All You Need to Know About Starting a Company
What is ISO Certification?
ISO is an independent organisation that enhance innovation and development. The status of your service or product or brand will be improved by an ISO certification. An ISO certified product or service carries credibility to your brand and it make it sure that your product will meet the quality expectations of your customer.It also certifies that your business meets all the requirements for standardization and quality management set by the ISO. It is not a license or permit to have for your business but a quality standard.
The most important ISO certifications are as follows:
ISO 9001 that certifies quality management systems
ISO 14001 a standard used for environmental management systems
The Benefits of an ISO Registration
- It ensures that your business is attentive towards quality of the service.
- It ensures high- operating efficiency because of good quality service.
- An ISO certified system ensures a clear and structural management process.
- An ISO system helps you detect glitches in your operational system and make the needed amendments in advance.
Pre-requisites for ISO Registration
The first step is to find out the right ISO certification for your business. There are so many different certifications for ISO. So, you need to be very cautious while choosing the right one for you.
The second step is to find out a good ISO registrar. ISO registrars are third party companies that will conduct the test to check standards of your businessfor an ISO certification. These registrars are certified by the ISO and are allowed to conduct tests on their behalf. While choosing an ISO Registrar, you need to make sure that the agency follows the CASCO standards.So, you need to be very cautious while choosing the right ISO registrar for you.
The ISO Certification Process in India
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SIGN A CONTRACT
You have to sign a legal contract with the ISO Registrar. This agreement will contain all the rights and liabilities of both parties. It also has clauses related to confidentiality and access rights. REVIEW OF YOUR QUALITY DOCUMENTS
You need to get audit for your quality documents and procedures. The auditor will review these and find the loopholes in the document and procedures of the company. He will suggest you the options to close these gaps. These suggestions will be in the accordance with ISO standardsPREPARE AN ACTION PLAN
After closing the loopholes in your documents, you should make an action plan by keeping in mind the suggestions by the auditor. It should be of the best quality so that you will be able to be ISO compliant.FIRST STAGE CERTIFICATION AUDIT
Here, the auditor will verify whether you have executed all his suggestions for being ISO compliant. He will also verifythat all the non-conformities in your system match the desired standard of an ISO certification.After the auditor’s report, you need to ensure that non-conformities in your procedures and processes match the desired ISO standard. The auditor will reviewagain if the non-conformities are up to the mark. If they are, he will prepare the final audit and send his report to the registrar. After the registrar receives the report, they will grant you the ISO certification.REGULAR SURVEILLANCE AUDITS
After getting the certification,from time to time, the auditor will be auditing your systems, procedures and non-conformances to verify if they are ISO compliant.TIME FRAME FOR ISO CERTIFICATION
The time frame for ISO certifications depends on the type of organization.- For Small Companies: 6-8 months
- For Large Companies: 8-12 months
- For Big Companies: 12-15 months
