Lisora LLC clarifies the frequently asked question about ISO standards.
What is ISO 9001?
Before understanding ISO 9001, first you should know about ISO itself.
What is the ISO?
The Name “ISO” stands for “International Organization for Standardization”. Its all in the name. Because International Organization for Standardization have different acronyms in different languages. IOS in English, OIN in French (Organization Internationale de Normalization). Therefore, founders decided to give it a short form ISO. ISO is derived from Greek word “ISOS”, meaning equal.
History of ISO
The headquarter of ISO is based in Geneva - Switzerland. Story began in 1946. Delegates from 25 countries met at Institute of Civil Engineers in London, United Kingdom. They decided to create a new international organization to facilitate international coordination. That resulted the new organizational operations to officially began as ISO in February 1947. Since then, ISO is having members from 167 different countries and more than 250 technical bodies for the development of standards.
Information Source: https://www.iso.org
ISO issued 1st Standard:
The first ISO standard (called Recommendations at this time), ISO/R 1:1951 Standard reference temperature for industrial length measurements, was published in 1951. As of April 2022, total number of standards issued by ISO are 24,261. Find the detailed information through this source.
Information Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Organization_for_Standardization
What does "ISO Certified" means?
It is a common misconception that ISO certificates are issued and certified by International Organization for Standardization. International Organization for Standardization (ISO) does not provide audits or certification. Also, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) do not issue an ISO certificate. ISO only job is to keep researching on different topics and publish the standards. These standards can be used by any organization, large or small, or any industry, manufacturing, trading, or service. However, ISO described clearly how to get certified. Find the details below.
How to get certified?
Certification can be a useful tool to add credibility, by demonstrating that your product or service meets the expectations of your customers. For some industries, certification is a legal or contractual requirement.
At ISO, we develop International Standards, such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, but we are not involved in their certification, and do not issue certificates. This is performed by external certification bodies. Thus a company or organization cannot be certified by ISO.
However, ISO's Committee on Conformity Assessment (CASCO) has produced a number of standards related to the certification process, which are used by certification bodies. Read more about CASCO Standards.
Choosing a Certification Body
When choosing a certification body, you should:
Evaluate several certification bodies.
Check if the certification body uses the relevant CASCO standard
Check if it is accredited. Accreditation provides independent confirmation of competence.
Accreditation is not compulsory, and non-accreditation does not necessarily mean the certification body is not reputable. To find an accredited certification body, contact the national accreditation body in your country or visit International Accreditation Forum CertSearch.
Information Source: https://www.iso.org/certification.html
ISO 9001 - Quality Management System
Now let’s move ahead to focus on ISO 9001 standard in detail.
ISO 9001 is an international quality standard. The terminology used to describe this standard is “Quality Management System” or in simple words you may hear using short abbreviation often as “QMS”.
History of ISO 9001
In 1987, ISO publishes its first quality management standard. Standards in the ISO 9000 family have gone on to become some of the most well-known and best-selling standards. ISO 9001 sets out the criteria for a quality management system and is the only standard in the family that can be certified to (although this is not a requirement). It can be used by any organization, large or small, regardless of its field of activity.
This standard is based on a number of quality management principles including a strong customer focus, the motivation and implication of top management, the process approach and continual improvement. These principles are explained in more detail in ISO’s quality management principles. Using ISO 9001 helps ensure that customers get consistent, good-quality products and services, which in turn brings many business benefits.
How it begun:
The first published version of ISO 9001 was ISO 9001:1987. It had a tight structure with twenty requirements, but it focused on conforming to procedures and the big-picture of creating a high-quality process. The updated version ISO 9001:1994 had better enforcing conformity instead.
The next version, ISO 9001:2000 saw the largest changes since its introduction. It combatted the problems and sought to create a standard that focused on positive growth. Rather than hefty manuals and documents dictating the running of a QMS, the running dictated the documentation. This third edition wanted to draw out the emphasis that the ISO 9001 was about creating a quality management system via process performance measures. The documentation was evidence that the process was running effectively. It introduced eight key principles:
Focus on the customer
Effective leadership
Engaging people in all levels of the company
A process-based approach to management
Continuous Improvement
Decision making based on evidence and data
A focus on a mutually beneficial relationship between supplier and customer
Traceable consistency
These eight principles created much more freedom for companies to create QMS’s that suited their business while still meeting high quality standards. The new update, ISO 9001:2008 didn’t involve such a radical change as the last version. It sought to make clearer the requirements of the last ISO and to improve the way it fitted with other standards, such as the ISO 13485 and ISO 14001.
The latest version ISO 9001:2015, was published to ensure that the ISO reflected the best and more recent developments in good QMS practices. It made changes to ensure even easier integration with other ISO management systems, along with less prescriptive that allows your business to create a QMS that suits you.
ISO 9001 today
Over one million organizations across the globe have achieved ISO 9001 certification and it’s one of the world’s most widely used management tools. In 2021, the UK had over 60800 certified companies and the number has only increased in recent years. Whereas numbers are much larger in US and other states.
ISO 9001 can contribute incredibly to your operational process in order to achieve quality and to gain repute among stakeholders.
In General, ISO 9001 can help to:
Make Better Coordination.
Improve Decision-making Power.
Improve Quality of products and services.
Enhance Business Performance.
Demonstrate Commitment to High-Quality.
Increase the Credibility of your organization.
Achieve International Quality Recognition.
Optimized Performance.
Enhance Customer Satisfaction.
Increase effectiveness and efficiency.
Enhanced Repeat Business.
For more information about ISO 9001:2015 implementation and obtaining certificate in any organization in any part of the world. Feel free to contact Lisora LLC. https://www.lisorav.com
Written By: Luqman Ali
ISO Certification Specialist/Lead Auditor/Trainer
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