Advantages Of ISO 9001 Standards

Successful firms are good at two things: increasing sales and reducing costs. However, these two things may prove irrelevant if the quality of the product or service is poor. ISO 9001 Standards is concerned with improving the quality of operations which can affect both top and and bottom line growth. Implementation of ISO 9001 Standards affects the entire organization by providing a transition to both a new common language and a new way of thinking about continuous process improvement. Here’s how you can bring the benefits of ISO 9001 Standards to your organization.

1. Obtain management buy-in. The most important step to any quality initiative is to obtain management commitment. This will increase both the visibility and awareness of your efforts.

2. Create an implementation team. This should include a representative from all functional areas of the organization including marketing, finance, planning, production and design. Also be sure to assign a Management Representative. This should be your strongest upper-level advocate for the success of ISO 9001 Standards implementation.

3. Communicate the goals of the program and provide training. This should include employees as well as major suppliers. The communication should be concise, tied to improving the success of current goals and objectives, and in a language in which employees are familiar with.

4. Map out the most critical processes of the current system. Use an organizational flow chart to show how information flows from the placement of an order to delivery. Compare this flowchart with the ISO 9001 system (see Resources for a link to Management Standards) and identify areas for improvement.

5. Create an implementation plan based on opportunities for improvement found in Step 4. The plan should be thorough and specific. Document each change in the process flowchart. If you already have documentation supporting your processes, use it. However, if you identify an area which lacks documentation, this should be viewed as an opportunity. Documentation is the lifeblood of continuous improvement. If you don’t already have one, create a documentation control system which manages the creation, approval, distribution, storage and disposal of documents.

6. Report out on improvements, create metrics to track improvements and repeat the process.ISO 9001 Standards is about continuous process improvements, and the success of the program is a function of both commitment and the achievement of this goal.

Quality Planning

Whenever the term “product” is used within the ISO 9001 standard, it refers to both tangible goods and intangible services. The Whenever the term “product” is used within the ISO 9001 standard, it refers to both tangible goods and intangible services. The ISO 9001 standard is meant to be generic which means that it is suitable for all kinds of organization, whether commercial or otherwise. The purpose of the quality management system model that is being propagated by the standard is the fulfillment of customer requeirements and expectations in order to induce high levels of customer satisfaction. An unsatisfied customer is essentially a customer whose requirements or needs, and expectations of the level of services being granted upon him/her have not been met. We are all customers because we buy products all the time. So we know what it means to be a dissatisfied customer. The common reaction is to never to go back to that seller and look for other alternatives. A successful organization is one which understands what it takes to meet customer requirements in order to satisfy their needs and expectations. A specific process is thus necessary to resolve any customer complaint or dispute. This process should be geared towards satisfying the customer’s needs and expectations. The parameters of this process should be referenced from the terms of the sale and purchase. This is why it is necessary to review the customer’s requirements before committing to the sales contract. It is necessary that the customer understands what he/she is paying for and it is equally necessary for the organization to understand what it is supposed to deliver. When your organization has these processes in place, then the only thing to do next is to continually measure the effectiveness and subsequently take actions to continually improve the whole process.

ISO 9001 Standards – Control of Measuring and Monitoring Equipment

ISO 9001 Standards - Control of Measuring and Monitoring Equipment
Determine the monitoring and measurements to be made, and the required equipment, to provide evidence of product conformity. Use and control the monitoring and measuring devices to ensure that measurement capability is consistent with monitoring and measurement requirements.
Where necessary to ensure valid results:
- Calibrate and/or verify the measuring equipment at specified intervals or prior to use
- Calibrate the equipment to national or international standards (or record other basis)
- Adjust or re-adjust as necessary
- Identify the measuring equipment in order to determine its calibration status
- Safeguard them from improper adjustments
- Protect them from damage and deterioration
Assess and record the validity of prior results if the device is found to not conform to requirements. Maintain records of the calibration and verification results.
Confirm the ability of software used for monitoring and measuring for the intended application before its initial use (and reconfirmed as necessary).
NOTE: Confirming the ability of software to satisfy the intended application would typically include its verification and configuration management to maintain its suitability for use.
For More Information Please Visit http://www.iso9001-standard.us