ISO Certification

ISO Certification is provided by an independent body for a product, service or system of an international organization of standardization. The certification is given by external bodies and a body corporate or organization cannot be certified by ISO.

There is a Committee on Conformity Assessment (CASCO) which produces the certification process of a number of standards used by other certification bodies. Whenever a certification body is chosen, the evaluation must be carried out.

The certification provides that building customer satisfaction is achieved, ensuring the quality of products or services. The certification helps in increasing the sales of a business with operational efficiency within the organization.

ISO Certification To Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs)

Small business marks a major portion of an economy with many challenges like employment and contracts taken for attracting potential customers.

The number of small business standards is given as follows:

• ISO 9001 for Quality

  ISO 9001 is a quality management system and a globally recognized standard applicable to businesses irrespective of their sizes. It helps in making a strategy for moving into new markets as well as the building of reputation among its customers, its suppliers and stakeholders. It is used for enhancing quality control, workflows, risk management and auditing requirements and other compliances.

• ISO 14001 for Environment

  The ISO Certification full form is an international organization of standardization providing management practices for the environment and providing tools for mitigation of the production of waste materials with productivity. The business can set environmental goals and setting waste reduction targets helps in making businesses more profitable

• ISO 50001 for Energy

  The ISO 50001 is all about efficiency by providing tools for reducing the consumption from ground level. It helps in saving money and reducing the carbon footprint in a sustainable way in the future.

• ISO 45001 for Health and Safety

  The cost incurred and damage to reputation in case of a job accident leads to devastating effects for small businesses. This ISO Certification list of standards provides Health and Safety management helps in identification of the workplace hazards, reducing the risks and implementing a culture of safety in the business.

• ISO 270001 for Information Security Providing in Management System

  This standard helps in the protection of assets and compliance framework for implementing cybersecurity management. It is mandatory to monitor, maintain and improve the ISMS.

• ISO 27701 for General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Compliance

  The standard facilitates guidance for forming a privacy information management and compliance with GDPR. Small businesses can build the trust of customers by protecting privacy rights and improving relationships with stakeholders.

How to Get ISO Certification?

The process for getting a certification of ISO is discussed in the following steps:

Step 1: Selection of Type of Certification

There are various types of certifications under ISO:

• ISO 9001:2008 for Quality Management Systems
• ISO OHSAS 18001 for Occupational Health and Safety Management system
• ISO 37001 for Anti-bribery Management system
• ISO 31000 for Risk Management system
• ISO 27001 providing Information security of Management system
• ISO 10002 for Complaint Management system
• ISO 14001:2015 for Environment Management system
• ISO 26000 for social responsibility
• ISO 28000 for Security Management system
• ISO 22008 for Food Safety Management system
• SA 8000 for social accountability
• ISO Certification 13485 for medical devices
• ISO 639 provided for language codes
• ISO 4217 provided for currency codes
• ISO 3166 provided for country codes
• ISO 8601 provided for date and time format
• ISO 20121 provided for Sustainable events

Step 2: Selection of Certification Body for ISO

The International organization does not provide certifications. Thus, there are external bodies providing certifications. The selection must be done carefully by the businesses:

• Evaluation of various certification bodies
• Check whether the certification body uses the standards given by CASCO.
• Check if the certification body meets accredited bodies' requirements.

Step 3: Application to be made to the Selected Certification Body

The application of ISO Certification company in a stipulated form which is given by the ISO registrar should be made. It must comprise the rights and obligations of the entrepreneur and parties including liability, confidentiality and access rights.

Step 4: Review of Documents by the Registrar

Once the application is received, then the certification body shall review the quality manuals and documents regarding policies and processes followed in the business. The ISO registrar can identify the gaps or differences against the requirements in the ISO standards.

Step 5: Pre-Assessment Needs

The pre-assessment is taken for the review of the quality management system in the business and ISO certification for individuals for identification of weaknesses in the system. The registrar shall provide an opportunity to rectify the errors before the registration assessment begins.

Step 6: Preparation of an Action Plan

After the pre-assessment review is conducted then an action plan is made by the applicant in reference to an elimination of the gaps identified by the registrar. The plan must include the tasks performed for meeting the Quality management system.

Step 7: Conducting an Audit

The ISO registrar will perform an audit with respect to the changes made in the business. If the registrar finds any material that is not up to the ISO certification standards of the quality management system, it is termed as the findings of the audit. The two types of severity are:

• Minor Non-Conformance This shows that the system has minor failures in meeting the requirement of ISO standards.
• Major Non-Conformance This shows that it is not up to the quality system and is inefficient in meeting ISO standards.

Step 8: Final Audit

The registration proceeds after the non-conformance is resolved and verified by the ISO registrar. It also means that a re-audit shall take place in all the affected areas

Step 9: ISO Certificate is Granted

After the successful completion of the final audit then the registrar will issue the ISO certificate. The ISO certification cost is different for types of organization.

Benefits Of Certification of ISO

The following are the benefits for bussinesses as given:

• Customer satisfaction

  Quality improves satisfaction with goods and services by meeting the needs and demands of consumers.

• Global Recognition

  It provides international recognition for high-quality standards. The accredited certification for businesses gets to be accepted on a global basis.

• Opening of new business options

  The certified business with ISO certification helps in increasing quality and efficiency. Customer satisfaction is raised and this increases the demand automatically

• Quality and Performance

  The business procedure becomes more compliance-based related to the quality of the management and providing products and quick solutions to the business. ISO certification courses are provided in levels of examination like foundation, lead auditor, internal auditor and lead implementer.

• Reduction of Cost

  The cost is reduced by the implementation of such a system which helps in cost reduction and waste reduction and provides sustainable growth.

• Performance Evaluation

  The performance is fully efficient for the businesses after the certified process is being implemented.