subject: What Are Iso 9001 Certification Bodies? [print this page] ISO 9001 is a standard in the ISO series which is based around the quality management system of organisations. The standard has grown significantly over the course of its development and is now a standard used across a range of differently sized businesses and also across industries, whereas once it was reserved for the manufacturing industry there are now a whole host of office based businesses using the standard.
An ISO 9001 certification body is the business you approach when you are looking to implement the standard into your organisation, they do not set the standard this is the job of ISO accreditation bodies, but they will guide you through the certification process and it will be the certification body who hands over your certificate once you have proved you have reached the required quality management standard.
ISO 9001 certification bodies now have a much more hands on approach when it comes to their involvement in the certification process. When you initially approach a body and enquire about their services theyll appoint an ISO 9001 consultant who will be your first point of call during the assessment process. This consultant will come into your organisation and conduct, alongside your appointed staff member responsible for ISO 9001, a gap analysis which essentially compares your current quality management processes with the processes required to meet the ISO standard. Following this assessment you will be able to see where you need to improve before your ISO 9001 certification body will give you the go ahead and present you with your certificate.
The ISO 9001 consultant spend some time compiling a manual which documents your quality management system a requirement of the standard while you implement the changes you have agreed with them.
If you work with an ISO 9001 certification body who works to this system, you should have your certificate with 30 and 45 days and they will also provide you with on-going support. So that they are kept up-to-date, companies with an ISO 9001 certification need to carry out a yearly audit to make sure that no standards have slipped throughout the course of the year. Your ISO 9001 certification body will be able to provide you with a consultant who can carry out your audit. Usually, if possible, this will be the consultant who carried out the initial assessment with your team. This can be a great help as consistency is kept and your team members dont have to adapt to working with a new ISO 9001 consultant.
