ISO 9001 is sometimes referred to as the...

Why should you have a quality management system according to ISO 9001?

Win tenders and attract new customers! Requirements for quality management systems according to ISO 9001 are among other things found in public tenders. The possibility of winning a public tender significantly increases if you have a quality certification or a quality management system.

Many companies also consider a quality management system and quality certification according to ISO 9001 as a hygiene level for hiring a supplier.

Increase profitability! By introducing and working according to a quality management system ISO 9001, you not only get a structured way of working, you also get tools to:

Prevent complaints through documented quality controls.
Report and address internal and external deficiencies (deviations), with the aim that they do not recur.
Follow up on customer satisfaction and the effectiveness of processes.
Together, these components contribute to reducing the company\'s quality deficiencies and increasing customer satisfaction, i.e. profitability will improve.

Get better order and organization! Moreover, a quality management system means that you get better order and organization, as it becomes clearer who is responsible for what. You can also gain increased control over:

inspections, maintenance, and servicing of equipment
the qualifications and competencies of the personnel
and more.

A quality management system also includes that the daily work should be controlled to:

meet the requirements that stakeholders place on the company
prevent risks from a quality and business perspective.
In order for the daily work to function as intended, support is needed in the form of:

quality policy and quality objectives
distribution of responsibilities and authorities within the organization
competent employees
well-functioning communication, both internally and externally
deviation management to capture internal and external deficiencies
follow-up on customer satisfaction and key performance indicators for processes
management review - a meeting where the company management evaluates how the quality work is going and, if necessary, makes decisions to handle deficiencies.

Common mistakes in implementing ISO 9001
Common mistakes made when implementing ISO 9001 certification in a company or organization as a management system are:

Starting from the structure of the standard - instead, it is recommended to start from the flow in your company, then your quality management system will be built according to your company.
Describing how you want to work and not how you work in reality.
Being too detailed - Remember that what you commit to do in the management system, you must be able to show that you do! Be detailed only where there is a serious quality risk or a stakeholder requirement.
Trying to do everything at once - Think of it as renovating a house, you take one room (process) at a time. Otherwise, you will never finish!
Being time-optimistic and thinking that you will be able to manage the implementation parallelly with ordinary work.

How can we help?
Our HSE and ISO consultants can help with:

Conducting a GAP analysis to identify any deficiencies in the company\'s existing quality management system.
Developing and implementing a quality management system according to ISO 9001.
Providing support in daily quality work.
Performing internal audits.
Training the company\'s internal auditors in audit methodology or training the company management in their responsibilities in quality work.

How does the certification process work?
Certification is carried out by an accredited certification body and the certification process takes place in two stages.

Stage 1
The focus in the first stage of certification is usually on documentation and the management\'s responsibility in the management system. In other words, stakeholder analysis, risk & opportunity analysis, quality policy, quality objectives, deviation management, supplier assessment & evaluation, work with internal audits, distribution of responsibilities & authorities, competence development, management review, etc. will be reviewed. The aim of the review is to verify that there is a quality management system in place that is good enough (i.e. meets the requirements of ISO 9001) to obtain a certificate.

Stage 2
In the second stage of certification, the certification auditor will review if the quality management system is implemented in daily work, i.e. that the daily work follows the routines in the management system and meets the requirements of the ISO 9001 standard.

Where the certification auditor discovers deficiencies in the management system or in the daily work, deviations are recorded. Deviations from stage 1 must be rectified before the stage 2 audit, and deviations from stage 2 must be rectified, and the actions must then be approved by the auditor before you can receive the certificate.

Thereafter, the certification body will perform audits on the company at least annually. The frequency depends, among other things, on the size of the company.

What happens after ISO