Quality Assurance Standard for ISO 9001

Quality assurance standard is a written set of instructions and guidelines followed by various industries in order to maintain the quality of their products or services. Big as well as small businesses adopt these quality standards worldwide and get certification after audit from the authorized body that ensures the company and its manufacturing or service delivery steps and procedures are in compliance with the laid down standards and polices. This certification enhances the brand value of the organization, its products or services and it also instills confidence in the customers. Some QA standard documents are industry specific while some apply to all organizations. One such universal standard that applies to all types of organizations is ISO 9001.

What Is ISO 9001

ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization. ISO standards for quality are recognized worldwide and hence ISO certified organizations have far better opportunities to trade in the international market. ISO 9001, quality assurance standard can be followed by any kind of industry, whether it is service or manufacturing industry. Each organization should develop its own quality management system in order to adhere to ISO 9001 guidelines. To get ISO 9001 certification, the organization has to undergo three audits. The first audit is conducted by the quality monitoring and inspection professional from within the organization i.e. internal auditor. The second such audit is conducted by the customers using the product or service in question, and the third audit is conducted by the organization that is authorized to grant ISO certifications for quality maintenance.

Benefits Of ISO 9001 2008

The ISO 9001 standard was first published in 1987. The latest edition of the standard is ISO 90012008, which was released in December 2008. This edition has minor changes as compared to the earlier one i.e., ISO 90012000.

Adhering to this standard benefits the organizations in the following way

Systematic Approach

The standard helps the organizations to function in a more systematic manner. There are defined systems, processes, and procedures in the organizations to do each and every task. Teams are designated to perform these tasks. Hence, it results in more organized and systematic approach to work which improves employee satisfaction and retention.

Improved Quality

The systems are integrated in the whole organization to deliver good quality products or services. This leads to improved quality and less rework. All this helps the organization to reduce wastage and increase margins.

Customer Satisfaction

The customers trust the organizations that are ISO 9001 certified because this QA standard certification offers a sort or a assurance of the good practices and systems in organizations. When customers get good products or services in accordance to their requirements, their loyalty towards the organization increases. This results in more business for the organization. The profits of the organization also increase.

Increased Margins

Margins of the organization improve due to multiple effects. Some of the reasons for increase in margins are –

• When good quality products or services are manufactured or delivered, there is very little rework and fewer customer complaints. This results in lesser wastage and hence increased margins.
• Since according to the requirement of QA standard , there are set procedures, it results in greater employee satisfaction, which in turn results in greater productivity and improved margins. It also reduces the cost of training the employees.
• Since organization gets more business, their margins improve.

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Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

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