ISO 9001

How to Get ISO 9001 Certification in India

– Admin

October 02, 2019

How to Get ISO 9001 Certification in India

The main objective of an organization to get ISO 9001 certification in India is to fortify its processes, techniques, and practices of producing goods and services. Therefore, an ISO certified company assures safety, reliability, and competitiveness of its products and services according to internationally recognized standards. Though many organizations are aware of the benefits, they are skeptical of obtaining the certification due to a lack of knowledge concerning its process and cost.

ISO 9001 Certification Process

Though the ISO certification process is not a single-step approach, still it is very much a structured process.

Pre-Requisites for ISO 9001 Certification in India

  • Selecting the type of ISO certification: The first step in this process is to choose the type of ISO certification that you need for your organization. The types of ISO certifications available in India are:
    • ISO 9001 2008 Certification in India – Quality Management
    • ISO 14001 – Environmental Management
    • ISO 27001 – Information Security Management
    • ISO 22008 – Food Safety Management, etc.
    • Choosing ISO Certification Body in India: Since ISO does not give certification to any company, ISO certification is provided by some external bodies. Therefore, it is needed that you to choose the most authentic and recognized ISO certification body in India. While selecting an ISO body, one must keep the below-mentioned points in mind:
  • Evaluate different ISO certification bodies in India
  • Make sure to select an ISO certification body that follows CASCO standards. CASCO is a committee of ISO that works on various issues related to conformity assessment.
  • Ensure that the body providing ISO certification is accredited. Although accreditation is not mandatory, a certification body must meet the criteria mentioned by the ISO certification bodies.

ISO Certification Process in India

  1. Create a contract/application: The registrar and the applicant both should agree on the contract. This contract generally contains the obligations and rights of both the parties and contains liability issues, access rights, and confidentiality.
  2. Review of quality documents: The auditor of ISO reviews all the quality manuals, documents of different procedures, and policies followed in the organization. This review helps an ISO certification body to identify all the possible loopholes against the specifications according to ISO standards.
  3. Prepare an action plan: Now it is time to create an action plan according to the gaps mentioned in the review document created by the auditors. Create a list of all the tasks required to eliminate these gaps.
  4. Audit of initial certification: The initial audit of ISO certification is divided into two stages –
    1. Stage 1: The auditors of ISO certification perform an initial audit in your organization. In this audit, the auditors identify all the non-conformities of your organization. All these non-conformities are then divided into major and minor categories. Now the applicant must carefully review all the provided non-conformities and get them aligned according to the desired quality standards.
    1. Stage 2: As soon as all the required changes are made in the company, the auditors perform the final audit. In this audit, the auditors check whether all the mentioned non-conformities are removed from the system or not. Once the auditors are satisfied, they prepare the final report of audit and pass it on to the ISO registrar
  5. Final step of ISO certification: Once all the non-conformities are addressed in your organization and as soon as all the findings are put in the audit report of ISO, the registrar provides the ISO certificate to your organization.
  6. Audits of surveillance: The surveillance audits are generally conducted to make sure that the ISO
     quality standards are being maintained by the company. These surveillance audits are conducted from time to time in the organization.

Documents Required for ISO Certification

  • Quality manual
  • Quality objectives
  • Quality policy
  • Quality records
  • Six procedures. Control of Documents (4.2.3). Control of Records (4.2.4). Internal Audit (8.2.2). Control of Non-conforming Product (8.3). Corrective Action (8.5.2). Preventive Action (8.5.3).

Cost of ISO certification

There is no fixed cost of an ISO certification as it varies from company to company. Generally, the ISO certification bodies calculate the cost of the certification separately for every organization according to the following parameters:

  • Number of processes
  • Number of employees
  • Level of risks involved in the scope of services of an organization
  • Management system complexity
  • Working shifts number, etc.

Benefits of Getting ISO 9001 Certified

Organizations are at the receiving end of the following benefits by obtaining ISO 9001 certificate in India:

  • Improved credibility
  • Continuous improvement in business
  • Improved customer satisfaction level
  • Improved process integration
  • Better opportunities for marketing

For complete assistance in the preparation, change implementation, and final audit of ISO 9001 certificate in India, organizations must approach experienced ISO certification consultants. With these certification assistance bodies, chances of obtaining the certificate are always smooth and hassle-free.