Implementation of the ISO 9000 quality
assurance standards results in an improvement in business performance through
their impact on specific company operations. Studies evaluated by ISO show
benefits increasing with higher commitment to improving quality. When you
implement the relevant standards in your company, they guide you to improve
procedures with a positive impact on customers and products.
Quality
ISO 9000 standards define quality in
terms of customer requirements and define procedures that allow you to achieve
the desired quality. The standards have an immediate impact on staff and
operations, as employees require formal and verifiable qualifications for
technical tasks, companies have to qualify to supply material, incoming
materials have to be inspected, and testing procedures have to be established
to ensure that the products meet the specified quality standards.
Competition
Implementing ISO 9000 standards
allows you to compete more effectively because your products have a higher
quality and your procedures are more efficient and consistent. If you become
certified for ISO 9000, you have an even bigger competitive advantage because
you can bid on contracts that specify ISO 9000 certification, while your
competitors lacking certification can't bid. Overall, ISO 9000 improves your
competitive position in the marketplace.
Customer Satisfaction
While the quality assurance aspects
of ISO 9000 lead to better quality products and higher customer satisfaction,
the attention to standards helps improve other company operations. With regard
to customer service, ISO 9000 requires clear goals, verifiable training and
documented procedures. Higher product quality means fewer customer service
calls, but customers who contact you experience improved service levels,
further increasing customer satisfaction.
Employees
Employees face challenges in
requiring additional training and learning new procedures to establish responsibility
for carrying out work and for verifying it under ISO 9000, but lines of
authority and responsibility are clear and consistent. Overall, when employees
carry out their work with confidence based on adequate training, follow clear
standards with explicit objectives, and take part in the production of
high-quality products, employee morale improves.
Controls
The ISO quality standards achieve their results through the implementation of internal controls that ensure activities lead to the desired results. Such controls are based on documentation of actions, verification that work was carried out according to the established procedures, and monitoring of outcomes for discrepancies. Their impact on your company is to increase efficiency and consistency throughout the organization. When you implement standards to ensure that product quality is high, the effects spread to functions not directly involved, such as finance and human resources, because they have to interact with the operating departments and satisfy their requirements.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The QMS (ISO 9001) certified
organizations show much improvement on the performance in terms of quality as
well as the quantity of product. The paper point out that following the
certification by ISO 9001, the demand of the product has increased due to its
quality, the efficiency while also reducing the production costs. The paper
further conclude that if an organization will be certified by the ISO 9001 and
become active and committed, then the quantity(volume) of the product will be
increased and hence customers will be satisfied and become loyal. By so doing
the organization will have competitive advantages over the competitors.
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