ISO 9001

There is an increasing emphasis on the organisations from the side of customers and government focused on quality of products and services. Organisation managers are forced to deal with quality and stability of its processes, its management and continual improvement to be able to satisfy customers’ requirements for acceptable price. One of the basic management tools for establishment and achievement of quality is a quality management system (QMS) according to standard ISO 9001.

Implementation and certification of a quality management system ISO brings advantages in many ways:

• Costs decreasing for (non)quality
• Decreasing number of sales returns and customers’ complaints
• Possibility to take a part in public tenders

Advantages for management of the organisation:

• Improvement of overall organisation management – “ processes under the control”
• Exactly defined responsibilities and authorities
• The order in a firm (in organisation)
• Building up the corporate culture

• Improvement of an organisation image
• Emphasis on organization respectability

The standard ISO 9001 offers the guideline for establishment and for maintaining of working quality management system. A certified organisation is qualified to use a certification mark for certified scopes.

 

New issue of standard ISO 9001:2008

15.11.2008 there was a new issue of standard ISO 9001:2008 issued which displaces issue of standard ISO 9001:2000. At present there is transition period in place during which there are both issues of this standard valid. Transition period ends on 14.11.2010. After this deadline all the certificates issued according to the old issue of standard ISO 9001:2000 will become unvalid.

How is QSCert proceeding?

QSCert gained accreditation according to new issue of standard ISO 9001:2008 at the end of March 2009. QSCert conducts the audits according to the new issue of the standard only.

How is a customer who owns a certificate according to ISO 9001:2000 supposed to proceed?

Customers owning a certificate according to old issue are supposed to amend their quality management systems according to requirements of new issue of standard ISO 9001:2008 until the date of next surveillance audit conduction.

At the same time they should arrange re-training of their Quality Managers and Internal Auditors. QSCert audits how organization meets new standard issue requirements during surveillance audits and if the organization does meet these requirements then QSCert will issue a certificate according to new issue of standard ISO 9001:2008 with the same validity as indicated on the old certificate.