ISO stands for International Organisation for Standardisation. ISO is an international institution that creates standards to guarantee the safety, quality, and efficiency of systems that are used around the world. ISO certification attests that the system meets all the requirements outlined for quality assurance and standardisation. They cover many fields of an industry and are used to guarantee consistency and efficiency. There are different types of ISO certifications with distinct standards. One example of the ISO certification is ISO 9001.
What is ISO 9001 certification?
The number 9001 is used for classifying the standards. ISO 9001 is used to define the procedure for adhering to several principles in the field of quality management. It is usually written as “ISO 9001: ” then followed by the version of standards after the colon, and is typically the year that these standards were started. Say, for instance, ISO 9001:2015 means that the measure was launched in the year 2015.
An organisation or a business that is ISO 9001 certified has met all the requirements outlined in ISO 9001 and follows an appropriate system of quality management. It also needs the organisation to note areas that require some improvements and how they will enforce those improvements.
ISO 9001 certification is among the compulsory requirements for a business or an organisation to engage in transactions with other organisations.
Benefits of ISO 9001 certification
Increased productivity: ISO 9001 ensures that the business complies with the international standards set by ISO; hence a company can improve its operation and efficiency to a global level, which results in an increase in productivity and profit.
Global recognition: ISO is an internationally recognised body. Thus, possessing an ISO 9001 certification means that your organisation can engage in business with any other organisation around the globe that is also ISO certified.
Congenial with other ISO standards: ISO 9001 is compatible and flexible with different types of ISO certifications. It is utilised along with other criteria because it mainly checks on the quality and efficiency of the systems and processes.
Right for both small-scale and large-scale organisations: certification in ISO 9001 is flexible and can be affected in both small and large businesses. Quality management in any institution is one of the critical processes that ensure the success of the company.
Better quality outputs: having ISO 9001 certificate puts you in a better position for getting a better quality of the products or services that the business engages in, and thus it helps to retain customers.
A company needs to be ISO certified to attract more customers and organisations that engage in business with them. Most customers evaluate a business and look for such credentials before involving in any transaction with them. They check for ISO 9001 because it ascertains that the quality of the goods or services being produced have met all the requirements and are at the international level. ISO 9001 also helps to create and maintain trust and loyalty between organisations that engage in transactions, as well as the customers’ confidence in the business. ISO 9001:2015 is the latest version of the ISO 9001 standard that was started in 2015. All companies and organisations are required to update their processes and functions to the newest version of ISO 9001 to remain relevant and productive in the market. Businesses and organisations also need to regularly check for the latest updates of the ISO 9001 and make appropriate updates to their systems.
