ISO 9001:2015
ISO 9001 is the reference standard for an organisation to plan, implement, monitor and improve its business processes, implementing the quality management system as a means of achieving its objectives. The customer and customer satisfaction are at the heart of ISO 9001; every activity, application and monitoring of activities/processes is aimed at determining maximum customer satisfaction. The application phases of the standard refer to the records for each individual process identified within the company organisation.
WHAT IS IT?
The ISO 9001: 2015 standard outlines the requirements for the certification of the quality management system within companies.
A fundamental requirement to start the ISO 9001 certification process is to implement a quality policy, shared with the most important company figures and communicated both internally and externally through the communication channels normally used.
WHY STARTING?
The quality certification becomes a “brand” whose possession demonstrates that the company’s activities reflect the minimum requirements of the standard.
ISO 9001 is a voluntary non-mandatory standard, but its possession is becoming an indispensable attribute to face the challenges of the market.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?
In this way, the end customer can have full confidence that the services and products placed on the market correspond to certain specifications and that all the phases relating to their realization are monitored, documented and verified.
It is an essential tool for companies looking to improve their productivity and to gain market aggression.
HOW LONG DOES IT LAST?
The ISO 9001 certification has a three-year duration and can always be renewed: at the end of the three-year period, the companies can activate the procedures to renew their certificate which will be reissued with the updated date and the changes that will be deemed necessary.
Upon achieving the first certification, IWZ will carry out maintenance checks at the expiry of the 1st and 2nd year from the date of issue of the certificate. At the end of the 3rd year, the customer will have the possibility to decide whether or not to renew the certificate.
WHAT ARE THE VARIOUS STAGES?
- Request for certification: in this stage we establish the economic aspects and the activities that will be performed by the auditors during the certification process. IWZ will submit its certification offer to the customer and an agreement will be signed between the parties (application for certification).
- Pre-assessment audit (optional): in this optional stage, the customer can interface with IWZ’s staff who will examine the level of preparation of the certification’s management system with the aim of improving its processes and minimizing major non-conformities.
- Certification Audit: in this phase the actual certification audit begins, which takes place mainly at the company headquarters. The auditor, following an inspection of the various sites covered by the certificate and after interviewing the top management figures, collects information and checks the documentation relating to the certification’s management system. It determines which are the mandatory and voluntary reference standards for the system to be certified. In the absence of major non-conformities, the auditor will submit a request to the decision-making committee to issue the ISO certification.
IWZ is able to guarantee the conclusion of the certification process in a short time according to the needs of the customers and the maturity of the system under certification.
