ISO 9001 is sometimes referred to as the...

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



Win contracts and get new customers!
Requirements for quality management systems according to ISO 9001 are found, among other places, in public procurement. The chance of winning a public procurement increases significantly 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 to be a minimum requirement to hire a supplier.



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

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



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

inspections, maintenance, and service of equipment
employees\' authorizations and competencies
etc.


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

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

quality policy and quality objectives
responsibilities & authorities distributed 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 as well as key performance indicators for the processes
management review - a meeting where company management evaluates how the quality work is progressing and, if necessary, makes decisions to address deficiencies.


Common Mistakes in Implementing ISO 9001
Common mistakes made when introducing the ISO 9001 certification in a company or organization as a management system include:

Starting from the structure of the standard - A tip is to start from the flow of 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.
Becoming too detailed - Remember that what you commit to do in the management system, you must be able to show that you are doing! That is, be detailed only where there is a serious quality risk or stakeholder requirement.
Trying to do everything at once - See it as renovating a house, take one room (process) at a time. Otherwise, you will never finish!
Being time-optimistic and thinking you can manage the implementation parallel to the regular work.


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

Performing 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.
Supporting daily quality work.
Conducting internal audits.
Training the company\'s internal auditors in auditing methodology or training the company\'s management in their responsibilities in quality work.




How does the certification process work?
The certification is carried out by an accredited certification body and the certification process consists of two stages:

Stage 1
In the first certification stage, the focus is usually on documentation and management\'s responsibility in the management system. In other words, stakeholder analysis, risk and 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 audit is to check 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 certification stage, the certification auditor will review whether the quality management system is implemented in daily work, i.e., that daily work follows the routines in the management system and meets the requirements of the ISO 9001 standard.

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

After that, the certification body will carry out audits in the company at least annually. The frequency depends on, among other things, the size of the company.

What happens after ISO 9001 certification?
Many people tend to relax after receiving their ISO 9001 certification,