Today’s quality quote – “Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.”
Steven Paul Jobs – American inventor, designer, and entrepreneur who was the co-founder of Apple Computer who oversaw revolutionary products such as the iPhone and iPad that have dictated the evolution of modern technology.
Quality Assurance means that you have a system to consistently deliver products and services to a high standard; the standard expected by your customers.
It is achieved by implementing a quality management system that identifies what an organisation needs to do to guarantee the Quality of the “thing” (product and/or service) that their customers pay for.
Quality control is retrospective – a final check or lagging indicator of performance. It doesn’t take into account the whole quality management system framework.
Quality Management relates to the wholistic quality management system that has been established to ensure process performance.
When you have implemented a QMS, and achieved certification to ISO 9001 or certification to some other quality standard you are deemed to be a Quality Assured company.
One of the simplest ways to explain Quality Assurance is with the analogy of a Big Mac. If you walk into any McDonalds around the world you can pretty much guarantee that your Big Mac will look and taste the same – Maccas has implemented a system to control the quality of the Big Mac, and there is more to the system than you might imagine. Consider the following aspects of delivering the same Big Mac across 119 different countries:
A management system may also be audited in different ways including:
If you’d like more information, or to request a Quick Quote please use the form to the right and one of our ISO Consultants will contact you within one business day. Alternatively, you are welcome to contact us directly by emailing hello@streamline.business or by calling:
We look forward to hearing from you and answering any questions you may have.
External link: for more information on ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System Requirements CLICK HERE
Each year the IAF (the world association of Conformity Assessment Accreditation Bodies) holds World Accreditation Day to promote the value of accreditation, accredited conformity assessment, and ISO standards.
This year the World Accreditation Day 2019 was held on the 9th of June and the theme was – how accreditation adds value to supply chains and procurement activities.
The age of global supply chains has meant goods of all types are sourced from around the world through highly complex interactions. This network of interactions has ramification on the ability of the supply chain to deliver:
As innovation accelerates and the lifecycle of products shortens pressure is increased on supply chains and this is where a supply chain framework such as ISO 28000 and ISO 9001 play a huge role.
Management system frameworks such as ISO 28000 and ISO 9001 play an important role in reducing the cost of trade and doing business. Certification to these standards by an accredited Certification body ensures impartiality, competence, consistency of conformity assessment. This provides confidence in supply chain management and reduces barriers to free trade through the assurance of testing, inspections, and certifications.
The quality, authenticity and traceability of materials throughout the supply chain requires:
Creates a global infrastructure that supports free trade, regulatory approval and confidence in the supply chain. This ensures a consistent approach to certification across the globe which is accepted everywhere.
ISO Certificates should be proof that you have developed and implemented an ISO Management System to meet the requirements of the applicable reference standards. This might include one of the following ISO standards:
But how do you know if the certificate that has been provided is legitimate? There are plenty of shadowy operators in the certification industry so it is important to ensure the Certification Body that you engage to complete the independent, third-party certification audit of your management system is accredited, meaning that your certificate is legit.
Most definitely yes. A recent report into Fake ISO Certification indicated China leads the world in fake certificates. The report is titled Faking ISO 9001 in China: An exploratory study, and a copy is available by clicking HERE. The report concluded that there were four types of fake certifications as follows:
In the past, you would need to check the accreditation body or certification body register to see whether the ISO certificate was legitimate. This was often impossible as the accreditation bodies and certification bodies didn’t always publish a register.
In order to try and stem the proliferation of fake certificates, the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) has now published a global database for accredited management system certifications called CERT Search.
To use the search function simply CLICK HERE and then enter the “Company Name” or “Certificate Number” and the results will allow you to verify the status of a certificate.
If your search indicates that you or one of your suppliers have a fake certificate then you need to establish:
If you were not aware that the certificate was a fake then contact the company that issued the certificate. Confirm the situation and then attempt to come to some resolution. We have heard of many situations whereby the threat of legal action achieves a refund however the majority of times it simply comes down to a costly lesson learned.
In order to transfer certification to an accredited Certification Body then I recommend you contact one of the certification bodies listed on this page HERE. Explain the situation and they will need to obtain a copy of your latest audit report (if the dodgy company provided you with one). Keep in mind that if you had a fake certificate then the chances are your system might have significant deficiencies, in which case you may need to engage an ISO Consultant to help action any items.
Streamline ISO 9001 Consultants can design, develop and implement a certification-ready Quality Management System from the ground up to meet ISO 9001 requirements. If you already have an existing management system in place we will help you integrate ISO 9001:2015 into your current management system (eg ISO 45001 Safety or ISO 14001 Environmental) to form an Integrated Management System (IMS).
Our trained and experienced ISO Certification Consultants have a 100% track record achieving certification for our clients and we guarantee your ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System will get certified by a JAS-ANZ accredited Certification Body.
Streamline ISO Certification Consultants can also help develop, implement and internally audit other ISO Management Systems such as:
Please use the form to the right and one of our ISO Consultants will contact you within one business day. Alternatively, you are welcome to contact us directly by emailing hello@streamline.business or by calling:
Quality Quote – “Discovery consists of seeing what everybody else has seen and thinking what nobody has thought” Albert Szent-Gyorgyi (16/09/1893 – 22/10/1986). Hungarian biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1937.
