For many businesses developing and implementing a Quality Management System (QMS) that conforms with the ISO 9001:2000/2008 standard may be a business necessity.  Many large companies - particularly oil and gas companies and those that operate internationally - require that their vendors be certified to this standard as a condition of becoming an approved supplier. 

So if you are a small to medium sized business owner and you want to expand your market penetration into these kinds of industries, you should seriously consider certification.  In addition many times a business owner will be pressured by his/her existing customers to become certified.   

Well what is it and what does it do?  ISO 9001:2000/2008 is a standard for Quality Management Systems developed and published by the Geneva, Switzerland based International Standards Organization.

It establishes generic requirements for an effective QMS that:

• Provides assurance that the organization’s product or service meets customer requirements
• Provides assurance that the organization’s QMS is being effectively implemented on continuing basis
• Provides mechanisms for the continuous improvement of the QMS related to meeting customer requirements

Now aside from customer driven needs there are also good business reasons to seriously look at this standard because of the general business benefits that it can bring to all organizations.  There is often a mis-perception that this standard is only applicable to manufacturing companies.  In fact the standard was developed with the specific intent that it be applicable to all kinds of businesses - e.g. manufacturing, repair and service, distribution, and even research institutions.

Some of the business benefits that would be gained by having a conforming QMS are: 

• It improves customer satisfaction
• It results in standardized processes and procedures
• It results in continuous improvement of the organization’s product/service
• It increases employee involvement and satisfaction
• It provides confidence to the organization’s customers of the organization’s ability to meet their requirements
• It improves decision making through a disciplined approach based on hard data
• Adds value by increased sales via customer loyalty and retention, reduced costs via improved processes and reduced employee turnover
• Institutionalizes training in methods and procedures essential to quality
• Reduces dependence on individuals

Note that it is not necessary to become formally certified to this standard to reap the benefits of these businesses improvements.  Should certification be required for the customer or market driven reasons given above, certification by an accredited registrar will be necessary.

Now the next question for the small business owner is how to get started.  The first step is that the business owner must be committed to the goal.  Step 2 is to assess your current operations, procedures and QMS against the ISO 9001 standard (i.e. a gap analysis).  The last step is to bring you QMS into conformance. 

Should you like more information on this subject please feel free to contact me at jonelmendorf@iib.ws or call me at 713-303-1664