ISO 9001: Quality management for business success
An effective quality management system is essential in order to bundle the complex requirements within your company and achieve business success. Today more than ever, it is vital to react flexibly and fast to all kinds of changes and the needs of customers and markets.
More than one million companies of all types and sizes rely on ISO 9001 for quality assurance. And for good reason. This standard can help to optimise your processes whilst ensuring customer satisfaction – and your success on the competitive market.
You can create a true basis for efficient quality management with certification to ISO 9001. All the expertise and experience of TÜV NORD will be at your side.
Benefits of certification according to ISO 9001
- Sustainable quality assurance – and therefore better product and service quality
- Identification of improvement and savings potentials
- Greater customer and employee satisfaction – for example through fulfilment of specific customer requirements
- Process improvement – and therefore improved economic efficiency
- Compatibility with other management systems
- Risk minimisation
- Image enhancement
- Global comparability
- Increased competitiveness
Simple integration into existing management systems
Companies often have other management systems as well in addition to quality management such as environmental, energy and also occupational safety and health management. Through the „High Level Structure of Standards“ (HLS) – standardised numbering and headings of the individual clauses as well as standardised use of terms and reference texts – different management systems can be easily combined into an integrated managementsystem (IMS).
The Process: Plan-Do-Check-Act
Standard ISO 9001 specifies requirements for your quality management system along the entire value chain. It is based on the Plan-Do-Check-Act model, which is divided into four phases. The objective is continuous improvement of the individual processes within the organisation and also of the overall system. This approach helps to avoid business stagnation and encourages adaptation to changing situations.
Climate Change Considerations to Management System Standards
On 22 February 2022, the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) IAF published a joint communiqué to highlight the addition of climate change considerations to a number of existing ISO management system standards (MSS).
Clauses 4.1 and 4.2 of the MSS are affected. This is to ensure that climate change issues are considered by the organization in the context of the effectiveness of the management system in addition to all other aspects.
FAQs
A quality management system according to ISO 9001 is the ideal basis from which to demonstrate your competence and performance capability, both nationally and internationally. One fundamental advantage is that the standard can be applied across all sectors – both for production companies and service providers.
Often, several management systems exist within one organisation. In addition to quality management, these may concern environmental, energy and also occupational safety and health management. ISO 9001 can be combined with other certifications into an integrated management system through the "High Level Structure of Standards" (HLS).
Internal operating procedures and work processes and also allocation of responsibilities within the organisation are addressed, along with regulation of processes when working together with customers and business partners. This ensures global comparability and also compatibility with other management systems.
ISO 9001 has undergone complete revision in order to adapt to the increasing complexity of the markets and their environment. The focus of the new version of 2015 no longer lies on documentation, but on process outputs and their effectiveness. In addition, the new version of ISO 9001 allows organisations greater flexibility with regard to implementation of their management systems. For example, the standard has adapted to today’s business reality by opening the possibility of computer- or web-based documentation.
Certification with TÜV NORD
TÜV NORD is a reliable internationally recognised partner for inspection and certification services. Our specialists and auditors have in-depth knowledge based on experience, and they will support you in your certification process by providing objective feedback. We guarantee independence, neutrality and continuity in our services to you, and thanks to our global network, we can offer you our inspection and certification services across borders all over the world.