Today, ISO certification has gone beyond the need of getting just a label for growth and legality. Every business, individual, or group can only grow or achieve a new milestone if they have a genuine ISO certification from a trusted certification body like AQC (Assurance Quality Certifications LLC). However, in this challenging business era and struggling life, it becomes very imperative to know the top standards of ISO, its benefits, and the procedure to get certified.
Here, in this write-up, we will learn about the top advantages of getting ISO certified, the premium standards offered by certification bodies, and top-notch benefits:
Why ISO Certification is Needed?
ISO certification provides global acceptance to the brand, utility, business, life, and environment. It has become a very effective tool to manage your entity or day-to-day activities, and machinery very efficiently to bring quality and credibility to every process. That’s why ISO standards are available in several domains like - for environment management, there is EMS (Environmental Management System) with ISO 14001:2015, for Quality enhancement, there is QMS (Quality Management System) with ISO 9001:2015, for Medical devices management, there is a MDQMS (Medical Devices Quality Management System), and for boosting safety and hygiene in foods and beverages, there is FSMS (Food Safety Management System). So, there ISO certifications are many, and you should adopt as per your enterprise domain, requirement, or interest.
Top Standards of ISO Certifications
The majority of ISO certification bodies offer premium services that help bring stability in business, smoothness in life, and agility in machinery through their quality, efficiency, and credibility features. The top ISO standards are:
- QMS: ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management System)
- FSMS: ISO 22000:2018 (Food Safety Management System)
- ISMS: ISO 27001:2022 (Information Security Management System)
- EnMS: ISO 50001:2018 (Energy Management System)
- EMS: ISO 14001:2015 (Environmental Management System)
- MDQMS: ISO 13485:2016 (Medical Device Quality Management Systems)
- OHSMS: ISO 45001:2018 (Occupational Health and Safety Management System)
- FSSC 22000 V6 (Food Safety System Certification)
- ITSMS: ISO 20000-1:2018 (Information Technology Service Management System)
Benefits of Getting ISO Certified
Getting ISO certified offers various perks to industries, groups, and individuals who have gone through the certification process with registration, quality ISO audit, and followed certification guidelines. The top benefits of ISO certifications are:
- Improved Credibility and Recognition
ISO certification shows that your business meets globally accepted quality, safety, and environmental standards. It enhances your reputation and builds confidence among customers, suppliers, and stakeholders.
- Better Process Control and Efficiency
Adopting ISO standards helps identify process gaps, streamline operations, and reduce waste. As a result, organizations often see improved productivity, fewer errors, and cost savings.
- Customer Satisfaction
Consistent product or service quality leads to greater customer trust and loyalty. ISO standards require continuous feedback and improvement, ensuring customer expectations are met every time.
- Compliance with Legal and Regulatory Requirements
ISO frameworks align with many national and international legal requirements. Certification helps ensure compliance and reduces the risk of penalties or legal issues.
- Competitive Advantage
An ISO certificate gives you an edge during tenders, vendor approvals, and international trade. Many clients and government contracts require certified suppliers.
- Employee Engagement and Accountability
Clearly defined roles, processes, and performance tracking under ISO systems improve communication and accountability across departments. This often leads to a more motivated and efficient workforce.
- Continuous Improvement
The core principle of all ISO standards is continual improvement. Regular internal audits and management reviews keep your systems evolving and responsive to new challenges.
- Market Expansion
ISO certification builds trust with international clients and partners, making it easier to enter new markets and form collaborations worldwide.
Procedure to Get ISO Certified
Application
The first step is, of course, the application or the registration process in which you need to provide some details like information regarding your enterprise, your group or entity.
Review, Quotation and Sign the Client Agreement
Based review of Application, AQC will provide a technical and commercial proposal outlining audit days, stages, and costs. Once the quotation is accepted, both parties sign a Client Agreement. This document defines the scope, responsibilities, audit plan, confidentiality, fees, and terms for certification and surveillance audits.
Documentation Review Audit Stage 1
In this stage, your documents and the status of the Organisation are verified and inspected by the ISO audit team.
Certification Audit Stage 2
The next round of auditing will be done by the ISO certification expert panel. They will check whether the registration was done before or not, or whether you are adhering to the norms of a standard industry/entity or not.
Audit Report Review
Your audit review will be the result of stage 1 and stage 2 audits. It is for verifying complaints with the standard requirement by the respective auditor. You will get a report for your review. The certification body will inform you regarding the same.
Decision for Certification
The decision for granting you an ISO standard will depend on the director of the ISO certification body after thorough review.
Issuance of Certification
ISO certification will be issued to the Organization after successful completion of the audit, the certification body issues the ISO certificate, typically valid for three years, subject to surveillance audits.
Surveillance Audits
Annual or periodic surveillance audits are conducted to ensure continued compliance.
Recertification Audit
At the end of three years, a recertification audit is required to renew the certificate.
Summary
ISO certification empowers businesses, life, and the environment incredibly. That’s why the demand for ISO-based complaints is increasing in every sector. There are various benefits of getting ISO certification, like quality, global credibility, genuineness of processes/activities undergone, etc. The ISO certification process needs some crucial stages to follow, like registration, ISO audit, review of the audits, and granting of certification.