ISO is the international organisation for standardisation. ISO standards are recognised internationally, and ISO member bodies exist in most countries worldwide.
Probably the best-known ISO standard is ISO 9001, the global standard for quality management systems. ISO 9001 is an international standard, which means that organisations in every corner of the globe must meet the same requirements in order to achieve ISO 9001 certification.
ISO itself claims that over a million companies in more than 170 countries are certified to ISO 9001. This means that the ISO 9001 standard is used in almost every single country on Earth.
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The world of work has changed immeasurably since the ISO 9001 standard (formerly known as ISO 9000) was introduced. The very first edition of the global standard was published in 1987, three and a half decades ago - fortunately, updates have been released approximately every seven years since then, the most recent version being ISO 9001:2015.
So ISO 9001 has evolved to keep up with the ever-changing realities of modern business. Nowadays, many companies exist entirely online, with no need for a traditional brick-and-mortar office or shop. If your own business fits this description, you'll be pleased to learn that the current version of the ISO 9001 standard is flexible enough to accommodate you.
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A quality manual is a document that outlines an organisation's quality management system (QMS).
In the past, a company seeking ISO 9001 certification would typically keep a big folder - sometimes several big folders - full of important documents related to their QMS. This unwieldy stack of forms, procedures, policies and so forth was sometimes referred to as a 'quality manual'.
But a quality manual doesn't have to include all of those things. In fact, a quality manual can just be a single document that sets out the intent for your quality management system and how it will operate.
SEE ALSO: What is a quality manual?
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Once you have obtained ISO 9001 certification through ISO Accelerator, you will need to renew your certification once a year. This involves paying an annual recertification fee and passing a surveillance audit to prove that you are maintaining your quality management system (QMS).
If you're wondering what to expect from this annual ISO recertification audit, read on...
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It is a popular misconception that businesses must document absolutely everything they do in order to obtain ISO 9001 certification. Yes, there is a fair bit of documentation involved, but there's no reason to fear that your office will be buried under tonnes and tonnes of paperwork.
In fact, one of the objectives of ISO 9001:2015 - the most recent version of the ISO 9001 standard for quality management systems - was to streamline the amount and detail of documentation required.
Documents required for ISO 9001 certification
There are two sets of documents required for ISO 9001 certification.
The following mandatory documents are needed to obtain ISO 9001 certification and must be updated continuously:
- Scope of the quality management system (QMS)
- Quality policy
- Quality objectives
Additionally, the following records must be retained in order to prove that your QMS meets ISO 9001 requirements:
- Monitoring and measuring resources
- Records of staff training, qualifications, experience, etc.
- Product / service requirement review records
- Records of design and development inputs, controls, outputs and changes
- Characteristics of the product / service to be provided
- Customer property records
- Product / service provision change control records
- Product / service release
- Record of nonconforming outputs
- Monitoring and measurement results
- Results of internal audit
- Resilts of management review
- Results of corrective actions
- Criteria for evaluation and selection of suppliers
Different documents may be required if you are looking to achieve ISO 14001 or ISO 27001 certification. Contact ISO Accelerator for more information on these standards.
If you want to achieve ISO certification as quickly as possible, ISO Accelerator can help. Our online certification service eliminates the need for site visits and face-to-face consultations, helping you to save time and cut costs.
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