How hard is it to become ISO 9001 certified?

Furthermore, there are several misconceptions about ISO 9001 certification that could leave you with more questions than answers. However, the truth is that the benefits of receiving ISO 9001 certification are worth the effort.

At Citation Certification, we are committed to providing ISO certification to businesses across Australia and globally to help them achieve their goals. We can simplify your ISO 9001 implementation by incorporating simple solutions to bridge gaps within your system and fit your organisation’s culture and requirements.

ISO 9001 certification process

Most business owners fear getting ISO certifications because they believe it is a complicated and unnecessary process. While it will depend on your quality management system, the most crucial part of ISO 9001 certification is learning the typical implementation process. You will be surprised at how simple the process is once you understand the requirements of ISO 9001.

Mainly, ISO 9001 certification involves organising processes, commitment, and reviews. It also includes developing and managing an effective Quality Management System (QMS). Although many businesses have existing processes, they may need to adjust during the ISO 9001 implementation process to upgrade the management system. Of course, having an effective, high-performance management system is vital to running a successful business.

However, you may have to involve a reviewer to help assess and improve your old systems during the certification process. That is where reputable institutions like Citation Certification come in handy. We will work with you to identify components of your system that are not up to the ISO 9001 standards. That’s a great way to improve the old management system to ensure your business meets the recommended standards for certification.

Variables to consider when getting ISO certification

There are some aspects to keep in mind that can influence your ISO certification process. These variables may include:

• The available resources and tools to get your company certified
• Your business’s motivation, requirements, and purpose for achieving ISO 9001 certification
• The state of your current management system and processes and how they compare with the needs of the new standard
• Whether your team is ready to support the effort
• Whether you have a realistic timeframe
• Assessment of the possible risk and roadblocks

Steps to become ISO 9001 certified

Companies with efficient systems may want to use a gap checklist to conduct a general analysis of their processes. However, suppose your organisation is in the beginning stages and needs help evaluating strategies and implementing a QMS. In that case, you may need to consider talking to a consultant like Next Practice to perform a gap analysis.

Essentially, ISO 9001 covers the international standard that defines the guidelines for a quality management system. It was first launched in 1987 by ISO – International Organisation for Standardisation and consists of a family of standards including:

• ISO 9001:2015 (Requirements of QMS) is the most recent and based on seven principles that top management can utilise to facilitate improvement. They include customer focus, leadership, relationship management, continuous improvement, process approach, data-based decisions, and people’s engagement.
• ISO 9000:2015 (fundamentals and definitions of QMS)
•  ISO 9004:2018 (QMS- Continuous improvement)
• ISO 19011:2018 (Guidelines for auditing management system)

The goal of ISO 9001 is to help companies improve customer confidence and boost their bottom line. Therefore, implementing ISO 9001 can help your business organise a QMS, continually improve processes, save money, and create a satisfied workforce and customers.