Intended Results

Results to be achieved early in the certification process are commitment of top management, effective training systems and guides, along with a detailed definition of a Quality Policy, culmination of quality records, an internal audit, and the stage one audit. Further into the process, results a company will want to see are a complete integration of the ISO 9000 standards into their business practices, along with their stage1 and 2 audits, that will lead to the acquisition of the actual ISO 9001:2015 certification.

The Audit Process

Stage 1: The primary focus of the Certification Stage 1 audit is for DEKRA to develop an understanding of the company that will result in the generation of a process-based Audit Program. The Audit Program is used to map-out the process audits over the entire certification period. Certain key aspects of the management system will also be reviewed for conformance to the standard.

Stage 2: DEKRA will select a representative sample of management system processes to establish a final determination of conformance to the standard

Surveillance 1 and 2: Once certification has been achieved DEKRA will perform on-site Surveillance Audits as outlined in the initial quotation. At a minimum, audits to review continued compliance to the standard will be conducted within 12 months of the previous audit.

Recertification: At the completion of the certification period (three years unless otherwise specified), DEKRA will initiate the recertification process to begin another three-year certification cycle.

P-D-C-A

The Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) cycle is rooted in product development and product quality, with the idea to constantly improve a product through redesign so that the new product sells even better. This cycle was first proposed by Walter Shewhart and later developed, adapted, and popularized by William Edwards Deming in the 1950s. For the purpose of this certification, the PDCA cycle can be used to achieve effective quality control for the seven quality management principles: customer focus, leadership, engagement of people, process approach, improvement, evidence-based decision making, and relationship management. Each step in the cycle can be defined as follows:

Plan:

(1) Define the Project: To define the project purpose and scope.

(2) Current Situation: To further focus the improvement effort by gathering data on the current situation.

(3) Cause Analysis: To identify and verify root causes with data, to pave the way to effective solutions. The above steps provide inputs for: what is happening, what are the facts, what data supports the facts, what can be done to improve, and who needs to do what and when.

Do:

(4) Solutions: To develop, try out and implement solutions that address root causes. The above steps provide inputs to put the plan into action and measure the results.

Check:

(5) Results: To evaluate both the solutions and the plans used to implement them. Above step provides inputs for: what happened, was it what was expected, what should be done differently.

Act:

(6) Standardize: To maintain the gains by standardizing work methods or products.

(7) Future Plans: To anticipate future improvements and to preserve the lessons learned from this effort. The above steps provide inputs to measure the new process, and make sure the change is permanent.

About the Processes

The ISO 9001:2015 certification process is long and strenuous. A company must prove to an auditor they have a both efficient and effective Quality Management System in place that will demonstrate commitment to continual improvement. This improvement should be centered around the seven quality management principles. These management principles include customer focus, leadership, engagement of people, process approach, improvement, evidence-based decision making, and relationship management. From this year of research, I have gathered that when a company begins the process of obtaining their ISO 9001:2015 certification, it is of the upmost importance that everyone involved with company, whether it be 7 or 7,000 people, understand the role they will play during that time. The ISO consultant will want to start with the commitment of Top Management, and then quickly move on to training necessary personnel on what a quality management system is, what it is designed to do, and how it will change day-to-day life at the company. It is also important to remember that not any one company’s processes will be the same, but with dedication and attention to detail, any company of any size can work out the processes of the coveted ISO 9001:2015 certification

The Quality Policy

QUALITY POLICY

The Quality Policy is pragmatic. It reflects our philosophy that quality is more than a noble endeavor. The approach to quality should be sustainable because of the significant sales, development, and manufacturing benefits it provides. These can be summarized as follows:

1.Customers Require Quality

A.If A company does not deliver the highest quality products, customers will seek other companies who do.

B.Customers define quality. Companies must listen to customer inputs on how to improve what they do. Customer inputs ultimately define what they expect to buy.

2.Quality Improves Profitability

A.High quality is attained by paying attention to details. When a quality problem exists, find the root cause and fix it.

B.Do not accept the current quality level as the status quo. Quality improvements must continuously occur to keep pace with market demands for lower costs.

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QUALITY OBJECTIVE

The Quality Objectives should be summarized as follows:

  1. A company shall be genuine with our customers and each other in all we say and do.
  2. A company shall strive for first pass success.
  3. A company shall utilize integrative project management and best design-to-cost practices.
  4. A company shall design in quality rather than improve it through trial and error.
  5. A company shall deliver superior expertise without charging a premium for it.

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The Abstract

The ISO 9000 certification is a highly coveted quality registration. The criteria include a worldwide based collection of guidelines for quality assurance and quality management. The overarching goal of this project for any company is to obtain the ISO 9001:2015 quality management and quality assurance certification. There are some twenty elements that go into the certification, and starting with top management’s commitment, an ISO 9000 consultant or Quality Team Leader should be working on training personnel, preparing a quality policy manual, preparing the operating procedures, holding an internal audit, selecting a registrar and going through the registration process. The Quality Team Leader will be doing this by designing instruments for assessment, along with designing quality improvement processes for their company.