Iso

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS 2

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3

INTRODUCTION 4

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF ISO? 5

WHY HAVE IT? 7

WHO HAS IT? 8

WHO WANTS IT? WHY? 9

REGISTRATION PROCESS? 10

WHO RUNS IT? 12

WHO IMPLEMENTS IT? 13

WHO MAINTAINS IT? 14

WHAT ARE THE RISKS OF NOT HAVING IT? 15

AUDITING PROCESS? 16

Internal Audit 16

External Audit 17

INTERVIEW WITH JOYCE IRVING 18

INTERVIEW WITH BILL JEFFREY 19

CONESTOGA COLLEGE 20

CONCULSION 21

SOURCES 22

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Being ISO certified, what does that mean and what is required by the organization implementing it? What is the process and procedures when registering for ISO certification and what are the advantages of doing this?

ISO means International Organization for Standardization. Organizations who decide to be certified have made a predefined choice to improve their quality management if focusing on the 9000 series or if they were focusing on the 14000 series their primary concern would be environmental management.

A mandatory requirement to be certified is to go through the registration process, which involves various phases. Mainly these phases are put in place to confirm that the current documented management system will meet the standard requirements and the policies and procedures are being effectively executed. To achieve an effective Registration Assessment the company must go through an auditing process where an auditing team will analyze the management system and its records to see if they are established and being maintained effectively. Once the organization has proven its capability to be ISO certified and is registered, they will still have to go through an auditing process every three years to maintain the quality management system in place.

So why have it? ISO standards contribute to making the development, manufacturing and supply of products and services more efficient, safer and cleaner. They supply governments with a mechanical base for health, safety and environmental legislation. In addition to aiding the transfer of technology to developing countries, International Standards make life easier for consumers and serve as a safety measure. Furthermore, suppliers and clientele are committing to only dealing with other ISO certified companies to further guarantee the quality management process.

Benefits of being ISO certified can be described as being invaluable. This report will take a look at the benefits from different perspectives in the economy and how these benefits are being noticed by organizations internationally and how this reflects on the growing number of ISO certified companies.

Included in the report will be an example of how Conestoga College was granted ISO certification and the problems that were encountered throughout the implementation of the system. Why was it "put on the back burner"? To answer the many questions we had, we needed to talk to individuals who had the hands on experience in dealing with the ISO situation. We then conducted two interviews; one with Joyce ??? (- position?) and the other with Bill Jeffery ??? (- position?).

After gathering the information from the interviews as well as the research that was conducted, our group needed to pinpoint the problems and decide on what recommendations should be made to help fix these problems. The report will take a more in depth look into the problems encountered and the recommended solutions we identified within Conestoga College.

INTRODUCTION

ISO has become more commonly used throughout organizations internationally in the past few years. Currently, there are 148 countries certified organizations using International Standards. Organizations are finding more of a pressure to become registered, as suppliers and clientele only want to deal with ISO certified companies. Furthermore, organizations are seeing the benefits from being ISO certified. Registered companies who are within the ISO family find that they gain better operations, enhanced performance and expanded profitability.

There are various types of ISO that are divided into two different main families. The first family is the ISO 9000 series, which is concerned with "Quality Management", and the second family is the ISO 14000 series, which is concerned with "Environmental Management". In order to be ISO certified organizations would have to go through a registration process.

The registration process consists of two main stages. The first stage is the initial assessment, which is completed to ensure that the current documented management system that is in place will meet the specified requirements. The second stage is registration assessment; this is done to ensure that the policies and procedures are successfully carried out in the organization. This process involves internal auditing; where the company must provide the auditing team evidence that the system has been fully documented and effectively implemented, past and current records, facility access, and in addition their cooperation.

Internal and external auditing is an integral part of maintaining ISO standards. Through various tasks they will evaluate and analyze the organizations practices and procedures. The internal auditing process involves numerous phases that should be completed in order to organize and conduct a proper internal audit program. External (third party) audits are one of the most significant features of ISO to ensure the consistent quality.

There is a clear advantage for an organization to be ISO certified. It not only benefits the company itself but also benefits the customers, governments, trade officials, developing countries, and the planet itself.

What ISO stands for:

ISO is derived from the Greek "isos", meaning equal. This is because