ISO Registration is a type of certificate purchased by various types of companies and organizations based on the type of activity they perform. Almost all business establishments need to obtain ISO Certification, and this article is all about it. Continue reading to know more.
What is ISO Registration?
The ISO is an organization which formulates various international standards for maintaining uniform quality standards globally. However, ISO does not issue certificates, which means any company or organization cannot be certified by ISO. Thus, the ISO Certification is issued by external certification bodies. Additionally, the ISO’s Committee [1] on Conformity Assessment (CASCO) has laid down numerous standards for these certification bodies. The ISO full form is the International Standards Organization. Henceforth, the certificate granted by these certifying bodies to business establishments who conforms to prescribed ISO Standards is referred to as ISO Registration or certification.
Who needs an ISO Certificate?
Every kind of business establishment may it be a large enterprise, SMEs, private or public sector industries or a Non- Governmental Organization (NGO) involved in the process of manufacturing, sales or services need to obtain ISO Certification. However, the need to obtain the ISO Certification sometimes depends on the type of activity carried on by the business entity. Furthermore, the companies holding the ISO Registration enjoys many benefits over normal companies. These benefits include better production capacity, less wastage, attracting more customers, etc.
Importance of ISO 9001 certification
The importance of getting ISO certification is that:
- It meets customer expectation
- Achieve international recognition of the quality
- Getting additional profit and revenue from the new consumers
- Enhance consumer satisfaction with the goods
Top 10 Benefits of ISO Registration
The advantages of obtaining the ISO Certification are as follows;
- Fulfill customer requirements
- Get more revenue and business opportunities from new customers
- Improve entity’s and product’s quality
- Increase customer satisfaction
- Describe and communicate the purpose of your company
- Develop a professional culture and build employee morale
- Improve the consistency of your company operations
- Focus on management and employees
- Reduce waste, improve efficiency and save money
- Get recognized for international quality
Pre-requirements to ISO Certification
You need to follow some pre-requisites before obtaining the ISO Certification or applying for one. Let’s have a look at those pre-requisites one by one;
- Choosing the type of ISO Registrationor certification based on the kind of activity performed by the entity:
First, you need to choose the type of ISO certification required for your business. There are numerous types of ISO certification available such as :
- ISO 9001: 2008 for Quality Management
- ISO 14001for Environmental Management
- ISO 27001 for Information security Management
- ISO 22008 for Food Safety Management and so on.
- Opting the ISO Certification body
It is well-known that ISO itself does not provide certification to the companies or other business entities. Certification is issued by external bodies. Therefore, it is prominent that you choose a recognized and credible certification body. Furthermore, keep the following points in mind while choosing the ISO Certification body;
- Assess various  ISO Certification service providing agencies
- Verify if they are following the CASCO standards. As you know, CASCO is the ISO committee that works on issues relating to the conformity assessment
- Also, check whether it is accredited or not. Accreditation is not compulsory, but they must meet the requirements of ISO Accreditation bodies.
Procedure to obtain ISO Certification
To obtain your ISO Certification, you need to follow these steps;
- Make an application in the prescribed format
- Review of quality manuals and documents of your company by the ISO Auditor
- Make the action plan
- Initial certification audit will be performed by the ISO Auditor in two stages namely, stage 1 and stage 2
- Issuance of ISO Certificate after addressing all non- conformity through the audit report
- Finally, after the issuance of the ISO Certificate, Surveillance Audits will be conducted to ensure that all the ISO Standards are being maintained and followed by you. It is conducted periodically.
Fees for ISO Certification
The amount for getting the ISO Certificate is not fixed and varies from one organization to other.
Furthermore, the cost of ISO Certificate is calculated separately for each organization after considering the following parameters;
- Number of employees
- Quantity of Processes
- Level of risk associated with the scope of services of the organization
- The complexity of the management system
- The number of working shifts etc.
Time taken for the issuance of your ISO Certificate
The time taken in completing the whole process of ISO certification also varies from one organization to other organization. However, the fair idea can be given by the ISO certification agency after assessing the size of the institution.
Generally, the time required to complete the process of ISO certification is approximate as follows;
- Small business entities: 6-8 months
- Medium business entities: 8-12 months
- Large business entities: 12-15 months
Conclusion
ISO or International Standards Organization is a non-governmental body which is responsible for formulating quality standards for various types of industries. However, the ISO grants certification to companies and organizations through a third party agency or certifying body. All companies and institutions need to obtain ISO Registration and comply with all the standards laid down by that ISO Standard.
Read our article:Why the ISO Registration Has Creditability in India: Process of ISO Certification
