ISO Certification - Requirements, Process and Benefits

ISO Certification - Requirements, Process and Benefits

ISO Certification - Requirements, Process and Benefits


ISO certificate is one of the ways that provide standards to the organizations and thus lead way to innovation and development of trade. These standards also ensure that the products and services of the organization meet the customer and regulatory requirements. In addition to this, it also demonstrates continuous improvement. ISO is an independent, non-governmental, international organization that creates standards to ensure the quality, safety, and efficiency of the products, services, and systems. It also certifies that the management system, manufacturing process, service or the documentation process has fulfilled all the requirements for standardization and quality assurance.

ISO certificate is provided in many areas of industry, that is from energy management and social responsibility to medical devices and risk management.


The Need for an ISO Certification for a Company - Benefits



The primary reason a company needs an ISO certification is that it is mandatory by law or contract. The secondary reasons to conform to the standards are:

  1. It gives an organization a platform that is recognized by game changers and decision makers.
  2. Identification of recurrent issues and resolving them saves valuable time and financial support.
  3. Processes become more efficient which improves the system.
  4. They give a company a competitive edge needed during contract tenders
  5. The same resources lead to more value and worth.
  6. The perception the customers hold on business increases tenfold and consequently, satisfaction rises.
An increasing number of organizations are opting for ISO 9001 certification because the standard benefits them by consistently improving their outcomes and processes, and because it is a valuable prerequisite for customer acquisition.

The certification is bound to exponentially benefit an organization if ISO 9001 is implemented with the right legal guidance.

Additional advantages of ISO Certification

An ISO Certification is a mark of guarantee that every item produced or sold by the business fulfills the standards set at a global level. It ensures that the company offers only top-notch quality products or services

Furthermore, a certification gives the customer a reliance that the product or service is in compliance with superior quality standards. The ISO mark puts a product a step above others in the eye of the customer which increases the sales. In simpler words, the certification is the easiest tool to market and brand your services or goods.
  1. Nowadays government tenders and proposals accept tenders of businesses that are ISO certified.
  2. Since ISO certifications meet international standards, they help businesses reach global customers.
  3. Each ISO standard was created so that customers are served better. Therefore, when certification is got, the satisfaction of the consumer increases and repeat purchases occur.
  4. A flawed product is duly rejected. When the standards set at an international level are adhered to, these rejections rarely occur.
  5. The efficiency of business increases because the SOPs of ISO demand seamless operations. The functionality and operations of the firm, thus, rise.
  6. The mark of an ISO 9001 Certification is automatic branding and marketing of a product because it doubles the credibility of a business.
  7. An ISO 9001 certification will set your business or organization on the path of profit and set it on par with world standards.
  8. The business will see consistent improvement and performance which will in turn provide customers with services and products beyond their level of expectation. This is a cycle which will indirectly be a positive influence on the satisfaction and morale of the organization as a whole.

Prerequisites for ISO registration for a business

Before getting an ISO Certification the following aspects have to be considered:

  1. The first thing is to get the right ISO 9001 certification that benefits a business
  2. The second step is to find the best ISO registrar who is certified by ISO and follows the CASCO standards. The ISO body can be IAF certified and non-IAF certified. IAF stands for International accreditation forum. An IAF accreditation only adds more credibility to the certificate and an absence of an IAF accreditation does not impact the legality of the certification. It is these third-party agencies who will test the company on behalf of ISO and judge its worth.

ISO certification & registration in India – A detailed process

The process in India includes:

Complete ISO Form

An online form of ISO application has to be filled with complete information and the corresponding documents. Some of the data would be like details on the nature of the business, company address and years of operation.

Consultation On Registration Type

As ISO has many types of certifications and hence it is highly recommended that you consult an expert to select the best accreditation standard that fits.

Document Submission

Every document that is submitted along with the application is verified and the information is double checked. They are then filed with the concerned ISO registrar. Once the submission is confirmed, online payment needs to be done through one of the various payment modes available.

ISO Audit

An ISO audit is an examination or verification to check the genuineness of your business’ process records. Three main types of audits are:

First party audit or internal audit: Conducted internally by your own staff who are trained. It can also be performed by an external company.
Second party audit or supplier audit: Conducted by lead auditors in your organisation. This is done to ensure your suppliers function properly and that you get the supply of products/services correctly. As internal audits, these can also be performed by external agencies if you don’t have the qualified resources.
Third party audit or certification audit: This must be carried out only by auditors of Certification Bodies.
Depending on the documents submitted, an ISO audit for the business is conducted wherein the genuineness of the documents are checked. The authority then makes a decision based on the defined procedures.

ISO Certification

If the audit is successful, a certificate is issued to your company. It is couriered to the business address. ISO 9001 certification renewal has to be done once a year and for the renewal, the authorities conduct a surveillance audit to ensure adherence to all the standards.

Documents required for ISO Registration Process

When applying for an ISO Certification, every business will need to submit the following documents:

Proof that the business is registered. This can be done through:
  1. Certificate of Incorporation
  2. GST Certificate
  3. MSME Certificate
  4. A letterhead or visiting card of the business.
  5. The details of an invoice that includes: Sales Invoice and Purchase Invoice
This is a limited list of records that are required for the procedure. There are many other mandatory and optional documents that need to be submitted. 

Understanding ISO standards categories

Under ISO Certificatiom, there are more than 22,000 standards that correspond to:

  1. Processes
  2. Services
  3. Goods
The latest version of ISO is 9001:2015. There are eight primary elements of the business it deals with:

  1. Leadership
  2. Customer focus
  3. Process approach
  4. Involvement of people
  5. Continual improvement
  6. System approach to management
  7. Factual approach to decision making
  8. Mutually beneficial supplier relationships
The ISO 14000 certifications, on the other hand, deals with the environment such as the one used by waste management firms. A few other ISO certifications are:

  1. ISO 13485 for medical devices.
  2. ISO 18091 for local governments.
  3. ISO/IEC 90003 for software engineering.
  4. ISO/TS 29001 for the oil and gas industry.
  5. ISO 17582 for government electoral organizations.
  6. ISO 22000 that proves a company has operative food safety management.
  7. OHSAS 18001 shows customers that the company has effective health and safety management system.
  8. ISO 20000 demonstrates excellence and prove best practice in IT & improvement in the delivery of IT services.
  9. CE Marking on any product shows that it complies with the necessary requirements of the applicable European health, safety, and environmental protection benchmark.
  10. ISO 50001 describes best energy management practices which help save energy, conserve resources and tackle climate change.
  11. ISO 27001 describes a best practice of company that involved in the information security management system (ISMS).

FAQs

Q. Can I be certified with multiple ISO standards at a same time?
Yes, you can get ISO Certification under multiple ISO Standards. This way, you will get additional recognition in the market.
The ISO 9001 standard has been harmonized with other standards such as ISO 14001 and ISO 27001, which means they have similar requirements clauses. For example both ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 require management reviews, internal audits, Document Control procedure, etc. With the appropriate analysis and planning, your organization could save time and money by combining these steps to avoid redundancy.

Q. Which ISO Certification best for my business?
There are different kind of ISO Certification Standards which focus on different aspect of business or organisational activity. ISO 9001 focus quality management system which helps organisation to enhance customer satisfaction with company product and services. Similarly ISO 14001 focus on environmental management and so on.

Before obtaining ISO certification, you must have look into your entire business process thoroughly and analysis which part or parts of the process you desire to standardized with ISO standards. Accordingly choose the ISO certification.

Q. What is IAF?
IAF stands for International Accreditation Forum. IAF is the world most recognised association of global Accreditation bodies and that are responsible for conformity assessment in various fields of quality management systems. An ISO Certification issued by IAF member accreditation body carries more value and recognition in the world. Even though, Government authorities prefer it for fulfilling eligibility criteria of government tenders.

Q. Why should I get an ISO certification?
ISO certification is like a statement to your company’s stakeholders, creditors, employees, and others that your established business operates in a specific framework. And your company uses this framework to achieve all your objectives, be it customer satisfaction, production objectives or environmental objectives. It being an external certification, it keeps the credibility of the certification as well.
There are many requests from many public sector tenders, where the ISO certification is a pre-requisite before allotment. In that case, it’d improve your chances of getting that tender.


For more information visit www.taxaj.com
Posted by Pooja
Team Taxaj

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