ISO 9001 Certification

Summary

Welcome to our area devoted to the ISO 9001 Quality Management standard. This page provides an overview of ISO 9001 with separate sections covering its history, what certification costs and the benefits, etc.

ISO 9001 is for all organisations large or small and covers all sectors, including charities and the voluntary sector. It will help you to be more structured and organised but it doesn’t require red-tape! On the contrary, by being able to achieve the right results first time, your customers will benefit from your consistency and you’ll save on the cost of re-work. ISO 9001 certification is also a proven business winner with most certified organisations qualifying for more tenders and winning more orders.

We have over 40 years experience in the assessment industry and are UKAS accredited, this means that we are independently assessed and regulated. In addition, all of our certifications are conducted in accordance with the internationally accepted standard ISO 17021.

With certification from just £1,799 (+ VAT), our customers also benefit from our Fixed Fee Guarantee; you are guaranteed certification within the agreed budget no matter how many audits are required. In addition, we operate a Price Match Plus guarantee; if you can find a cheaper like-for-like quote within 14-days, we’ll match it and give you a 10% discount from your next audit.

Our award winning team has helped thousands of organisations of all sizes achieve ISO 9001 from scratch, quickly and cost effectively, enabling them to become better managed and more competitive. That's just part of the reason why 99% of our clients would recommend us.

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Get started today! To receive your guaranteed fixed fee ISO 9001 certification quotation, please use the Online Quotation Form or call our award winning Customer Support Team free on 0800 404 7007.

Benefits

Most organisations want ISO 9001 certification to qualify for a tender or to achieve preferred supplier status: typically for a Local Authority or for a supply chain requirement. However, whoever you decide to choose as your Certification Body, make sure they are UKAS accredited, as it ensures your certificate will be recognised universally and that the Certification Body is properly regulated. If not, you could find that your certificate will be rejected.

There are many benefits to achieving ISO 9001 certification, including:

Greater success with tenders

Preferred contractor status

Reduced costs and re-work

Improved customer satisfaction and loyalty

Increased profitability

Competitive advantage

In addition, ISO 9001 is designed to be compatible with other management system standards such as ISO 14001 (Environmental), OHSAS 18001 (Health and Safety) and ISO 27001 (Information Security). All or any combination of these complementary standards can be integrated seamlessly. They share many principles, so choosing an integrated management system can provide you with outstanding value for money.

If you would like an integrated management system, comprising all or a combination of ISO management standards, simply let us know your requirements and we'll provide you with a fixed price quotation.

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Process

STEP 1: Preparation

Realistically, if you are new to the ISO 9001 standard you are probably going to need some guidance and where appropriate, we can provide access to good-practice examples and guides or sign-post you to consultants. When you're ready, we’ll discuss your requirements with you and provide you with a Fixed Fee quotation so you can budget accurately. Your quotation will be based on factors like what you do, how many locations you operate from and how many people you employ (if any). We also operate a Small Business Service which was designed specifically for owner-managed businesses. To get the ball rolling, simply call our award winning Customer Support Team for free on 0800 404 7007 or email us an enquiry.

STEP 2: Application

Once you decide to proceed, we'll assign a Lead Assessor to you. He or she will be your principal contact throughout the registration process and beyond. They will build up detailed knowledge of your organisation and will be able to answer any questions you may have.

STEP 3: Pre-Audit Assessment (known as Stage 1)

Your Lead Assessor will visit you to explain the standard and undertake a conformity assessment of your current arrangements for quality management. You will then receive a detailed report including all required actions. Together, you will then determine the appropriate timetable for your Audit Assessment.

STEP 4: Audit Assessment (known as Stage 2)

Once you are ready for your formal Audit Assessment, your Lead Assessor will make the required arrangements for you. On completion, you will be informed of the Auditor's recommendation before he or she leaves your premises.

STEP 5: Registration & Certificate

Following the Auditor's recommendation, your registration will be reviewed and if approved your certification will be confirmed. Soon after, your certificate of conformity to the ISO 9001 standard will be issued and sent to you.

STEP 6: Continual Assessment

Having achieved certification, you will want to maintain your registration and your Lead Assessor will remain on hand to undertake the required annual reviews to ensure you continue to meet the requirements of ISO 9001.

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Costs

We work with clients of all sizes, and even if you are a one person business, we can help you. With ISO 9001 certification from just £1,799 (+VAT) and no long term contract to tie you in, we provide an affordable route to UKAS accredited certification.

Ultimately, your quotation will be based on factors like what you do, how many locations you operate from and how many people you employ (if any). We also operate a Small Business Service which is designed specifically for owner-managed businesses.

We provide all of our clients with a Fixed Fee quotation because we know that day rates have a habit of going over budget and we believe in being transparent.

All of our quotes are inclusive. We won’t charge you extra for travel, registration fees or for your certificate (unlike many others). The only thing to add is VAT.

In addition, we'll make you a Price Match Plus guarantee; if you can find a cheaper like-for-like quote within 14-days, we’ll match it and give you a 10% discount from your next surveillance.

Comparing Quotes

When comparing ISO 9001 quotes, ensure they are like-for-like. We are accredited by UKAS, the sole national accreditation body recognised by Government to assess ISO certification bodies like ourselves. It’s therefore important to only compare UKAS accredited certification bodies, as only their certificates will be universally accepted. Its also your assurance of our competence, so you’ll get the most out of implementing the standard too.

Choosing a UKAS accredited certification body means:

Your certification is recognised for public sector contracts

Your certification is recognised by local authorities

Will help gain future business

You organisation will realise the full benefit from certification

Maximum credibility

Read more about the importance of UKAS accreditation in the 'Ensuring Recognised Accreditation' article.

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History

Formalised quality assurance originally came from the Defence Industry's need for standards. For example, to supply the Ministry of Defence (MoD) a company had to write up its procedure for making its product, have the procedure inspected by the MoD and then ensure that its workers followed the published procedures.

The idea of quality assurance spread beyond the military and in 1966, the UK Government led the first national campaign for quality and reliability with the slogan "Quality is everyone's business." However, by this time, suppliers were being assessed by any number of their customers and it was widely recognised that such duplication of effort was a chronic waste of time and money. Progress was finally made in 1969, when a UK Government committee report on the subject recommended that suppliers' methods should be assessed against a generic standard of quality assurance.

In 1971, the British Standards Institute (BSI) published the first UK standard for quality assurance (BS 9000), which was developed for the electronics industry. Then, in 1974, the BSI published BS 5179; Guidelines for Quality Assurance. This led to a shift in the burden of inspection from the customer to the supplier, as quality assurance could be guaranteed by the supplier to the customer through third-party inspection.

Through the 1970's, the BSI organised meetings with industry to set a common standard, which culminated in the BS 5750 standard in 1979. Key industry bodies agreed to drop their own standards and use BS 5750 instead. The purpose of BS5750 was to provide a common contractual document, demonstrating that industrial production was controlled.

The ISO 9000 certification standard has evolved over several revisions. The initial 1987 version (ISO 9000:1987) had the same structure as the UK Standard BS 5750, with three 'models' for quality management systems, the selection of which was based on the scope of activities of the organisation. The language of this first version of the Standard was influenced by existing US and other Defence Military Standards, so it was more accessible to manufacturing and was well suited to the demands of a rigorous, stable, factory-floor manufacturing process. With its structure of twenty 'elements' or requirements, the emphasis tended to be overly placed on conformity with procedures rather than the overall process of management; which was the original intent.

The 1994 version (ISO 9000:1994) was an attempt to break from the practices which had somewhat clouded the use of the 1987 standard. It also emphasised quality assurance via preventive actions and continued to require evidence of compliance with documented procedures. Unfortunately, as with the first edition, companies tended to implement its requirements by creating shelf-loads of procedure manuals and become burdened with ISO bureaucracy. Adapting and improving processes could be particularly difficult in such an environment.

The 2000 version of the standard (ISO 9001:2000) sought to make a radical change in thinking. It placed the concept of process management at the heart of the standard, making it clear that the essential goals of the standard - which had always been about 'a documented system' not a 'system of documents' - were reinforced. The goal was always to have management system effectiveness via process performance measures. This third edition makes this more visible and so reduced the emphasis on having documented procedures if clear evidence could be presented to show that the process was working well. Expectations of continual process improvement and tracking customer satisfaction were also made explicit in this revision. A new set of eight core quality management principles, designed to act as a common foundation for all standards relating to quality management, were also introduced; namely:

Improved consistency with traceability

Enhanced customer focus

Focused leadership

The involvement of people

A system approach to management

Continual improvement

A factual approach to decision making

Mutually beneficial supplier relationships

The fourth and latest edition of the standard (ISO 9001:2008) arrived on November 14th 2008. This revision contains minor amendments only. The aim of this revision is to clarify existing requirements and to improve consistency of approach with other management standards, like ISO 14001:2004.