Whether or not you have seen ISO systems before, they are so wide ranging and varied that it can really help to have someone, who works with them all the time, to advise on what you can get from them and how to optimise them for your own situation.
Each one introduces a detailed business operations framework to enable the user to optimise their activities in the relevant area. It has been designed from inputs from experts from around the world – making it an accumulation of globally accepted best practice.
As such it is a short-cut for any organisation to get the operations to a world class level and gain the benefits from such a well-constructed system of control.
Clear, well designed controls result in better quality, more efficient and effective production – whether in manufacturing or service scenarios. The staff are better trained for more than just what they are doing now – allowing for role expansion and variability – which drives up staff capabilities and morale. The result is that the client’s requests are more often met exactly as promised (if not bettered) and they recognise the expertise and reliability of the operation.
This will drive them to enthuse to others, bringing in more business. At the same time, better financial returns (higher productivity x more business = increased turnover AND increased profit) allow the organisation to expand production/scope/market or all three.
As ISO systems are recognised around the world, there are many buyers that will be reassured that their suppliers operate such systems. Many times tenders are determined in this way – often with Public Sector tenders. In some areas, having the requisite ISO standard is a requirement to continue to do business in the field (eg in the Automotive or Aviation sectors). In some cases it can be effectively a legal requirement (eg for forensics laboratories to have ISO 17025 Laboratory Competence or for a medical product supplier to have ISO 13485 Medical Devices in order to get the Medical Devices CE marking required to place a good on the EU market). So having the ISO standard, allows an organisation to access part of the market closed off to others.
Advice – Deciding if ISO Standards are right for you?
Want to know more, or even where to start? We are pleased to offer to talk things through, for free, no obligation, over the phone. We may even be able to arrange a short visit to your office. We can provide a consultant that has worked with ISO standards many times and thus can detail how they can be used to improve your organisation and its activities.
Design, Creation and Installation of Standards
Our Qualitators (consultants) are expert at crafting the required systems to absorb what you already to while at the same time ensuring they meet the needs of the ISO Standard(s) that you are interested in. With experience across a wide range of industry sectors and niches, we feel confident that we can find someone to help you through the process
ISO Systems include the carrying out of internal audits as part of the structure of checking what is happening in an organisation. These audits can be carried out by the organisation’s own staff or by our Qualitators (consultants). Ideally, it is the people who will learn most from the audit who should be carrying it out – ie the local staff. But this is not always practical or even possible in certain situations – especially when first starting on the ISO journey. We are happy to step in to take all or part of the audit requirements off your hands. With the audit experience and training our Qualitators have, we have found that this can actually speed the evolution of the organisation in the early days as they get quickly to the root of the problems and allow the process to move on smoothly and fast.
Every year the ISO systems require a review of what has happened, how things have worked and to collate the inputs to develop the system to be ready for the next year. In some standards this also requires a review of the pertinent legislation and risk registers too.
Our Qualitators (consultants) are well versed in this process and we include as part of our service, the chairing of the first Management Review meeting so as to help the organisation focus efficiently on the process. We are happy to assist in this role on an ongoing basis – both to relieve local staff of this area that they may not feel qualified for but also to be present to add professional knowledge and opinion to the discussions.
Sometimes something goes wrong through no fault of anyone. Say the key person suddenly falls ill and is unable to complete the audits or update the systems as changes are made or lets the training regime get behind or … or … or…. Our Qualitators (consultants) can step in and help to quickly pull things together so that you do not need to fail your next certification assessment. They can train a new person in the role at the same time if this is desired. This usually takes a few consecutive days often at short notice – and we will do our best to find solutions.
Every year (usually), the ISO certification assessment takes place. When an organisation is new to the standard, or the relevant key staff are new to their roles, it is not uncommon to be nervous and unsure as to whether things have been correctly carried out in the systems – hence there is a risk of failing to attain the certification. As this is both an expensive and embarrassing and potentially has adverse reputation impact, it is something most organisations want to avoid. Our Qualitators (consultants) can carry out a mock assessment and identify the issues that might cause problems. We usually undertake such pre-assessment reviews with at least a month to go to allow time for any omissions or faults to be rectified – although they will do their best to address them at the time if possible.
It may happen that the certification assessment reveals an issue that needs addressing promptly. Our Qualitators (consultants) can step in and provide advice and action to lay such concerns to rest – whether this be professional advice, or hands-on activity to actually carry out the required steps, we will ensure that the issues identified are handled and cleared.
Meet a Qualitator
If you are ready to take your business to the next level call us on to arrange an initial appointment with a Qualitator.