Quality Auditing
What is a Quality Audit?
A quality audit is a systematic evidence gathering process. Audits must be independent and evidence must be evaluated objectively to determine how well audit criteria are being met.
It is an essential part of a businesses quality management system and therefore is a crucial element in the ISO quality management system standard, ISO 9001.
Companies can carry out first party audits themselves. First party audits are used to provide input to the management review and for other internal purposes.
A second party audit is an external audit. Your customers and clients may wish to audit your systems before offering a contract to you – and during the period of the contract.
A third party audit is also an external audit – normally carried out by certification bodies.
You must establish an audit programme – and once established it’s important that it is followed and maintained. Your certification body will review this at every surveillance visit.
Grange Consultancy can therefore offer to prepare and maintain your audit programme and carry out your internal audits in order to ensure they stay on track. If your staff are busy carrying out billable work or fulfilling orders for clients, it might be more cost effective to engage a consultant to work with you to carry out your internal auditing.
Are You Looking For an Independent Quality Auditor?
Grange Consultancy has undertaken IRCA approved Lead Auditor training so we are qualified to assist you. So, if you are a business or organisation in London, Kent or the South East, and are looking to hire an independent quality auditor that can help you increase customer satisfaction and reduce your operating costs, then contact us today to find out how we can help.
What is ISO 9001?
The ISO 9001 standard was first introduced in 1987 and has been revised roughly every 7 years since then. It is the international standard that specifies requirements for quality management system (QMS) implementation.
The standard itself is divided into sections which are known as Clauses and each Clause contains a set of requirements. To achieve certification against this standard your organisation must be able to demonstrate that it has addressed each of these Clauses and requirements.
The ISO 9001 standard is designed to apply to all organisations from large multi-national corporations to small local business with only a few staff.
How you are able to demonstrate you meet the requirements is open to interpretation; you need to decide what is appropriate to your organisation.
More and more organisations now make it an absolute requirement to only deal with ISO 9001 certified companies. It helps assure them you have the appropriate controls and competency to deliver quality products or services.
Do You Want Your Organisation To Become ISO 9001 Certified?
If you are considering becoming ISO 9001 certified but not sure how to implement then standard, contact us today and we will talk you through the process.
ISO 9001
ISO 9001 is a Standard Dedicated To Quality
ISO 9001 certification is designed for companies who want to provide assurance to their customers, partners and stakeholders that they have processes and controls in place to provide a consistent product or service that will meet their requirements. You can read more about what ISO 9001 is, here.
It’s designed to apply to any business in any sector – whether large or small.
Benefits of ISO 9001
If you implement ISO 9001 in a way that is really appropriate and relevant to your business you will find that it will become embedded and really work for you. Benefits you may notice by successfully implementing ISO 9001 are:
- Enhanced customer satisfaction and improved customer loyalty leading to repeat business
- Increase in customer advocacy
- Integration and alignment of internal processes which will lead to increased productivity and results
- Consistency in the delivery of your product or service
- Development of a continual improvement culture
- Increased employee engagement
We don’t offer boilerplate templates for a QMS. We make the effort to understand your business and work with you to improve it. If you need help with Quality Management System Implementation we can help.
ISO 9001 Certification
ISO 9001 certification needn’t be a complicated process. It can happen quite quickly depending on what you have in place already. If you need ISO 9001 Certification Advice you can contact us.
An essential part of a Quality Management System is Quality Auditing. Are your staff busy carrying out billable work or fulfilling orders for clients? It might be more cost effective to engage a consultant to work with you to carry out your internal auditing. It will keep your quality management system under surveillance and ensure you can continue to make improvements.
ISO 9001 Version 2015
The most recent version of the standard, ISO 9001:2015, was published in 2015. Companies who have the ISO 9001:2008 version have until September 2018 to transition to the new standard. Grange Consultancy can carry out a gap analysis to help you establish how much work needs to be done before re-certification. We can also carry out a full system audit to establish whether your system is ready to be re-certified. Find out more about how we can help with ISO 9001:2015 transition.
Are You Looking For ISO 9001 Consultants?
Is your organisation looking to implement ISO 9001? If the answer is yes, then you will need the help of an ISO 9001 consultant. We help organisations, from small businesses to large national and global organisations, that are based in London, Kent and the South East. Contact Grange Consultancy today to learn how we can help you benefit from ISO 9001.