Issue 72 – Part 2: Is ISO Registration worth it?
ISO 9001:2015…
Part 2: Is ISO Registration worth it?
Receiving emails with questions and/or comments from readers of this Newsletter is much appreciated… please continue to do so since it provides me with ideas on what these publications should cover. The topic I would like to discuss in this Newsletter is in regards to whether the cost of ISO 9001 Registration is worth it, and yes I realize that the last Newsletter was on the same topic however I received lots of feedback after last month’s article that I would like to share.
In my last Newsletter (ISO 9001:2015 Newsletter Issue 71) we discussed the topic of “ISO Registration, is it worth it”, and this is now Part 2 to that same discussion.
The feedback I received from both my Clients and Newsletter Readers was unanimous… what they clearly said was that the extra cost for ISO Certification/Registration was small compared to the potential downside on revenue. They indicated that ISO certification costs range from $4,000 to over $10,000 per year but for most companies these extra costs would most probably be well under $10,000. For many organizations, sales revenue would likely be well over $5M each year, so this calculates out to be less than a 1/2 percent in costs per year to maintain their ISO certificate. They argued that it wasn’t worth the possible risk of losing Customer accounts for a cost of less than $10K. At the end of the day it’s purely a “marketing” cost, so view it as that.
The logic behind this thinking is that even if an organization decided to drop their ISO certification they would still need to have a QMS in place and functioning, including conducting annual internal audits, along with a number of other processes like document and record control, control of nonconformances, corrective actions, management reviews, etc, etc. These are not out-of-pocket costs, but they are costs none the less.
In fact, some argued that their internal costs could actually increase since some Customers would demand more evidence from the Quality personnel, that an effective QMS is in place, and perhaps even having to accommodate multiple Customer audits, with each having there own list of audit findings requiring corrective action. Let’s also not forget the potential of being excluded from bidding on certain Customer contracts due to a lack of ISO certification.
I think time will tell if dropping ISO certification was a good decision or not for an organization… the feedback I heard was that companies shouldn’t use “costs” as their justification to do so.
Be sure to watch for our next Newsletter issue where I will be answering some of the questions that I get from Readers of my Newsletters about how to implement the requirements of ISO 9001:2015 in a specific and practical way, that will also help improve business performance…
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Need Help?
ISO 9001:2015 Internal Audit Outsourcing (we can do it for you OR with you!)
For cost effectiveness, the Internal Audit function can be outsourced to an external experienced auditor on a periodic basis. This will provide an independent and objective assessment to management, of where process issues may exist, along with identifying opportunities for improvement. It will also provide the evidence needed to satisfy the Internal Audit requirements in the ISO Standards. We have used two different approaches with this service: a) We conduct the entire audit ourselves, or b) We act as the lead auditor, and along with your Team of internal auditors, we complete the entire audit together. This latter approach allows your people to receive guidance and direction from an experienced lead auditor while at the same time maintaining significant involvement in the internal audit process.
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Internal Process Auditor Training for ISO 9001:2015
The two (2) day Internal Process Auditing for ISO 9001:2015 Training Session is focused on a process approach to auditing with the objective being not only to assess conformance of the quality management system, but also to uncover process improvements during an audit. This goes hand in hand with the process auditing requirements found within ISO 19011 and the process approach covered in ISO 9001:2015, which promotes continual process improvement throughout this Standard. An enhanced checklist is developed, and there will be workshops throughout, to reinforce learning, as well as a live, practice audit. If you are looking to meet the ISO 9001:2015 internal audit requirements and to “raise the bar” for your internal audit program then this is the course you should consider.
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Until next time…
Tim Renaud
Helping Business Professionals Reduce Risk and Remove Waste!