Thoughts on ISO Certification

[Stephanie Chapman]

Just a random question. What are your thoughts on ISO certification? I've been hearing that most companies are eager to apply and pass the certification coz it adds credibility to the business. However a lot are also complaining that there's so much work and it's like you're starting from zero due to the standardization that you have to impost and follow in order to pass. Some are even spending for additional stuff like software, equipment, etc just to meet the standard. Anyway, what's your experience and what are your thoughts on ISO certification? Pros and cons. Please feel free to share

Btw, I'm taking up MBA and this ISO thing is part of our syllabus next week so I'm doing some advance reading and study to prepare myself for something complicated, haha.

 

[lilypad]

ISO certifications for me shows the credibility of the company. it means that the the products and services of a company meets the expectations of the customers. it means that the company has all the requirements for standardization and quality assurance.

 

[Miner]

If you really want to know about ISO (assuming 9001, 14001 and/or 13485), there are several discussion forums set up specifically for that. See Elsmar Cove and Quality Forum Online for two of the better ones.

 

[Stephanie Chapman]

If you really want to know about ISO (assuming 9001, 14001 and/or 13485), there are several discussion forums set up specifically for that. See Elsmar Cove and Quality Forum Online for two of the better ones.

Great. I saw a lot of threads regarding ISO certifications and it really provided me some ideas. I read a thread which I quoted

"currently in the process of ISO certification and I would like to ask your feedback on how do you deal with it. In my opinion, it is so stressful since most of the company documents and manuals are kept on folders and drawers. Our managers is thinking of acquiring a document control software to help us manage all our docs"

What's the relation between a document control system software and ISO cert.? Hope you can still give your view. Thanks

 

[Miner]

First, you need to be specific. Which ISO standard and certification?

One of the many requirements for ISO 9001 Quality Management System Standard is that all documents pertaining to the quality of products and services be controlled. This means that personnel that need a document can readily access the latest version of that document. Documents might be a procedure, an engineering drawing, a regulatory requirement, etc.

ISO standards will state requirements for the Management System such as document control, but will not state HOW that requirement must be fulfilled. Therefore, a manual document control system, OR document control software are equally acceptable. However, one may be more EFFECTIVE than the other once a company exceeds a certain size and the number of documents that must be controlled increases. The effectiveness of a system is assessed during an internal audit and reviewed during a Management Review.

BTW. I am active on those other forums. If your questions are focused on ISO rather than statistics, you will probably get much more help there. There are not many in this forum that would be familiar with the ISO standards.