Perhaps while researching an organization you came across this claim: ISO 9001:2008 certification. Certification, well that sounds good, but what exactly does this combination of letters and numbers mean? Read on to find out what ISO 9001:2008 certification entails and what it says about the organization that has earned the designation.
What is ISO 9001:2008?
ISO is the abbreviation for International Organization for Standardization. This certification body develops and publishes international standards that must be met before a company can be certified. The 9001:2008 aspect of the name positions the certification at two different standard levels. 9001 makes it part of the ISO 9000 Quality Management collection, which is designed for any business or organization looking to implement a quality management system.
Meanwhile, the 2008 part of the name goes deeper to specify, according to the ISO, the “requirements for a quality management system.”
What does ISO 9001:2008 certification mean?
To obtain ISO 9001:2008 certification, an organization must meet two obligations. First, you must demonstrate that you can “consistently provide a product that meets customer and applicable legal and regulatory requirements.”
ISO 9001:2008 certification is generic and can be applied to organizations that manufacture a wide range of products. However, the product consistency stipulation that is inherent in the certification process applies to the specific product produced by the organization seeking the designation. So, for example, a manufacturer of high-temperature wire and cable for the commercial and automotive industries must provide the wire industry with wire and cable that meets all wire industry legal and regulatory requirements.
The second obligation that the certified holder of an ISO 9001: 2008 must fulfill is an objective of “improving customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system”. In other words, customer satisfaction is a primary benchmark for certification. To demonstrate the priority of customer satisfaction, the applicant for the certificate must demonstrate that they have implemented “continuous improvement processes” in their system. And as in the case of the first obligation, it must also provide “guarantee in accordance with the client and the applicable legal and regulatory requirements”.
Using a manufacturer of high-temperature wire and cable for the commercial and automotive industries as an example once again, the manufacturing system used by the organization must improve the satisfaction of end-users of the wire and cable.
What does ISO 9001:2008 certification say about an organization that holds it?
Because of the requirements that must be met to achieve it. ISO 9001:2008 certification can increase the credibility of an organization. More specifically, it shows that the products the organization makes or the services the organization offers meet the expectations of the customers who use them.
The ISO notes: “For some industries, certification is a legal or contractual requirement,” but in cases where it is not, ISO 9001:2008 certification provides added peace of mind that an organization is willing to go further to demonstrate that treats the satisfaction of its customers with the highest priority.
