When used correctly, the benefits of implementing QMS that conforms to ISO 9001 can be quite enormous. In fact, evidence shows that many organizations that have implemented ISO 9001 have witnessed increased productivity and efficiency. Also, they have realized a reduction in waste of resources and errors. All these lead to enjoying a healthier bottom line. Although implementing a QMS system that meets the standards for ISO 9001 can be quite challenging, depending on the complexity and size of an organization, it may take over twelve months to complete it. These are some tips to help you.

Prepare

Ensure you read the ISO 9001 standard. Although that seems to be basic, there are many people out there who rely on blogs to find answers to their questions. The right thing to do is to get the document and read the actual requirements.

Commit

One of the requirements of ISO 9001 is to get management commitment. Unfortunately, top management in an organization thinks that they can delegate everything. That cannot work. If they do not have the commitment, it will be difficult to implement the required changes.

Educate

There is a need to provide training and education across different sectors of an organization. The truth is that you require a lot of training in managing your QMS. Therefore, your staff should understand the requirements and the principles that they work to achieve. Nonetheless, training and education must be offered on a continuous basis.

Communicate

Ensure you develop effective methods for aiding internal communication. That will be required when it comes to implementing the system and for the daily running of the system.

Evaluate

It is advisable to carry out a gap analysis to understand whether the current system conforms to the expectations of ISO 9001. In this way, you can allocate your resources as required.

Plan

As you know, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Therefore, there is a need to plan the implementation process as you would do for any given project. Ensure that responsibilities, authorities, and roles are communicated and defined. Also, have a schedule that allows you to time the resources you need for the project.

Encourage

You need to encourage your managers and staff to question and improve your processes, procedures, and policies. It is not sufficient to have an implementation team or auditors looking for problems in your systems.