ISO certification in India validates that a management system, manufacturing process, service, or documentation procedure has all the needs for standardization and quality guaranty. ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is an autonomous, non-governmental, international organization that establishes standards to ensure the quality, safety, and productivity of products, services, and systems.
ISO certifications occur in many areas of industry, from the management of energy and social responsibility to devices used for medical purposes and management of energy. ISO standards are in place to assure flexibility. Each certification has independent standards and benchmark and is classified numerically.
ISO (International Organization for Standardization as according to the name it’s an independent international organization, it develops many International Standards, such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, but they just give a standard for certification, they do not involve in the certification process and also they do not provide ISO certificates. Many External certification bodies provide ISO certification in India. In this article, we will discuss the process of ISO certification in detail.
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The objective of ISO certification in India
The main goal of ISO certification is to improve the standardization of an Organizations’s technology.
Advantages of ISO Certification in India
- International credibility: ISO Certification plays a very important role in helping the organization to build a reputation across the overseas business.
- Customer Satisfaction: ISO standard makes the organization raise its product standard so it will increase customer satisfaction.
- Government Tenders: For government bids, it is must to have ISO certification.
- Business Efficiency: after obtaining ISO Certification, the functional efficiency of an organization is improved. Standard Operating Procedures and work instructions can be formed with the help of ISO Certification Agency. Resources of an organization are managed efficiently after obtaining the ISO certification.
- Product Quality: By obtaining ISO Certification, the product quality is top-notch and equals the international standards, product order rejection will also be reduced by ISO certification, and also reduction of flawed products happened.
- Marketability: Business credibility will also be improved, and it also helps the business marketing directly.
Applicable Fee for ISO Certification in India
From organization to organization the fee is different for ISO certification in India. The fee for ISO certification is computed by ISO certification body after considering the following different parameters:
- Size of an organization
- Number of employees
- Processes of Organization
- Level of risk associated with the scope of services of the organization
- The management system’s complexity
- The number of working shifts
ISO Certification Processing Time
From the organization to organization the processing time is different for ISO certification. The processing time depends on the size of the organization and it will be notified by the certification body before certification.
Prerequisite
The precondition for processing ISO certification or ISO registration is explained in detail following
Selecting the Type of ISO Certification in India
It is upon the entrepreneurs which certification they required for their business. There are different types of ISO certification to choose from. Following is the list:-
- ISO 9001:2008- For Quality Management System
- OHSAS 18001 – Management of occupational health and safety system
- ISO 37001 – Management of anti-bribery
- ISO 31000 – Risk Management
- ISO 27001 – Security of Information management
- ISO 10002 – Management of compliance system
- ISO 14001:2015 – System of environment management
- ISO 26000 – Responsibility of social system
- ISO 28000 – Security Management
- ISO 22008 – Management of food safety and security
- SA 8000 – Social accountability
- EnMS EN 16001 ISO 50001 – Management of energy
- SO/IEC 17025 – laboratories for testing and calibration
- SO 13485 – Devices used for medical purposes
- ISO 639 – Codes for languages
- ISO 4217 – Codes for currency
- ISO 3166 – Codes for Countries
- ISO 8601 – format of date and time
- ISO 20121 – Sustainable events
- SO/IEC 27001 – Security of information management
Selecting an ISO Certification Body (ISO Registrar)
As mentioned above ISO does not provide companies’ certification. It should be done by external certification bodies. Thus it is compulsory to recognize the trustworthy certification body. When selecting a certification body, the entrepreneur has to do the following things.
- Assess several certification bodies
- Check if the certification body uses the applicable CASCO standards
- Check whether the certification body is authorized.
Note: Authorization is not necessary; however, the companies need to meet the ISO certification bodies’ requirements.
To find an authorized certification body in our country, communicate with the National Board of Accreditation (NBA), India.
Process of ISO Certification in India
The process for obtaining ISO certification in India is described in detail following:
Make an Application
Once the businessperson or application has selected the ISO standard and ISO certification body, need to make an application in an arbitrary form (according to the ISO registrar). The application must enclose the rights and accountability of entrepreneur and certification body parties and includes debt issues, confidentiality, and access rights.
Documents Review by Registrar
The ISO certification body will assess all the quality manuals and documents associated with different policies and measures being followed in the organization. Assess of existing works will support the ISO registrar to determine the possible gaps against the demands stipulated in the ISO standards.
Determination of Pre-assessment Needs
The Pre-assessment is an initial assessment of the Management of Quality Systems in an organization to analyze any significant weakness or lapse in the system and the registrar will provide the organization with a chance to correct the flaws before the regular registration review is organized.
Prepare an Action Plan
After the ISO registrar suggested the existing lapse in the organization, the applicant or businessperson has to form an action plan to eradicate these lapses. The action plan needs to contain the list of the mandatory tasks to be executed to meet the Quality Management System
Note: The businessperson may need instructing employees to work skillfully to achieve a quality management system. Make all the employees in the organization familiar with the ISO standards regarding work productively and quality standards.
Onsite Inspection or Audit
The ISO registrar will organize a physical onsite inspection to inspect the changes made in the organization.
During the audit, if the registrar finds anything that does not meet with the conditions of the ISO standards, the registrar arbitrates the severity and problem findings. Audit findings are frequently called as nonconformities and fall into one of two categories depending on severity.
- A Minor Non-conformance – It deals with minor breaches of procedures or minor deficiencies of the system in meeting the ISO standards.
- A Major Non-conformance – It deals with problems where the nonconforming products are likely to reach the consumers or where there is a disruption in the quality system that results in an incapable system in meeting the needs of the standards.
Final audit
The registration cannot progress until all compelling nonconformities are closed and authenticated by the Registrar. This usually requires a re-audit of the affected parts and, definitely, the related costs.
Note: Minor nonconformities need a corrective action plan and that will be shut down at the first inspection.
Get ISO Certificate
After all, non-conformities are corrected, and all the findings are amended in the ISO audit report, the registrar will issue the ISO certification.
Surveillance Audits
A surveillance audit will be organized primarily to assure that the organization is sustaining SO quality standards. It will be implemented from time to time.
Conclusion
ISO certification is the most important tool for a business strategy that a company must adapt to grow profitably. It will also definitely boost the production capability of a business organization. Consumers are attracted to ISO certified companies so that they can get quality products and services. ISO certification will also increase competition in the market. So it is better to have ISO certification for organizations.
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