Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some of the FAQ by our customers.

What Is ISO 9000?

ISO stands for "same" in Greek. The standard was issued by the International Organization of Standards, which is the international agency, founded in 1946 in Geneva Switzerland, to promote the development of national and international standards and facilitate the exchange of goods and services worldwide. It is composed of member bodies from over 90 countries. The U.S. is a member through the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The ISO 9000 series was published in 1987 and revised in 1994.

ISO 9000 implementation and certification is being applied to a wide range of operations, industries and services. Even school districts, hotels, sports organizations are seeking ISO certification to upgrade their services or products. In many cases, compliance to ISO 9000 is required by customers or government bodies in their purchasing specifications. ISO 9000 is required for companies that produce and distribute their products or services.

Who Uses ISO 9000?

If you design, develop, produce, install and service products.
If customer service is important to your organization.
If your organization processes solids, liquids, or gases as part of your production process.
If your organization manufactures.
If the quality of the product is important to you.

What Steps Do We Need To Take To Achieve Certification?

1. Prepare Your Documentation: Depending on the amount of time you devote to the project, it can take from as little as a few weeks to as much as a year or more. Above all, don't wait until you start losing business to get going. If you do, you will likely lose even more business before you are able to achieve ISO certification.

2. Implementation: ISO 9000 is basically an operations manual for your business. It's "Say what you do and Do what you say". Implementing ISO throughout your organization takes time and is the second phase of the process.

3. Inspection Audit: When your documents are ready and you have implemented them throughout the organization, it's time to call in the Auditor. He/she will inspect your documents, verify that you are implementing procedures properly, and make a report to the Registrar for or against certification.

4. Certification: When you pass the audit, your company will be registered as an ISO-Certified organization.

Why Use ISO 9000?

Because it makes excellent business sense. It is fast becoming a condition for doing business around the world. Increasingly so for many firms, non compliance to ISO standards often means loss of sales to a competitor that is within ISO standards. Customers generally perceive ISO registered firms as being successful, competent and industry leaders.

Having ISO 9000 Certification provides numerous competitive advantages:

1. 72.3% of corporations with ISO 9000 report a major competitive advantage. This means they are winning more business. (Source - Dunn and Bradstreet)

2. 33.4% of corporations with ISO 9000 report improved customer demand. This means they are winning more business. (Source - Dunn and Bradstreet)

3. 69.3% of surveyed businesses that do not have ISO 9000 say they have lost a customer bid or proposal to an ISO 9000 certified competitor. Many of these companies said they didn't know why they were losing the business until it was too late.

4. 35 to 40% of your competitors are ISO 9000 certified or in the process. The longer you wait to start, the greater is their competitive advantage.

5. The ISO 9000 Registered Company Directory lists over 20,000 ISO 9000 certified businesses who want to do business with other ISO 9000 certified or compliant businesses that have at least started the process.

6. Using our system to become ISO 9000 compliant is very simple and inexpensive. It will put you way ahead of your competition, and will enable you to immediately bid on many contracts.

7. The Department of Defense, Food and Drug Administration, NASA, Department of Energy and the GSA have all approved the use of ISO 9000 in contracts and bids.

8. You can generate a significant increase in business, as many corporations will only deal with ISO 9000 certified or compliant companies.

9. Once you are certified you will be published in The ISO 9000 Registered Company Directory. This will bring you inquiries and opportunities you would otherwise never receive.

10. Finally, thousands of corporations have used our ISO 9000 software package to obtain certification or to become ISO-compliant. Our package is very inexpensive and can be used by anyone within your organization. On average it takes 150 to 200 hours to complete the entire operations and procedures manual. Realistically, most businesses spend half an hour to one hour per day on their ISO 9000 system. This means it will take you six to nine months to complete the entire manual, (Just like exercise, we know we should do it but other things always seem to get in the way). Next, the implementation (practice makes perfect) will normally take another six to nine months. If you want to be certified by the year 2000, or at least compliant, you need to start yesterday.

The Facts Are Simple:

• You can generate a significant increase in business, as many corporations and government agencies will only deal with businesses that are ISO 9000 certified.

• ISO 9000 Certification brings a higher level of perceived quality, giving certified businesses a clear competitive advantage over uncertified companies.

• The Bottom Line: ISO 9000 Will Make You More Money. Your competitors are getting the edge on you and their taking away YOUR business! You need ISO 9000 in today's competitive marketplace.