WHAT IS THE ISO 9001 STANDARD FOR QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS?
ISO 9001 is an international standard that sets out requirements for businesses looking to implement a quality management system, and have their efforts recognised through formal assessment. It is a form of third-party certification that shows a company meets a widely-accepted independent benchmark. At the time of writing, the current version of the standard is ISO 9001:2015.
What is a quality management system?
Generally speaking implementation a QMS means having documents policies and processes in place to ensure that a consistent level of quality is maintained across seven areas, or principles.
Having a certified system helps an organisation to meet regulatory requirements and serve customer needs, as part of improving overall performance.
ISO 9001 can be used to any business, of any size, in any sector – including construction. A key element of the 2015 revision of ISO 9001 was removing prescriptive requirements, allowing organisations to apply the standard in terms of their individual ‘context’, and to suit their unique needs.
Having a QMS in place is a starting point for organisations to also align themselves with other management standards. For example, the ISO 14001 standard for environmental management systems shares many requirements with ISO 9001.
What are the seven principles of ISO 9001:2015?
ISO 9001:2015 emphasises leadership within organisation and puts a focus on managing risk, so that the QMS can be used as a basis for implementing sustainable business improvements. It uses the following seven principles.
– Customer focus.
– Leadership.
– Engagement of people.
– Process approach.
– Improvement.
– Evidence-based decision-making.
– Relationship management
A business can use strategic planning to evaluate risks and opportunities, in the knowledge that it has the support functions – resources, competent staff, ongoing training and development etc. – in place to follow through on the actions agreed as a result.
Communication is an important part of a successful QMS, to ensure that everyone in an organisation is aware of the system, understands why it is important, and is invested in contributing to its success.
Polyfoam XPS and ISO 9001
Management systems of all types, including quality management systems, are an important and familiar aspect of construction product manufacturing.
In addition to ISO 9001 certification, Polyfoam XPS has certification for environmental, health and safety, and energy management systems (ISO 14001, 45001 and 50001 respectively). All of our certificates can be downloaded from the technical support section of the Polyfoam XPS website, or you can contact us to find more about our certification.