Question

Society also includes professional organizations and associations. Many professional organizations develop standards (for example, the ASME design standards to address engineering quality and safety). Choose an organization or association and discuss its standards. Are these standards effective in helping to continuously improve the goals of the organization or association? Explain.

Answer 1

The organization being discussed is ISO – International Organization for Standardization. They are an independent body formed by representatives from various national standards organizations. They create standards which cover the quality and administrative aspects of the organization in all major industries from manufactured products and technology to food safety, agriculture and healthcare.

They publish the standards and is revised every 4-5 years based on the changed in business environment and technological advances. The standards are published in 3 languages namely- English, French and Russian. One major contribution from ISO to the business world is the formation of ISO 9001 standards. They cover the quality aspects of the business and form the base for ensuring the process, documents and products are in sync with the world benchmarks. They provide a framework using which organizations can standardize the process, documentation and outcomes. The standards provided by ISO 9001 do not have any specific clauses which affect the company. Instead they focus on ensuring all the objectives are well documented and the same are being followed in every aspect of the organization. An ISO compliant organization will have the following aspects:

• Meeting customer requirements

• Improve company and product quality

• Describe, understand and improve the process

• Increased support form management for operational improvements

• Reduction in wastage of resources

• Continuous improvement

As mentioned above, a company that is applying for ISO certification needs to undergo strict adherence and audit checks to ensure all activities are in order with the expected framework. The rigorous audits help in ensuring the process is improved continually.

A brief process of ISO certification is as given below:

• Identify need for ISO certification

• Approach ISO consultants for understanding the process

• Create internal teams who monitor and regulate the quality aspect of company

• Documents all the objectives company wants to achieve in near and long term future

• Break down all near term activities into actionable items

• Ensure all the documentation are in place with regards to process

• Ensure quality checks and records are maintained at all touch points

• Prepare for internal audit

• Audit for process with regards to documented policies and procedures

• Identify areas of improvement

• Develop and complete the improvement initiatives

• Prepare for another round of internal audit

• Finalize findings and keep all documentation necessary for external audit

• External ISO audit for process compliance with international standards

• Work on identified gap areas

• Apply for ISO certification