Issue 113 – Do Vendors or Suppliers need to be ISO certified?
ISO 9001:2015…
Do Vendors or Suppliers need to be ISO certified?
I appreciate receiving emails with questions and/or comments from readers of this Newsletter… please continue to do so since it provides me with direction on where to aim the content of these publications. In my last Newsletter (ISO 9001:2015 Newsletter Issue 112) we discussed the topic of “Are your internal audits on life support?”, and now in this Newsletter we will discuss “Do Vendors or Suppliers need to be ISO certified?”.
The ISO 9001:2015 Element numbering…
Element 4 – Context of the organization
Element 5 – Leadership
Element 6 – Planning
Element 7 – Support
Element 8 – Operation
Element 9 – Performance evaluation
Element 10 – Improvement
YOU decide if Vendors or Suppliers need to be ISO certified… If you read through the requirements outlined within ISO 9001:2015, you will not find a single occurrence of the word “Vendor”… or “Supplier”… or “Certified”… not once. The only place that comes close is in Clause 8.4, and in particular the last paragraph of Sub-Clause 8.4.1, which states the following:
The organization shall determine and apply criteria for the evaluation, selection, monitoring of performance, and re-evaluation of external providers, based on their ability to provide processes or products and services in accordance with requirements.
Those first few words are critical… “The organization shall determine and apply criteria for…”
Basically the above says that YOU decide how to choose which Vendors or Suppliers YOU want to work with.
If, in your own documentation, you state that Vendors must meet certain requirements… then that’s the “criteria” to decide which Vendor to choose… and then once selected, how to check on their performance. So if you say that Vendors who are allowed to work with your organization must be “ISO certified” then you have established the price of admission… this then becomes the “criteria” they must meet.
The extent of the “criteria” that you establish should vary depending on how “critical to quality” is what the Vendor is supplying. I think a Vendor who provides office supplies should require minimal “criteria” (i.e. competitive pricing; availability) whereas a Vendor who provides instrument calibration services deserves a higher bar to jump over due to their direct impact on the quality of what you sell to your Customers. Still, having said that, it is totally up to YOU what “criteria” you wish to establish. Say what you do… Do what you say.
As a final comment… Keep in mind that monitoring your Vendors is critical if you believe in the saying “G.I.G.O.” (Garbage In Garbage Out). Why put more stress on your internal processes by allowing Vendors to provide you with poor quality products or services? It always amazes me when I have to write up a Nonconformance caused by a poorly performing calibration Vendor. You’d think that being in the instrument calibration industry they should exhibit a high degree of quality when performing their services. Think again. Countless times I’ve run across shoddy workmanship and poor record keeping from instrument calibration companies that are either ISO 9001:2015 Certified, or ISO 17025:2017 Certified, or both. Unfortunately YOU are also to blame because by paying those Invoices from your calibration Vendor, without confirming the quality of their work, you are increasing the risk of future surprises for your Customers!
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!