The Biggest ISO Mistakes You Can Make - With the ISO 9001 Standard and Others

The biggest ISO mistakes are often not the obvious mistakes.

In this article, we examine seven big mistakes that are not easy to spot. However, they cause fundamental problems, if you fall under their influence. As you move your Management standards project forward, remember these ISO mistakes. It will help you steer clear of problems.

1  Quality is not About Business (one of the biggest ISO mistakes)

Do not assume that ISO 9001 is only about the quality of the product and supporting documentation, as it was originally. Today, customers expect consistent compliance to the requirements and specifications. They are now looking beyond those for other factors to decide who to order from.

Before ISO 9001: 2000, the Standard mostly dealt with the internal operation of the business to provide consistent product quality. ISO 9001 initially was a production-based standard which, after each update, has become more generic and more service orientated.

Since the 2000 update (with the further updates in 2008 & 2015 & 2026), the Standard is now business orientated. In particular, the understanding of the customer expectations and requirements, meeting them and then checking the customer perceptions and satisfaction with your product and service.

“It’s not how we make mistakes, but how we correct them that defines us.

~ Rachel Wolchin

2. Compliance (not Improvement)

Traditional preparation for ISO 9001 Certification was doing the minimum change to achieve successful assessment (rather than building business improvement).

Audits used to be just against the clauses of the Standard. They are obviously required for implementation and then for ongoing operation of the system. However, it can later lead to a checklist approach. Checklists are very effective for the first 2 or 3 audit cycles. Thereafter, for a stable system, they become progressively less useful. Instead, the more improvement-orientated audits can help the business to improve.

3. Certification Organisations Are Not All the Same

Make sure that your Certification Body (like BSI or NQA or BVC or IMS) has proper accreditation. To be safe, you should look to organisations like UKAS, or other national Accredited Organisations like ANAB, who are part of the IAF. This ensures that you have independent external audit of your system.

Unfortunately, some unaccredited organisations exist, who issue generic documentation and then post their own certificates. Regrettably this is an example of - you get, what you pay for. Such certificates give the wrong impression of your business and your quality to buyers.

4. Maintaining the System is More Important than the Business Improvement

Quality and other management systems are investments in your business. They must never be an end in themselves. They must be assisting your business to survive and improve. To avoid some of the biggest ISO mistakes ensure your management system is central to managing, not only your processes, but also to improving your business overall.

5. It is Just a Paperchase

One of the ISO mistakes in documentation is to assume you need to define parts of your system that already have good documentation or act to displace documents. Software (like CRM or Order Process or Help desk programs) now control more closely the individual business steps and activities.

For instance, setting up a new customer account, certain critical information must be entered, before the account is setup. This means that there is less of a requirement for quality documentation to define every required action in detail. Instead, the emphasis must be on defining the key actions for completion, before the next step. The level of documentation is normally for training of new staff or providing holiday and other cover for the existing staff.

Make sure you reference systems documentation and specialist specifications and instructions. They do not need to be repeated in your system documentation.

Simplify document control – all current documents and forms are all in one place with clearly understandable names and controlled. Integrate and Llnk information together, so you can work smarter.

6. We Just Need an Administrator

The directors must take responsibility for your Management System. Quality systems can become stale with the emphasis on ongoing compliance, rather than improvement. Someone needs to actively manage the quality system with respect to improvements and meeting business objectives.

A quality administrator often will not have the authority or confidence or the tools to encourage improvement. With older systems, often the original implementer of the system has moved on and been replaced by a quality administrator, who does not have the responsibility or knowledge to change and improve the system to help the Business achieve its objectives.

Complacency is a common problem for older quality and other systems. It does not help, if the personnel involved in documenting and implementing the system, have moved to other projects or left the company. Often, the responsibility for the system passes to a quality administrator. The administrator knows about maintaining the system. However often they know little about managing the system or improving the business. Additional problems, to compound these issues, are low allocation of resources, low level of authority and no budget.

7. Once Certified, We Can Relax

ISO certification is a great step to take, but not an end in itself. Remember, there are at least yearly Surveillance audits to check both continuing compliance and on-going improvements

• A properly documented and certified Management System is a tool, which can assist you to achieve your business objectives.
• When you achieve certification – enjoy the moment.
• Afterwards, start planning the next stage of the development of the system and your business.
• You can never sit back and relax. If you have really placed your management system at the centre of your business, it is fundamental to how you will consistently and effectively manage business improvements, risks and reach your business objectives. Vigilance and continuous improvement are the name of the game!

To Avoid the Biggest ISO Mistakes

Ensure you don’t make the ISO or Management Standards mistakes. Use your management system to move forward in a consistent, business-like way. In other words, improve, please your customers and make more profit! We will help you improve your business, rather than just comply with the Standards. So, to avoid the biggest ISO mistakes

• Use the system.
• Manage the risks. Be resilient.
• Achieve ISO with staff, customer and supplier engagement.
• Change the System as your requirements change.
• Use the measurable objectives to track and improve.
• Respond effectively to change.
• Achieve your business objectives.

Moving Forward with Reduced Mistakes

No business ever gets everything right, all the time. However, one of the reasons for implementing a management system is to set in place a system to reduce the risk of mistakes. The power of management systems lies in their ability to set up monitoring methods and to identify issues or problems.

Then agree the actions to both make immediate corrections and to reduce the chance of recurrence.  At Charter 4, we have many years’ experience of working with new ISO Management System projects. In addition, we have a unique approach to help you achieve more than just ISO Certification. Our approach is to help you to make your new management system boost your business overall. In fact, our aim is to help you to focus your ISO Project on business improvement so that your project can, “Improve your business, rather than just comply” with the standard.

If you would like to know more about how we can help your project, and our unique approach, please contact us.