Businesses seek ISO certification for a variety of reasons: attracting and retaining customers and clients, boosting brand image, and more.

Getting executive buy-in for ISO certification can sometimes be a challenge, and even leaders who have made the decision to seek standards certification – be it ISO 9001, ISO 14001, or any other widely used standards – often fail to consider the unsung rewards of certification.

Businesses that implement ISO standards often focus on the perceived burdens of adoption, such as expansive paper trails, demanding document management, and seemingly interminable audits. They forget that, when executed and implemented properly, certification can spell rich financial rewards.

Well, thanks to the folks at the World Standards Cooperative (WSC), an organization that promotes voluntary, consensus-based standards, business leaders have access to a variety of tools that illustrate the business benefits of adopting ISO standards. The WSC website contains links to dozens of such resources, including:

• A report on the economic value of standardization by the Standards Council of Canada.
• The benefits of adopting standards in “CEO speak”.
• A report on how adopting standards will contribute to your bottom line.
• Tons of other resources that can be used to illustrate the benefits of adopting consensus-based standards.

So take a look at this valuable resource, and if you are in the market for stress-free certification, don’t forget to review Intelex’s array of streamlined ISO-related products.

Having the flexibility to identify, contain, and adapt to foreseeable and unforeseeable issues is critical to a comprehensive response plan for quality nonconformances and product recalls. Proactive, responsible companies that implement comprehensive vendor/supplier/contract manufacturer evaluation programs and performance tracking systems as components of an overall quality management system (QMS) will boost preparedness and ensure smooth responses to otherwise devastating product recall scenarios.

Any business — large companies especially — should select contract manufacturers in the same way they select suppliers and other vendors: with thorough research, hand-on inspection and rigorous screening.

A good way to think of it is this: Treat suppliers, vendors and contract manufacturers as if they are your own facilities. Even if they are not providing you with an end-user product, if your company name is going to be on the final product, your customers will view you as responsible and you will be ultimately accountable for the defect.

The alternative – basic adherence to minimal regulatory requirements – does not constitute the wisest PR and quality assurance philosophy. Recall that five years ago, a nationwide recall on children’s toys containing lead paint—and manufactured in China—cast a pall on the integrity of the country’s quality standards. It also forced American toy giant Mattel to recall more than 18 million products and face significant brand damage.

Even entrenched brand images can be dealt significant blows by product recalls, especially when those recalls affect the lives and health of children. For quality managers at companies that rely on contract manufacturers and suppliers overseas, such situations are a call to action: a proactive corporate ethos on quality management — and supply chain traceability in particular — will not only save time and costs long term, it will ensure products exceed minimal regulatory requirements and avert potential public relations and brand image crises. A comprehensive QMS that enables enhanced supply chain traceability and supplier relationship management is the hallmark of such an approach and will inevitably save costs in the long run.

Given the broad scope of applicability quality management has adopted in the past two decades, it is understandable that some level of abstraction clouds its purpose.

Before ISO 9001 — indeed, before its 1971 precursor, BS 9000, a set of standards published by the British Standards Institution (BSI) to guide quality management in the electronics industry — and even before the popularity of statistician and quality management pioneer Edward Deming, the need for robust quality management was quite concrete, especially in a military context.

During World War II, the inadvertent detonation of munitions in a weapons factory as the result of sloppy handling or process oversight carried particularly disastrous results: the loss of life, raw materials, time, money, manpower and military advantage. It was this very context that spurred the consistent documentation of specific control processes and procedures; the methodical execution of activities that conformed to documented standards; and the ongoing inspection and auditing of processes and procedures to ensure higher quality, better safety and organizational advantage.

The vast popularity of Deming’s ‘Plan-Do-Check-Act’ methodology and quality control philosophy in post-war Japan essentially solidified the role of quality management across manufacturing sectors in Japan and, eventually, across the U.S.

Nearly seven decades later, quality management has extended its reach significantly and, far from the assembly lines of munitions factories and discrete manufacturers, is now applied to the more nebulous realms of sales, marketing, client care, and service industries of all breeds. Now, rather than documenting how a bolt is fastened or a flow metre is calibrated to ensure consistency in machine operation, a service organization must document how a call is initiated to ensure customer satisfaction and retention, for example. Further, the need to expand the scope of a quality program beyond an organization’s immediate operations and across its entire supply chain and vendor base has become increasingly important. The need for quality management, in other words, is everywhere.

Though industries and applications have changed, the benefits are plain: a robust, electronic QMS means improved product and service quality, organizational advantage, and, most importantly, greater profits.

As a youth I remember passing large industrial buildings in my hometown featuring large signs emblazoned with one straightforward message: “ISO 9001 Certified.”

Though my father was a quality assurance manager at a large mining company, at the time I really had no idea what the statement meant. I figured ISO certification was a good thing, but couldn’t explain what it was. Now that I live in the world of environment, health, safety and quality, I have a pretty good grasp on what ISO standards are all about, but at the time, I really could have used a visit to Planet ISO.

Whether you’re new to the world of ISO standards or not, chances are you’ll find some value in the Planet ISO YouTube channel. The page contains a ton of useful videos on everything ISO, including:

• Introductory videos for the general public.
• Overviews for businesses and governments seeking or maintaining ISO certification.
• Interviews with ISO Secretary-General Rob Steele, and more.

Not only is the site useful for introducing yourself to the world of ISO standards; it’s also a great way to stay on top of new information coming out of the  International Organization for Standardization.

While you’re at it, check out ISO’s Facebook Page. It is a surprisingly useful resource for any personnel charged with implementing or maintaining conformance to ISO 14001, 9001 and 26000 as well as other standards specifications.

As announced in an article posted on Quality Magazine's website, a new ISO standard defining the Quality Management System requirements for suppliers to the automotive sector has just recently been published. ISO/TS (Technical Specification) 16949:2009 was jointly developed by the members of the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) and submitted to The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for approval and publication. The new document comes in the wake of a review conducted of its predecessor ISO/TS 16949:2002 which was carried out by the IATF and ISO Technical Committee ISO/TC 176. No major changes to the standard’s technical requirements have been made; instead the updates mainly consist of improvements to management requirements to reflect the content of quality management systems standard ISO 9001:2008 and an improved consistency with the environmental management system standard ISO 14001:2004.

The 2002 version has been used by major automotive manufacturers to approve the more than 35,000 organizations worldwide that produce and supply parts for the automotive industry. Implementation of ISO/TS 16949:2009 is seen as an opportunity for automotive suppliers to improve quality while reducing costs and the IATF has set a transition period of 120 days from the date of publication (June 15th 2009) to comply with the new requirements. As the article quotes ISO Secretary-General Rob Steele, "With the global nature of the automotive industry quality management systems based on ISO/TS 16949:2009 throughout the supply chain will serve to streamline operations, and thus help organizations cut costs while improving efficiency," commented Steele, "The publication of ISO/TS 16949 will assist the sector, reassure consumers and ensure significant benefits for automotive suppliers amid the challenges facing the industry." As organizations begin to implement the new specifications associated with ISO/TS 16949:2009, improvements should  be seen on an ongoing basis as the new standard is aimed to foster the development of a quality management system that emphasizes continual improvement, specifically focusing on defect prevention and reducing variation and waste in the supply chain. A Web-Based Quality Management System such as the one offered by Intelex Technologies provides the tools, adaptability, power and support needed to comply with and surpass ISO standards, all in a web-based system that is easy to use and implement organization-wide.

We're pleased to announce that Intelex has been chosen by Telenor Pakistan to provide them with a web-based software solution designed to address all aspects of an effective telecommunications quality management program including document control, nonconformance and corrective-action tracking, and audits management, etc.

Telenor Pakistan is a subsidiary of Telenor ASA – a telecommunications service provider in 13 countries across Europe and Asia. Since its launch in 2005, Telenor Pakistan has become the single largest direct European investment in Pakistan to date, which as a result has contributed to its success as the fastest growing mobile network in the country, with coverage reaching deep into many of the most remote areas of Pakistan.

When Telenor Pakistan began shopping for a software provider, they identified several requirements for the solution that would best meet their needs, the top three being an easy-to-use document control system, a reliable audits management program, and the ability to streamline TL9000 initiatives organization-wide. We knew that our out-of-the-box quality management system didn’t address TL9000 requirements so we used our iForms^® technology to build custom forms and reporting capabilities that would comply with TL9000.

"In what is an exciting, fast moving market, Telenor Pakistan always needs to be ready to meet growing market demands and offer reliable and robust services that our customers demand of us. Choosing a TL9000-based QMS is a step in that direction. TL9000 includes all the ISO 9000 requirements, and 90 additional requirements specific to the telecommunications industry. However, what really sets TL9000 apart from ISO 9000 are the set of measurements, which can be benchmarked globally under various product categories. We selected Intelex because it's QMS, iForms^®, and reporting software could be easily configured to manage the TL9000 measurements, in addition to the standard requirements of ISO 9000. We look forward to a rewarding partnership between Telenor Pakistan and Intelex Technologies," said Khalid Shehzad Chief Technology Officer of Telenor Pakistan.

"Telenor Pakistan has only been around since 2005; however, in just four years they've become the dominant player in the telecommunications industry in Pakistan. They have experienced tremendous growth over the last few years by dedicating themselves to providing their customers with a superior product and customer service," commented Mark Jaine, President and CEO of Intelex Technologies Inc. "Implementing the Intelex Quality Management System with iForms^® is just another way for Telenor Pakistan to solidify their commitment to providing high-quality services."

The purpose of a quality management system is to enable continual improvement regardless of market conditions; therefore, organizations that had the foresight and business smarts to have implemented effective quality management systems prior to the current recession have been proactively refining their business processes, minimizing the potential for nonconformance expenses, and enabling complete performance visibility as opposed to implementing last minute reactionary decisions intended to cut costs quickly. Invariably the "quick fix" approach to reducing the bottom line will directly impact product and service quality, which will ultimately have a negative impact on revenue generation.

The article "Prepared for Battle: Defend yourself in any economy with sound quality management" by Peter Grossi in this month's Quality Progress magazine delves much more deeply into the concept that businesses with existing quality management programs are better positioned to adapt during difficult economic conditions. "What organizations need to keep in mind, however, is that while the impact of a recession may be significant from a psychological perspective, in reality the application of sound quality management principles has a much more significant effect on an organizations success than the state of the economy."

So where does that leave businesses that don't have a quality management program in place? It leaves these organizations with a significant opportunity to improve their performance and strengthen their business operations so that they too can prosper regardless of the economic climate.

To read Peter Gross's complete article please visit the Quality Progress website. For information on the Intelex Quality Management System you can register for a live demonstration or free trial access online.