ABOUT THE STANDARD
ISO 9001 standard specifies requirements for a quality management system when organizations need to demonstrate their ability to consistently provide products and services that meet customer requirements and applicable laws and regulations, and when they aim to increase customer satisfaction with the effective implementation of the system. ISO 9001 standard can be applied to all organizations:
- regardless of their size
- regardless of their type
- regardless of the products / services they provide.
Requirements of the ISO 9001 standard are designed in such a way to create a unique climate for the organization that adheres to it, while respecting the organizational structure, the resources at its disposal and the market in which it operates. Consequently, each organization creates its own quality management system and, despite the general opinion, does not impose uniformity in the structure or documentation of the management system.
The quality management system is the way the organization manages quality. The goal is quality management by applying a process approach, through the management of all processes and activities, in order to increase customer satisfaction by meeting customer requirements. The process approach implies the definition and management of processes as well as their interaction in order to achieve the intended results in accordance with the policy and strategic direction of the organization.
The term quality does not only mean the quality of product or service provided to customers, but also the promotion of the culture that results in the quality of business and the quality of the organization itself (relationship with employees, work culture, relationship to material resources, etc.). Quality management in all processes, through the creation of a quality management system according to the requirements of ISO 9001 allows to meet the needs and expectations of customers and other relevant interested parties.
Many organizations choose to implement and certify a quality management system according to the requirements of standerd ISO 9001, because this way they show their clients/customers ability to consistently provide products and services that meet their requirements and applicable laws and regulations.
Therefore, from many organizations, their suppliers themselves require a certified quality management system.
BENEFITS OF CERTIFICATION
Organizations that have implemented a quality management system according to the requirements of the standard ISO 9001 have determined that an efficient quality management system necessarily leads to cost reduction and higher operating margins.
The two main reasons for implementing a quality management system according to the requirements of the standard ISO 9001 are:
- Improved work efficiency: lower production costs due to fewer nonconforming products (less waste), less finishing, lower rejection rate and fewer errors due to improved business processes.
- Access to new markets and increasing market share in the existing market .
Other benefits relate to:
- gaining and/or strengthening business trust with known and potential clients;
- achieving loyalty of the client;
- increase client satisfaction;
- providing assurance that the desired level of quality has been achieved and maintained;
- increasing competitiveness;
- improving business ability and productivity;
- higher profits as a result of increased productivity;
- more rational use of time and available resources;
- optimization of existing processes from productivity point of view;
- greater consistency and traceability of products and services;
- significant loss reduction;
- compliance with legislation;
- focus on achieving business goals and expectations of the clients;
- delegation of responsibilities from the company’s management to the direct executors;
- increasing employee awareness of quality;
- employee participation in the process of continuous quality improvement;
- improving internal relations;
- increasing the potential of employees through continuous training and learning;
- compliance with the requirements of international market;
- international verification of good business practice.
