ISO 9001:2015 Certification: What is it and why is it important?
What is it?
ISO stands for the International Organization for Standardization and is a group of committees that set national standards for a wide range of industries. In this blog, we will be focusing on the 9001:2015 certification. This certification sets the requirements for quality management systems. Any organization regardless of size or types of products or services it provides can become 9001:2015 certified.
There are seven principles of ISO 9001:2015:
- Customer focus
- Leadership
- Engagement of people
- Process approach
- Improvement
- Evidence-based decision making
- Relationship management
What are the benefits?
According to ISO, there are many potential benefits that can come from implementing a quality management system such as:
a) the ability to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements
b) facilitating opportunities to enhance customer satisfaction
c) addressing risks and opportunities associated with its context and objectives
d) the ability to demonstrate conformity to specified quality management system requirements
Overall, ISO 9001:2015 aims to help organizations meet the needs of their customers and other stakeholders more effectively. Being ISO 9001:2015 certified shows that a company’s products and services meet industry expectations. It helps customers and vendors trust that the work being put in is worth their time and money. It also ensures that the end result will meet their standards. The Lawton Standard companies uses ISO 9001:2015 to manage risks, improve worker safety, and reduce waste.
How to become certified
In order to become ISO 9001:2015 certified, an organization must demonstrate its ability to consistently provide products and services while aiming to enhance customer satisfaction. If your organization is considering becoming ISO 9001:2015 certified, a good first step would be to purchase the PDF that goes over all the training and requirements. This PDF can be found here:
The certification process requires that the organization implements the requirements and then successfully completes an audit. Here is a list of our companies that are currently ISO 9001:2015 certified:
- Temperform, LLC in Novi, Michigan
- The C.A. Lawton Co. in De Pere, WI and Minster, OH
- Penn-Mar Castings, LLC in Hanover, PA
- Northern Iron & Machine in Saint Paul, MN
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