ISO : Unveiling Its Importance

When it comes to ISO standard and its value, the world today is still unaware. Let's evaluate and understand this vast ocean of opportunities that we call ISO Standards and Certifications.

ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, is an independent, non-governmental organization, the members of which are the standards organizations of the 163 member countries. It is the world's largest developer of voluntary international standards and facilitates world trade by providing common standards between nations. Over twenty thousand standards have been set covering everything from manufactured products and technology to food safety, agriculture and healthcare.

When we talk about ISO standards, it is often questioned: WHY ISO? WHAT IS THE ADVANTAGE?

The use of ISO standards aid in the creation of products and services that are safe, reliable and of good quality. The standards help businesses increase productivity while minimizing errors and waste. They also allows products from different markets to be compared directly. They facilitate companies in entering new markets and assist in the development of global trade on a fair basis. The standards also serve to safeguard consumers and the end-users of products and services, ensuring that certified products conform to the minimum standards set internationally.

BENEFITS OF CERTIFICATION

Each standard supports its own benefits within every industry, however the common benefits across the certifications include: widened market potential, compliance to procurement tenders, improved efficiency and cost savings, higher level of customer service, and therefore satisfaction, and heightened staff moral and motivation.

By having a recognized management standard it tells your customers that you are serious about their needs.

WHY OBTAIN ISO CERTIFICATION?

There are three main reasons why companies adopt an ISO management system:

To increase success on public and private tenders

To improve internal efficiency and reduce costs

Subliminal marketing – by showing our logo on your marketing you prove to your prospective clients you are credible.

IS ISO CERTIFICATION RIGHT FOR OUR COMPANY?

Are there any areas of your business you would like to improve?

Would you like to save time and money on recurring problems by resolving them permanently first time round?

Would you like to tender for contracts within your sector?

Would you like better utilization of your time though improved resource management?

Would you like to enhance the customer/supplier relationship by responding pro-actively to customer feedback?

Would you like to see an improvement in your internal efficiency?

Would you like to potentially reduce company on-going permit and insurance fees?

If you can answer yes to any of the above questions ISO Certification may be for you.

ISO Certification plays on Six Core Principles.They are easily explained as follows:

Document Control:

Issuing a document with a reference and version number to ensure that the right document, is in the right place, at the right time.

Record Control:

A record is a completed document (see above). Record control is an efficient method of finding individual records. It can also refer to how you file, remove, archive and destroy individual records.

Internal Review:

An in-depth review of your management system, to ensure you are on track for your end of year validation audit. This also ensures the company satisfies internal audit requirements laid out in the standard.

Non-Conformance:

A non-conformance is when something happens within the business that wasn’t planned. This could be: Internal E.g Out of date process / procedure, human error etc. External E.g Customer complaints, supplier issues etc.

Corrective Action:

A plan created by management to rectify a non-conformance (see above), and to prevent it from recurring

Preventative Action:

An action to clarify and address potential risks to the business, with a view to reduce future non-conformance.

As the world comes closer with globalization, and the market become one big market. Without standardization, we can't confirm the quality of goods and services. With ISO comes improvement of standards and level of services provided.

We can thus, conclusively say that with standardization, we are taking a step closer to a better future.