ISO certification in South Africa for ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems helps companies to gain evidence of their compliance with the requirements of the ISO 9001 standard. With such ISO certification, the firms in South Africa are able to demonstrate their competency, commitment to ongoing quality control and customer service, and consistency in quality to their international trading partners.
With many European companies now requiring their trade partners to have ISO certificates, such certification in South Africa helps the firms that do comply to gain a competitive edge over companies that don’t have ISO 9001 QMS compliant systems in place.
Why Documentation Forms an Integral Part of QMS
Documentation is essential to ensure proper recording of critical processes. This helps employees to understand procedures, have reference points for measuring their product, and service delivery quality and consistency, and to ensure a benchmark for the company to measure the ability to repeat processes or tasks consistently. The documentation must be as straightforward as possible, in order to ensure proper understanding and execution of the procedures.
Compulsory Requirements to Meet ISO 9001 Certification Requirements
There are general document requirements to meet, in addition to the drafting of a QMS manual, apart from the Control of Documents and Control of Records. Management must be committed to ensuring proper documentation and implementation of quality measures. Documents required include that of Quality Policy and Customer Focus. When it comes to the Environmental Policy, the company must clearly indicate the objectives, targets and programmes in place. Communication and participation on all levels are important.
Steps to ISO Certification in South Africa
Regardless of the business size, the steps to ISO certification regarding ISO 9001 are as follows:
- Main drivers identification.
- Standard purchase.
- Strategy development.
- Process identification.
- Training needs identification.
- Management system documentation.
- QMS implementation.
- GAP audit.
- ISO certification in South Africa.
Identify the reasons for wanting to implement a Quality Management System, including continual improvement of processes and meeting customer needs. Purchase the relevant ISO standard through SABS and study it to ensure that you understand the requirements. Commit to the development and implementation of a strategy, and ensure that it can be recorded, measured and implemented consistently. Identify processes and implement a project plan. You must be able to formally describe the processes, their interaction with the QMS and map the essential resources, documentation and controls required. The process map should at the end of the day form part of your Quality Manual.
Training forms an integral part of the implementation of a QMS for the purpose of ISO certification in South Africa. You need to identify the various training needs and ensure that all the employees, internal auditors and leaders within your organisation attend the relevant workshops and training. Such training is available through WWISE.
You must record the implementation of the QMS and ensure that such implementation is fully measured and properly recorded through the internal audit processes. This also includes the management review, which is essential to measure the system’s relevance and effectiveness. Such is important for the demonstration of correct and applicable implementation of the QMS.
Once the above is in place, your firm should undergo a GAP audit, which will help you determine any non-conformances to the requirements of the ISO 9001 standard. The audit can be done at any stage, but it is essential that it be done before the certification process. The final step is to undergo ISO certification in South Africa through an accredited certification body.
Once implemented and you have obtained your ISO 9001 certificate, it will be essential to ensure continual review and improvement to ensure ongoing compliance. This can be done through our WWISE maintenance programme.
Effective Design and Implementation of a QMS
At WWISE, we assist you in designing and implementing a QMS system, prepare for ISO certification in South Africa, meet the specific training requirements, conduct a GAP audit, go for certification and then follow a maintenance programme. The steps in this process are:
- Contact us at WWISE to schedule an appointment with one of our consultants.
- We conduct a GAP analysis audit on site and provide you with a quote on the different systems to be developed.
- If you accept the proposal, then the SLA and Project Plan will be signed.
- We start the project management and systems development process, which entails the following phases:
- Phase 1 – process identification and awareness training.
- Phase 2 – documentation development and programming.
- Phase 3 – implementation and audit training.
- Phase 4 – certification process.
- 10 month free maintenance if you refer another client and the deal is closed.
How the Auditing Process Works
- We identify the scope of the audit and determine the total number of man days required.
- A quote is delivered and 50% deposit is required before the next step.
- One of our auditors requests your firm’s policies, processes and procedures, and uses such in the preparation of the audit plan and checklist.
- We conduct the audit with the audit opening meeting and follow the audit plan.
- Non-conformances are identified and non-conformance reports are issued to identify any gaps in the processes.
- Closing meeting is conducted.
- We compile the audit report.
- The audit report is issued.
- We submit the project plan and SLA.
- You pay the balance of the 50%.
- If there are no non-conformances, we issue the audit report, project plan and SLA.
Monthly Maintenance Proposal
In addition to the above auditing and certification preparation process, we provide you with a maintenance proposal. It is a comprehensive monthly maintenance programme that includes regular reviews, planning and internal audits, in order to ensure ongoing compliance according to the requirements of ISO certification in South Africa.
Don’t risk spending thousands to ensure certification and not meet the requirements. Let our experts assist you through the GAP analysis audits to identify the areas where improvement must be made, and make use of our monthly maintenance programme for ongoing improvement.
Contact us to help you design and implement a QMS and to prepare for certification, obtain such and ensure optimal compliance throughout the year.