What is ISO 9001?
ISO 9001 is the International Standard for Quality Management. First published in 1987 by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), it is one of the most commonly used management tools across the world. The current version of ISO 9001 is ISO 9001:2015 which focuses customer satisfaction.
The 9001 is designed to help organisations ensure that they meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders by having a framework in place that drives improvement while helping to ensure consistent quality in the provision of goods and/or services through the correct application of a quality management system.
In short, through certification to ISO 9001 we demonstrate that our organisation is customer-focused and committed to delivering high quality services.
The ISO 9001 standard covers four key areas:
- Management Responsibility – the areas within the QMS that our management team need to focus on, be involved with and be accountable for.
- Resource Management – how resources such as people, infrastructure and facilities must be assigned to ensure the best possible performance.
- Product Realisation – details on how our business will operate in order to provide a high quality service or product.
- Measurement, Analysis and Improvement – how we can determine if our Management System is working as expected, facilitating the continual improvement of our system.
Why is it Important to me as a Customer?
The credibility of ISO 9001 in business gives a clear competitive advantage to organisations who have the accreditation. ISO 9001 certification helps us to meet legal and regulatory requirements, and is often a stipulation for public and private contracts too.
A key element of ISO 9001 certification is its emphasis on continual improvement. Regular internal reviews, combined with independent audits, ensure that new gaps or inefficiencies are constantly identified and rectified. This ensures that 4th Corner is always operating at peak efficiency, and that we can maintain our competitive edge.
One of the greatest strengths of ISO 9001 is that it helps us to implement processes with consistent results that are easily repeatable. This means that we are confident that we produce quality results every time, and ensures that our customers feel confident that they’ll consistently receive high-quality service.
Using the ISO 9001 framework enables us to increase our levels of customer satisfaction by understanding our customers’ needs and reducing errors. So you can be confident in our ability to deliver products and services to a high standard.
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