The ISO 9001 accreditation is part of the International Organization for Standardization 9000 standards. They are awarded to businesses for quality. The 9001 is recognized worldwide as an award for a companys internal quality management or actions that the company takes to ensure the product or service they provide is of the highest quality. Customer satisfaction is a major factor in whether a company will be awarded an ISO 9001 accreditation.
There are many benefits for a company to have an ISO 9001 accreditation and the most important being that it gives a great impression of the business. If companies are planning to tender for a contract with a Local Authority for example, it can be one of the required criteria. Some of the other benefits include continuously detailed and quality driven running of your business, an improvement in customer satisfaction, improved business status, and an increase in staff motivation. A business can even integrate the ISO 9001 with other ISO standards such as those for health and safety, environmental and information security to further enhance the status of the company. The ISO standards all integrate together effortlessly so a business should have no problems maintaining ISO standards in all areas.
To get an ISO 9001 accreditation, your business will have to prepare and look for help and advice. You can check the ISO website for any advice on how to begin the process. You will need to find out everything you can before applying to see what you need to implement into your business. Find out as much as possible as this will ease your application process. Once you have decided to apply, a Lead Assessor will be appointed to you to help guide you through the whole process. Your lead assessor will be your first point of contact throughout and he or she should be able to answer any questions you have.
Stage one of the application process is the pre-audit assessment. This is where your lead assessor will visit your premises and make a report of everything you need to implement in order to gain your accreditation. After the visit you will be given a detailed report on all the necessary actions which need to be taken. You can then set a deadline for completing the required actions.
The second stage is the audit assessment. This will be set up for you by your lead assessor and an auditor will visit your premises and will notify you of any recommendations before leaving. If the auditor recommends that you be awarded the ISO 9001 accreditation, it will be confirmed shortly afterwards formally. You will then receive your ISO 9001 certification. However, the process does not end there. If you are awarded the certificate it is up to you to maintain the standards of quality that you have set. You will be continually assessed to ensure that your standards are maintained. You will still have the services of your lead assessor to help you to meet any requirements which are set down by the ISO 9001 standard.
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