10 Steps to ISO Certification

Getting certified to any ISO standard can be a breaking point for any company out there. The idea of complying to internationally recognised standards means that your company can compete with the best in your field and is equally as well-managed and well-organised as the others. However, meeting the standards and actually getting certified is far from easy, which is why we made a list of 10 steps to ISO certification that you need to follow if you want to make it work.

How to start the process?

You decided you want to get certified to an ISO standard and you chose the norm that you want to abide by. Your first step is already behind you! Moving on, you need to get to know the standard as well as you can. Get acquainted with everything that is included in the document, and for better results, sign up for a training course that will prepare you for the implementation and certification process.

Three steps down, seven to go. Once you know all you need about the norm you chose, time to get everyone know your goals for the process and make sure your workers are on board. Choose people who will be responsible for overseeing the process and if you feel like you might need some extra help, get a consultant on board as well. Having a trained professional on your time can make everything so much easier.

Implementation and certification

You’re already on step six. Here, you need to choose your certification body that will be assessing your progress and actually give you your certificate at the end, once you pass all audits and be compliant with the norm. The implementation process usually starts with an audit that assesses your current management system and pinpoints the areas that need improvement to meet the standard.

Once you’re aware of the gaps, you will get to actually developing your new management system, taking the results of the audit into account and making sure every single process works just as planned, according to the ISO norm. When you’re ready, you will need a stage 2 audit that will assess your progress and determine if you qualify to get certified. Once you do, the only thing to do is to make sure you keep improving, meeting the standard and getting regular audits that will help you keep the certificate.