists of the structure, processes, procedures and resources used by the company to deliver its products or services in accordance with the requirements of its customers. It is based on 7 fundamental principles:
- Customer focus — The priority of the QMS is to meet current customer requirements and to anticipate their future needs in order to exceed their expectations
- The management — At all levels, managers must communicate the organization's quality objectives and set up an environment adapted to their achievement.
- Staff involvement — To achieve its quality objectives, staff must be competent, empowered and involved regardless of their functions in the organization
- The process approach — Activities should always be considered as interdependent elements of an overall process that supports the organization's quality strategy.
- Continuous improvement — The desire for constant improvement of the organization develops its adaptability and is a condition for its success
- Informed decision making — The analysis and interpretation of available data allows more relevant decisions to be made and potentially better results to be obtained.
- Managing relationships with partners — The organization's quality approach must include the management of relationships with partners (suppliers, customers, etc.)
Ok great, but how do you set up this QMS?
How to pass your ISO 9001 certification in 5 steps
Obtaining the ISO 9001 standard requires the establishment of a quality management system and its audit by a specialized certification body in charge of validating ISO 9001 compliance.
2 steps to set up your QMS simply:
- QMS definition and documentation
- Identification and mapping of current customer requirements and expectations and reflection on the evolution of their needs over time
- Definition of the quality policy including the quality objectives for each of the company's products and services
- The crux of the matter: Formalization and implementation of processes and procedures to achieve these objectives
- Feedback - Once the QMS is finished, it is necessary to apply the rules and procedures for a while to test its effectiveness and adjust it as needed
However, before being able to obtain the valuable certification, you still have to go through the following steps:
- Internal audit of the quality management system: Review of all QMS processes in order to validate that the associated documentation is comprehensive and to verify that there are no shortcomings.
- Management review: Formal validation of the system by management.
- Corrective actions: Implementation of improvements to remedy the weaknesses identified during the internal audit and management review and documentation of their resolution.
- Certification process by a specialized body in 2 steps
- Review of documentation to verify compliance with ISO 9001 requirements
- Primary audit of company activities and practices to ensure ISO 9001 compliance
Conclusion
Finally, ISO 9001 certification consists in an overhaul of all the company's operating methods in order to make them safer, more robust and resolutely focused on customer satisfaction. The direct consequence is the improvement of the operational performance of the various teams and the commercial development of the company.
SMEs, which often have limited resources (time, budget) to allocate to these projects, will prefer the implementation of tools to manage their process simply than the usual transformation consulting firms. Technical data management solutions, PLM, ERP or even QMS are tools that make it considerably easier to obtain certification. By integrating the management and rigorous monitoring of internal processes, some platforms such as Aletiq allow their customers to fulfill a large number of requirements for their certification.
