How to organize ISO 9000 certification in your organization

Scope:

Even though manufacturing and other organizations - small, medium or big - invariably have their own standards of measuring quality of work, mostly they are adhered to by convention and practice. The instructions and guidelines are imparted from the top management to subordinates, seniors to juniors, from skilled to the unskilled and from the recruiter to the new-comers, orally and by demonstration. By repeated adherence of the same in day to day official/practical work, the user gets it mastered. This chain continues for ever, (without even anything in writing at times) and the organization adopts this method permanently, so far as it does not cause any trouble/problem.

The biggest flaw in this system is that different interpretations are given by different people and more so, when it passes from one to another successively. Lot of gaps, pit falls and misunderstandings can and do occur by this method of communication, spoiling the very object of the implementation of the quality management.

It is here the need for a fool-proof system of quality management arises. The growth and flourishment of the organization, very much depends upon the quality of the products or services it is offering to the end users and customer satisfaction is the only way to step up the growth of the organization in leaps and bounds. A satisfied customer/end user will surely bring in more and more volume of business, either knowingly or unknowingly. Hence to achieve this goal, it is imperative that the organization continuously focuses its attention towards assurance, maintenance, up-gradation and improvements of its quality management.

The stabilization of the quality standards:

A product or service should have certain ingredients or parameters to meet the needs of the end user in all aspects, without fail. These ingredients are specified as the “Quality” of the product or service. These ingredients or parameters should be well-defined in very clear terms so that every one understands them easily. This is called the “Quality Standard”. This should be measurable by some means or can be checked for its existence by some method.

For example, a ball-point pen can be taken. The end user of a ball point pen has many expectations – it should write smoothly; does not stick while writing; easy to carry; does not get blocked up or leak (and make a mess in his white shirt!); should be in a beautiful color and attractive design and it should give trouble-free performance for a long time and so on. For a simple ball point pen of daily use, there are a number of quality standards to be adhered to – is it not?

Likewise for the service provided in a restaurant, the expectations of the customer are also innumerable. The restaurant should have a beautiful exterior; colorfully designed; comfortably located; should have all the facilities from parking to reception; impeccably clean; well lit; should have excellent furniture; interior decoration should be awesome; the waiters are clean; well uniformed; courteous; do service with a smile; brisk and handy; behave well mannered and above all the cuisine should be very tasty and so on.

For the above two examples illustrated, there are a number of “Quality Standards” to be defined and well recorded in writing so that even a new comer can understand them to follow easily. This is what is called the “Stabilization of Quality Standards”.

Just see what are all the advantages of this stabilization:
1. There is no ambiguity as what should be done
2. The standards are well written, so that they can be referred to at any time and there is no need to memorize them.
3. The work is made easier once it is understood fully by the doer as to what is expected of him/her.
4. The person can do it correctly and speedily with perfection
5. Repeated practicing of the quality standards by its members, makes the product or service perfect and boosts the total image of the organization and thereby the growth of the volume of business/profits/prosperity.

As we have seen the stabilization of the quality standards, whether it is a manufacturing company of ball-point pen or a restaurant serving the appetite of its customers, denotes the well defining of the quality standards on record; easy to follow by the members; enhances the customer satisfaction and undoubtedly upgrades the organization – right? This is what is being stipulated by the pundits and gurus of “Quality Management” for the excellent growth of any organization.

What is ISO? Why it is sought by organizations world over?

There are hundreds of thousands of organizations all over the world and every organization is striving for its individual growth relentlessly. Every organization is following its own quality standards, because without which they cannot just exist. Again the quality standards vary from country to country, since all the products/services are intended to reach the ultimate customer, a human being – whether he is an American, Australian, British, Romanian, Swiss or Indian. The overall standards of any product or service are already defined in every country – more popularly known are the British Standard or the American Standard.

The end user of any product or service cannot expect these popular standards to be adhered to everywhere, as the standards adopted tend to vary from country to country, depending upon the basic culture, life-style, habits and customs and so on. But what is common in the entire universe is, any product or service should satisfy the need of the end-user in all aspects, irrespective of the country the person hails from – agreed? Here arose the necessity for some quality standards which are acceptable and adoptable universally. Hence certain basic standards were identified, deriving out of the best from British and American standards and stipulated for adherence by the organizations in all the countries. The theme underlying these standards is “if the procedures followed in preparation of the product or service are meticulously right, the end result should also be perfectly right”.

With this objective, the Organization for International Standards evolved quality standards, systems and procedures recognized as ISO 9000, 9001, 9002, 9003 and 9004. (These have been upgraded now to ISO 9001-2000), which can suite any organization big or small, worldwide. Simply put, the organizations were allowed to follow their own standards convenient to them but they should ensure strict conformance to the standards proclaimed by them meticulously, while manufacturing a product or offering a service.

The implementation of ISO 9000 concept in an organization:

The basic feature of ISO 9000 is it is a process certification and not a product certification. It is to be remembered that if the process is right according to the stipulations and carried out earnestly, the end result is sure to be perfect. Any organization can aspire for this certification, provided they are ready to undergo the stipulations laid down by the Organization of International Standards and get them certified by this organization through its stringent audit team.

Every organization is made up of people and it is these people – human beings with flesh and blood with brain – who are bringing up the organization to the fore-front. Therefore the concept of implementation of quality standards for achieving certification under ISO 9000 series, should be implanted into the mind of every member of the organization, top to bottom, without exception. Only with the co-ordinate and concerted efforts put forth by all the members as one team, the certification can be achieved.

So, the very first and foremost step is to prepare the members of the organization mentally to be ready to :
a) clearly understand the concept of ISO 9000
b) show their willingness to adopt the systems, procedures, work plans anticipated from them
c) get trained well in the above features and finally
d) start implementing the same whole-heartedly in their day to day functioning.

After this is successfully done, it is for the management of the organization, through its representative solely allotted with the responsibility of getting the organization certified under ISO, to undertake the following further steps:
i) identifying the accreditation suitable for the organization under the ISO series
ii) appointing consultants for turn-key project of ISO certification right from the preliminary stage of training the members to final audit by the ISO audit team
iii) facilitating the consultants in carrying out their assignment in every sphere or stage of the certification process, commencing from defining the quality policy
iv) extending all possible help to the internal audit and final audit teams, physically, financially and operationally to get their stamp of approval for ISO certification.

Organizational advantages of ISO 9000 accreditation:

Innumerable benefits accrue to an ISO certified organization, like world-wide recognition; increased customer confidence; continued improvements on cost effectiveness by the disciplined and motivated workforce; over-throwing competition; assured growth of the organization to new heights and so on, but once they step into the groove of quality consciousness by practice, they become a team of achievers not looking back and marching ahead fast towards perpetual prosperity for one and all.