ISO Management Best Practices

International Organization for Standardization

ISO Compliance is no longer a matter of choice for competitive companies. Recent research shows that ISO accredited companies have a distinct edge while competing for international business and ensuring customer confidence. ISO compliance is perceived by many as an important value addition by quality conscious buyers worldwide. In particular, the ISO 9000 Series of Standards is the most widely accepted quality assurance model in the world. According to The ISO Survey – 2006, ISO 9001 and 14001 certifications increased in 2006 by 16%, ISO 13485 by 60%, and ISO 16949 by 60%.  In fact, according to the survey, up to the end of 2006, at least 897 866 ISO 9001:2000 certificates had been issued.

The goal of these standards are to reduce waste and variation in product characteristics and process parameters, address traceability issues and promote continual improvement of the effectiveness of quality management systems. Adherence to ISO 9001 standards can be one of the most effective risk management tools organizations can use to prevent, detect or control nonconforming products and services, and thus increase sustained compliance.

ISO standards are categorized into several distinct “families” of standards. The quality management family is defined by ISO 9000. This body of standards addresses all quality management and continuous improvement standards to ensure compliance with regulatory standards and guidelines that ultimately help enhance customer satisfaction.  Some industries have specific quality requirements outlined in additional ISO standards.
Environmental management is addressed through the ISO 14000 family. The goal of this body of standards is to help minimize harmful effects on the environment caused by its activities, and to achieve continual improvement of its environmental performance.

To achieve compliance with ISO guidelines, organizations must establish an effective system to facilitate the management of its core processes. Processes such as customer satisfaction, product quality, compliance, or environmental all require effective controls to meet ISO standards. Most forward-thinking companies have automated critical procedures to help increase operational efficiency and reduce error, using the latest technology solutions available on the market.

ISO Best Practices

To achieve compliance with ISO guidelines, the following best practices should form the basis of all ISO programs:

1. Establish clearly defined business processes. The first step in ISO compliance is to clearly define business processes that are essential to quality control. Once these processes are identified and documented, steps can be taken to optimize processes for maximum efficiency.
   
   
2. Conduct detailed internal audits and identify gaps. An internal audit of all quality and business processes is a good first step towards ISO compliance. The audit will reveal quality gaps and identify process inefficiencies. Once this proactive step is taken, it is important to take corrective action to ensure that all audit issues are addressed in a timely manner.
   
   
3. Conduct quality audits.  Internal audits are a mandatory aspect of ISO compliance.  However, organizations interested in becoming a best-in-class company should consider additional external audits to serve as an independent validation and verification of your processeses and look for improvement opportunities.
   
   
4. Establish effective closed-loop corrective and preventive action processes. Once processes are established, an effective closed-loop corrective and preventive action process should be implemented for optimal results. The closed-loop nature of the process ensures that all issues will be addressed and closed as is appropriate.
   
   
5. Define and publish quality control procedures. Quality standards mandate written quality control procedures. These procedures should be written, approved, and distributed throughout the organization to ensure compliance.
   
   
6. Define quality monitoring processes. No ISO process is complete without an effective way of monitoring processes. Monitoring is an essential requirement for ISO because it ensures that guidelines are consistently being followed.
   
   
7. Establish continuous improvement guidelines and procedures. The monitoring process will reveal the need for continuous improvement of the product or process governed. Continuous improvement guidelines should be established to ensure that these issues are addressed in the most appropriate manner. These guidelines should be published and distributed to ensure consistency and completeness.
   
   
8. Establish and maintain an effective training program. ISO compliance also mandates that all affected persons within an organization receive proper training. This is essential to quality assurance and risk mitigation. It is current best practice to automate the training and tracking process to ensure compliance with stated training requirements. Most organizations use training tracking technology to address these requirements.
   
   
9. Implement quality process automation. As organizations mature in their approach towards ISO compliance, they are seeking to automate ISO-related processes. More importantly, they seek to do this without expensive software customization and professional services, which are the bane of the industry. Amadeus solutions empower organizations to achieve ISO compliance by delivering solutions that address these requirements in the most comprehensive manner. The Amadeus solution represents a “best practice” in and of itself as the best way to achieve sustained compliance and establish a consistent approach across the organization.
   
   
10. Drive quality from the top down. Quality impacts every aspect of business and ultimately affects the client or end user. Thus, it is current best practice to drive ISO initiatives from the very top of the organization to ensure adequate resource allocation where appropriate and enforcement of ISO policies.