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What is ISO?
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a
worldwide federation of national standards bodies from more than
140 countries, one from each country.
ISO is a non-governmental organization established in 1947.
The mission of ISO is to promote the development of standardization
and related activities in the world with a view to facilitating
the international exchange of goods and services, and to developing
cooperation in the spheres of intellectual, scientific, technological
and economic activity.
ISO's work results in international agreements which are published
as International Standards.
There is more to ISO 9000 than meets the eye.
What is usually overlooked is the that the standard is
an interpretable standard. A system that is good for one
company is not necessarily good for another.
The requirements of the ISO 9000 Standard provide the framework for
a management system that, if followed, can help the small foundry achieve
consistency in product quality. Through the use of the continuous
improvement techniques contained within the standard, the foundry
also can make improvements in its profitability, along
with generating increased customer confidence in its products.
There is no magic in the standard. The current version of ISO
9000 merely contains the concepts, tools and attributes of a good,
post WWII manufacturing quality system. Adherence to
the standard can provide small companies increased efficiency and
effectiveness of operations.
Steps to Achieve ISO 9000 Registration
1. Get top management commitment
2. Train personnel
3. Prepare Quality Policy Manual
4. Prepare Operating Procedures
5. Hold internal audit
6. Select registrar
7. Go through registration process
8. Obtain
ISO 9000 registration
Evaluate and Select
Registrar
Choosing a Registrar is an immensely
important task. The Registrar that you choose will be a long-term
partner with your business. Get one that knows your industry and
that you feel you can work with. Personality, chemistry and fit
between your business and the Registrar are primary considerations.
You should have a comfort level in establishing a long-term
relationship with a particular Registrar. If you are a foundry, the
Registrar must be foundry qualified. Is the Registrar approved for
work in your field of business? This means he has had industry
experience, background and expertise either working in or auditing
other foundries. There are other considerations in selecting a
Registrar. The accreditation marks he issues will determine what
countries recognize your registration. The Registrar’s number of
years of experience is a consideration because you don’t want to be
the company he learns on. Recommendations by your clients or
customers should be considered. Check references provided by the
Registrar. Find out if other companies would use the same Registrar
again. Review all aspects of the Registrar’s fee schedule. Can you
afford him? Don’t take it on faith that this Registrar is the least
expensive or will provide the most services. Determine if there are
any scheduling issues
in meeting your time frame.
What does it take?
The efforts involved to attain ISO certification can take typically
ten months or more. A large amount of time and internal effort and
resources is required in the assessing, streamlining and documenting
internal processes.
Only after months of preparation, a company will finally be ready
to undergo an audit, which in situations is preceded by a preliminary
assessment by the chosen registrar. The actual audit focuses on the
documentation of the ISO compliant quality system, validation of the
system performance through documented evidence of work and several
internal interviews.
Auditing
To maintain certification, the company is audited once every six
months in the next two years to check to see if, in practice, the
business is still operating in a consistent manner as outlined by
its own documented system of policies, procedures and practices.
Conclusion
Being a small or medium sized business is hard enough to maintain
without any added costs. By adding in a Quality System
certification, the investment will start paying for itself at time
of implementation. This is done with the right partnerships
with organizations providing grants and discounts. The willingness to
help small and medium sized business grow is so
extreme, that companies who reach into the available pockets, can meet
and exceed the larger competition on the market.
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