ISO9001 certification can definitely be the backbone of a robust Quality Management System (QMS), providing clarity, consistency, and a road-map for compliance. It all starts with understanding your operation, your organizational chart, and your process flow chart. However, before you commit to certification, make sure you are willing to spend the time to understand the purpose, you really need the certification, and you are willing to accept some organizational changes.
Do you really need the ISO9001?: Our answer to this is quite simple;
- If you think it is good to have, do not do it. Nothing will fix a management system but you. You are not ready it can easily become a burden and an expense, similar to a machine you thought you will need, you never used it, and now you wish you never bought because it is taking up valuable resources to keep and maintain.
- If your Organizational chart and process flow charts are mature, go for it. At this stage you and your staff are ready and the ISO9001 will not shock the system.
- If your customers or regulatory bodies require it and recommend it, go for it. Recommend is emphasized because if you are a reliable and trusted supplier even the biggest of the biggest client will bend the rules and work with - with or without the ISO9001. Usually, the recommendation becomes a demand when your customer is bought out or it is a customer of a customer's demand higher up the supply chain.
- If you thing ISO9001 is going to bring you more business you will be sadly disappointed. ISO9001 is an internal management tool and not an external marketing tool. It will help you become more efficient and more reliable which could leads to more business.
Just a few days back, we were not shy to tell a client that it would be best for them to drop the ISO9001 certification rather than spend resources on managing it and on top of this Audit it.