ISO 9001

ISO 9001 is an international standard that focuses on quality management for all type of organizations. It is implemented by organizations looking to control or improve the quality of the products and services, increase competitiveness within the market, or reduce cost associated with producing poor quality products. ISO 9001 has gained popularity in terms of standards as it has been shown to save organizations money, controls quality, and customers now expect it.

ISO 9000 Series is based on eight quality management principles, which are:

• Customer focus
• Leadership
• Involvement of people
• Process approach
• System approach to management
• Continual improvement
• Factual approach to decision making
• Mutually beneficial supplier relationships

Over 150 countries national standards associations currently endorse and support ISO 9001. Thus, ISO 9001 has become a benchmark for organizations conducting business internationally as assurance of quality and excellence.

Confirmation that organizations meet the requirements ISO 9001 is obtained through third part certification bodies. Organizations looking to obtain certification need to develop a quality management system which complies with ISO 9001 (during the process it is important to access such resources as the ISO 9000 definitions and the ISO 9004 guidelines).

Organizations that currently have an established quality management system can carry out a gap analysis in order to gain an understanding of what is needed to meet the ISO 9001 standard. A gap analysis assists organization in identifying where it stands relative to where its goals are.

For organizations that do not currently have a functioning quality management system, or the current system is considered poor, steps and process may be implemented to address this issue. An example process is the ISO 9001 process-based QMS development plan. Organizations may also consider hiring a third party to carryout internal audits and develop a recommended project plan toward implementation of ISO 9001 standards.

Risk Management Studio and ISO 9001

RM Studio can be used by organizations with quality management systems in place or by organizations looking to implement them with the goal of obtaining ISO 9001 certification.

For organizations with established quality management systems, RM Studio can be used to perform a gap analysis utilizing ISO 9001 controls and information about the specific business entity inputted by the users. RM Studio’s gap analysis tool will simplify the gap analysis process and will remove the guesswork for its users.

For those organizations looking to implement or improve an underperforming quality management system, RM Studio can be used to perform the required risk assessment, assist users in identifying assets, asset categories, and threats to the assets. RM Studio also provides users with an Implementation Guide for mitigating risk and putting controls in place.

Stiki' certifications can be viewed here.