Iso 9000 Standards Guidelines

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Principles and Stages of Certification
Advice on Accreditation Body Selection
Personnel Training
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

The series of ISO 9000 standards is a universally accepted system of quality management, which develops standards that are in-demand on the market. It is based on eight principles of quality management, which include customer focus, leadership, the involvement of people, process research, system approach to management, continual improvement, factual approach to decision making, and mutually beneficial supplier relationship (“Quality management principles” 1). To get certification under ISO 9000 standards, an organization should follow the specific stages, there are eight of them.

Principles and Stages of Certification

The process of implementing the standards in an organization requires certain changes in the workflow and commitment to the goal set. There is a description of the necessary stages, provided by an author of an article about ISO implementation:

First, decide if ISO 9000 implementation is appropriate for the organization. If it is, then the second step is to select the ISO 9000 system most applicable to the organization. Third, perform a shortfall analysis that indicates how much the organization varies from ISO 9000 compliance. Fourth, create the implementation plan. Fifth, resolve the compliance variations. Sixth, implement training, transitional processes, and other such activities … Seventh, do internal reviews and audits of the new quality system. Eight, prepare for and undergo the on-site compliance audit. (Wilson 37)

There is a simple explanation to summarize and illustrate these steps. At first, it is important for the top management to acknowledge the responsibilities and to be committed to the process. Then the organization will need personnel training, and it may be advised to appoint the employees, who will be responsible for the training. The training may include the lectures, manuals and audit simulations following the ISO 9000 guidelines. All of the personnel should be properly trained, and keeping the training records may also be useful. By that time, the operating procedures and quality policy manuals should already be prepared according to the ISO standards.

An internal check is required in order to assess whether or not the organization complies with the standards and is ready for registration, as well as to find possible flaws in quality management. If this stage goes successfully, the next step is to find the registrar and determine the cost of registration.

The longest and most difficult step is the process of registration itself. It is divided into a few sub-steps, which include the process application, the pre-assessment and the real audit by the accreditation body, necessary revisions and corrections (if any) and subsequent audit. Finally, when everything is ready, and the organization quality management system complies with the ISO 9000 standards, the registration will follow (Kurtus par. 8-15). Not all of these steps can go after each other, but all of them are necessary for successful ISO certification.

Advice on Accreditation Body Selection

A choice of a registrar may become a difficult task when the management does not know where to begin. There are a few basic rules that should be followed when choosing a certification body. It is very important to consider all options, including accreditation and the qualification of the registrar, its reputation, the services it provides and the cost of registration.

According to Phillip Dobyns and Jill Smolnic, there are four key points required for a registrar: it must establish and follow rules to provide services in a manner that is not discriminatory and does not influence the organization’s activities negatively; the services should be accessible to any applicant despite its size or memberships in any associations; the assessment should follow the relevant criteria according to the contract and published quality standards; and the requirements for registration should be confined to specific criteria in accordance with the contract agreements (Dobyns and Smolnic par. 12-15).

Personnel Training

Another important matter is the staff training. The personnel should be aware of the certification process and its benefits and also trained to work according to the new quality management system. A special training course is required for that.

In an article on The Manage Mentor website, there are some examples of training requirements and outcomes. It is stated that the staff will keep working in the same way as they had in the past; ISO 9000 system is effective because it relies on increasing the awareness in certain areas of every person’s ordinary course of work; the training should consist of the following basic points: the knowledge of the source of all the material and paperwork prior to its allocation, the way of dealing with incorrect paperwork or material, the identification, reporting or segregation of the defective material (“What Every Employee Needs to Know About ISO 9000” par. 2-10).

The training can take the form of lectures, demonstrations, video lessons, webinars, or manuals and hand-outs for the employees. The records of training courses should be kept for further reference. The level of education can also be measured, and it may vary from those who only received the instructions to the individuals who become extremely competent and may be given the responsibility to train and evaluate the others (“Plan your management system. ISO 9001: Human Resources 6.2” par. 2-4).

Conclusion

From the statements above, it is obvious that for ISO 9000 certification an organization needs a detailed plan of actions, a thorough preparation and a full comprehension of requirements for registration procedure. These points will allow to meet the standard’s requirements, and deliver the services to the satisfaction of the customers.

Works Cited

Dobyns, Phillip C. and J. C. Smolnic 1999, Tough Choices! When Should You Consider Changing Registrars? Web.

Kurtus, Ron 2005, Steps to Achieve ISO 9000 Registration. Web.

Plan your management system. ISO 9001: Human Resources 6.2 2013. Web.

Quality Management Principles 2012. Web.

What Every Employee Needs to Know About ISO 9000 2003. Web.

Wilson, Lawrence A. “Eight-Step Process to Successful ISO 9000 Implementation: A Quality Management System Approach.” Quality Progress. 29.1 (1996): 37-40. Web.

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