Congratulations on receiving your ISO 9001:2015 certification! But your hard work is not done yet. Certification is much more than just ticking off boxes or showing off your new certificate. Your next step is implementing your ISO 9001:2015 quality management system (QMS) which is to be adopted throughout your organisation and ensuring that everyone is involved.
Because of the impact, ISO 9001:2015 certification will have on your organisation ensuring you implement your new system is just as important as the decision to implement the standard in the first place.
By this point, you have:
- Implemented a QMS
- Had the QMS audited by a Certified Body
- Got your QMS certified to ISO 9001:2015
- Celebrate the organisation’s achievements with all your staff
But after this entire process what happens next?
I have ISO 9001:2015 certification… Now what?
Your very first step should be to celebrate, you’ve reached a humongous goal and a significant milestone. Your very first step as an organisation should be to obtain ISO 9001:2015 certified logos and other materials from your certification body. These logos should be added to your website and can be added to email signatures and can be shared on your social media.
If you’ve partnered with us at WWISE, we’ll be able to help you get the word out about accomplishing ISO 9001:2015 certification.
After marketing your new certification, you may start to wonder about the process of not only making ISO 9001:2015 certification work for you but how you can maintain your certification.
How do I maintain my ISO 9001:2015 certification?
Your first goal is to achieve certification, but maintaining your certification takes work and is where your quality management system takes effect.
Keep all your policies updated
Ensure all your policies are updated regularly, as soon as any aspect of your organisation changes, your policies must be updated to reflect these changes. Changes would also need to be communicated to all your staff to ensure everyone follows the new policies and procedures.
Audits
The most daunting part of maintaining your ISO 9001:2015 certification is passing third-party audits. However, consistent internal audits are part of maintaining your certification. Internal audits ensure you continue to meet ISO 9001:2015 standard requirements.
It is your organisation’s responsibility to ensure internal audits are maintained and should be carried out by an internal staff member that’s been trained or an ISO 9001:2015 consultant with experience in your company and industry.
If you don’t have a dedicated staff member that’s been trained in ISO 9001:2015 internal auditing our eLearning courses provide your staff with in-depth training in ISO 9001:2015 and we also offer auditing support as a managed service.
Provide training to your employees
For a quality management system to work effectively all your staff should have access to regular training to learn the new rules, adapt, and ensure consistent improvements. As the person responsible for the organisation, measuring the effectiveness of staff training will help you and top management understand the progression and commitment of the staff to the newly earned certification.
Follow your documentation
The easiest way to maintain your ISO 9001:2015 certification is to ensure all procedures align with your standard. Your quality management system provides a framework for your organisations policies and procedures. Keep records and track all factual data to analyse as part of the management review. Once your documentation is created it is essential to raise awareness in your organisation and train all your employees to follow them.
Consistent improvement
To maintain your ISO 9001:2015 certification, your organisation must prove how processes and procedures are continuously being improved.
The following processes and procedures are areas in your organisation to review and improve as you work through the process of maintaining your ISO certification:
- Policies
- Risks and opportunities
- Objectives
- Aspect and impacts
- Hazards and evaluation of data
- Audit results
- Management review
- Non-conformity
- Corrective action
Plan, Do, Check, Act
The Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) cycle is an ISO-recommended process for all standards when implementing change within an organisation should lead to constant improvement.
The easiest way to explain the PDCA model is to embrace the process as an ongoing cycle for improvement.
- Plan: set objectives this includes ‘what’ and ‘how’
- Do: implement changes and manage changes
- Check: monitor and measure all results
- Act: take action to improve chances
Utilising the PDCA cycle in your organisation can help you embrace continual improvement across your organisation.
WWISE Maintenance services
Are you feeling overwhelmed with the processes and tasks it takes to maintain your certification, or aren’t able to appoint a staff member to support the maintenance of your ISO 9001:2015 certification?
At WWISE we are able to support you in maintaining your ISO 9001:2015 certification, our maintenance services include:
- Updating your policies and procedures to keep up with regulations
- Internal audits
- Staff training to ensure everyone has the understanding they need
- Ensuring your QMS is following the appropriate documentation
- Ensuring your organisation sees continual improvement from your QMS.
Give our expert QMS consultants a call on 086 109 9473 or send us an email on admin@wwise.co.za and ensure your organisations certification is maintained according to regulations.
Can I add other ISO certifications to my ISO 9001:2015?
After successfully implementing your ISO 9001:2015 quality management system, adding another quality standard to your organisation is easy. All ISO standards have been designed to work together and make implementation easier in a process.
Some of the most common ISO standard combinations include ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 27001:2022. These managed systems work together to suit every organisation. These systems show your commitment to quality, the everyday running of your organisation, client satisfaction, and your commitment to securing the data of all your clients and customers.
Other benefits of integrating multiple ISO standards include:
- Saving costs by only paying one fee to audit your systems.
- Improving efficiency by avoiding duplication in internal audits, document control, training, and administration.
- Enhanced business focus by linking multiple systems to the business’s strategic objectives.
Having an integrated management system gives you a better understanding of your business needs, and saves you time and money by implementing standards simultaneously.
Do you need help getting ISO 9001:2015 certified? Give us call on 086 109 9473 or send us an email at admin@wwise.co.za to speak to an QMS consultant today! We also offer a range of eLearning courses that create a solid foundation for all your staff.