What is ISO?

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world’s largest developer of voluntary International Standards. International Standards give state of the art specifications for products, services and good practice, helping to make industry more efficient and effective. Developed through global consensus, they help to break down barriers to international trade.

What are ISO Registration, ISO Certification and ISO Accreditation?

ISO Certification – the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements under the scope of a specific standard.

ISO Registration – certification is very often referred to as registration in North America and some other parts of the world.

ISO Accreditation – the formal recognition by an independent body, generally known as an accreditation body, that a certification body is capable of carrying out certification. Accreditation is not obligatory but it adds another level of confidence, as ‘accredited’ means the certification body has been independently checked to make sure it operates according to international standards.

What is ISO Certification?

ISO Certification is often referred to the certificate granted against the compliance to ISO 9001:2015 standard. However there are many such management system standard developed & published by the ISO (International Organization for Standardization).

The organization seeking an ISO Certification should implement the management system as per the standard’s requirements. This can be achieved if the organization has trained employees within the organization for that specific ISO Standard. The organization can alternatively hire a consultant or consulting organization to implement that very standard.

Vektors can provide the consulting services after signing a Customer Service Agreement and subject to availability of expert for that specific ISO standard. A generic Process Flow Chart can give a better understanding of the certification process.

What are the different types of certifications?

There are mainly two types of International certifications that an organization can opt for. They are System Certifications & Product Certifications.

System certification is awarded to an organization which shows compliance against specific management system standard during external system audits conducted by certification body or conformity assessment body (for example ISO 9001:2015. This is facility or service specific as mentioned in the scope of certification.

Product certification or product qualification is the process of certifying that a certain product has passed performance tests and quality assurance tests, and meets qualification criteria stipulated in contracts, regulations, or specifications. The most suitable example is CE Marking.

How long does it take to get ISO Certified?

The duration to get ISO Certified varies from standard to standard, depends on timely availability of resources, complexity of the prevailing management system or processes etc. Taking a case of ISO 9001:2015, the organization seeking certification has to exercise a synchronized participation with the consultant, in the implementation process. There are certain variables however, that will facilitate the certification process, just as there are others that will extend the duration, relatively speaking.

We’ve helped organizations achieve certification in as little as 1 month and we’ve also had projects take up to a year or more. It really is up to the organization, and their level of commitment to obtain certification.

What is ethical about ISO Certification?

An ISO Certification does not endorse that your organization always complies with the ISO Standard. Ethical ISO Certification is achieved by effectively implementing the management system as per the requirements of the standard. ISO Certification in other words is a byproduct of the implementation of the standard and not vice versa. Organizations seeking ‘certification before quality’ often fall prey to misleading organizations and end up with unethical ISO Certification.

An ethically implemented ISO Standard leads to an ethical ISO Certification. An ISO Certified organization should have ample evidences of compliance to the standard. It should have documental evidences along with other compliance evidences. It should have a well drafted Quality Manual in compliance to the standard, process control documental evidences, trained employees to conduct Internal Audits etc., to name a few.

Why we need an ISO Certification Consultant?

The organization seeking an ISO Certification should implement the management system as per the standard’s requirements. This can be achieved if the organization has trained employees within the organization for that specific ISO Standard. The organization can alternatively hire a consultant or consulting organization to implement that very standard.

Competent Consulting Organizations often work out to be a cost effective and convenient solution to demystification, implementation of standards and achieve successful certifications. It is due to rich experience & focused approach of the consultants that aspiring organizations achieve certification on time.