How to Get ISO Certification in Thrissur

ISO of certification in India can be obtained through ISO certification bodies. ISO certificates can be granted by ISO certification Bodies in India only when you have successfully implemented the principles of ISO quality standards, and you have undergone the quality audit by an ISO auditor. Before obtaining an ISO certification, you'll have to implement the quality standards in various activities and process of your organization. In order to implement these quality principles and standards, you can hire an ISO consultant in India, or go through the training programs on general awareness, requirements and procedure, which is conducted by Bureau of Indian Standards. BIS is the National Standards Body of India, and also the founder member of ISO that represents India, in ISO.

Here's How to Obtain ISO Certification in India

Whether you are building products and sell it to your customers, or you are providing services to your customers, in either of the cases you can obtain an ISO certification for your organization in India. Infact, any organization belonging to service sector or in manufacturing sector can apply for ISO certification.

So, when you have decided to obtain ISO certification for your organization, here is a what you ought to do:

Hire an ISO Consultant in India to get Quality Manuals and Training

Depending on the nature of your business, an ISO consultant can help you create quality manuals, forms and documentation, which is must before applying for an ISO certification. ISO consultants gets it well, and they can help you in building such quality manuals and templates, which have to be followed and maintained in various activities and process in your organization.

By implanting these standards and maintaining all those documents, you can show that you are actually following the process prescribed by the ISO certification bodies, and accordance with the ISO quality standards. By implementing these procedures, you will be able to improve the overall process, and at the same time you will have written evidence that you are improving and implementing the quality standards in your organization.

About the 9001 certification process

Commit to get ISO 9001
A commitment and a firm decision from top management (the decision-maker/s) is essential. And the commitment must be more than verbal or just 'paying the bills' - it must supported by specific actions.

Appoint an internal project manager
You need someone to oversee things internally. Getting third-party certification to ISO 9001 is a project, so treat it as one and use project management disciplines. Also, you'll need to research to find out what is involved - there are many articles and links on this website to help.

Allocate resources
It's going to take time and effort, so you'll need resources. Decide whether to use a consultant, or do it yourself.

Establish your baseline status
You must find out where you are now (the starting point or baseline) versus where you have to be for certification. You need to know what gaps you have and where by doing a gap analysis.Use the results of the gap analysis to create a plan and schedule. What is a gap analysis?

Develop the system
Now develop the quality system. In most cases this means improving your existing system by filling in the gaps. It may mean developing some new processes, procedures, quality controls or even documents. It includes identifying your main processes (what you do and how you do it), documenting your system in a way that suits you, and making all the changes or improvements necessary to fulfill the requirements of the Standard. And of course, in doing this, you'll use the PDCA cycle to improve.

This is the biggest step and the one that takes the most time & effort. Make sure you involve people throughout, and ensure they understand and use the system.

Audit the system
You must internally audit your system (compliance and risk audit, not financial audit) to check that you are doing what the system requires - including 9001 requirements of course. Find out if actual practice matches your quality manual and procedures. And when you find weaknesses or problems, you fix them using the formal processes for this that now exist in your system. Yes, I said 'when' not 'if' because you should be finding things to fix or improve if you're auditing properly.

Choose an auditor
Select an accredited certifier or 'registrar'. Make a formal application, pay the fee, schedule the dates of the audit.

Have the external audit
Your certifier audits your quality system against all of the specific requirements of ISO 9001. It's a rigorous test of your quality management system.

Get the certificate and celebrate!
Assuming you are successful, the certifier can award you the coveted certificate.

The formal certificate will arrive a bit after your audit. The 'look' of it varies according to your certifier (type of logo, etc). But it commonly states the scope of your certification (what it covers), the Standard (in this case, ISO 9001) and that your company complies. Your certifier will also enter your company onto the official register of companies with certification - see Links for more info.

You can now say you are 'certified to ISO 9001', 'registered to ISO 9001' or 'has ISO 9001 certification'. All these terms mean the same thing.

Maintain
Each certification is awarded for a 3-year period. During it, you continue to run your system, maintain it and of course improve it. Your auditor returns at scheduled intervals to check that you are doing so: these are shorter audits than the original one, but at least annual. At the end of 3 years, you have another full audit for recertification. And so it continues.

Obtaining ISO certification for your organization is not all that complicated, if you are truly interested in improving your effectiveness and build a sustainable process to deliver your products, or services to the customers around the globe. Having an ISO consultant to help you create quality management manuals and training of your team could make it easy to obtain an appropriate ISO certification. And by the way, if you want to go solo, you can download certification forms from the website of BIS.