Quality Management That Adds Value
Qualiform
Offering a variety of quality management services, ranging from implementing ISO and BRC systems, to ongoing management of existing quality systems, Qualiform can add value to your quality management.
Why Choose Qualiform?
At Qualiform we focus on helping your business to run smoothly and efficiently according to International Standards.
Whether you want procedures writing up in view of obtaining ISO9001 or you need your current ISO system maintaining, Qualiform will take this on in a way that provides least disruption to your business.
With many years of experience in business systems and management, ISO systems are a second language to us meaning we can use it to add value to your business almost immediately.
In addition to Quality Management Systems, we can also assist with Process Maps, Flowcharts, Procedures, Organisation Charts, Job Descriptions – and much more. Basically, we do anything that supports our passion for efficiently run businesses.
ISO
ISO9001 is the international standard for Quality Management. It is part of a family of standards (ISO14001 for Environmental Standards, ISO45001 for Health and Safety, and many more), but ISO9001 is the best known and most popular. The key feature of the standard is that of Continuous Improvement!
Other Standards
Qualiform also can assist in obtaining other standards such as FSC for those involved in forest-supplied products such as timber and paper. By achieving this certification, your customers will be assured that only material from responsibly managed forests is used. Alongside this we can help in achieving two of the BRC standards – for storage and distribution, and for packaging
GDPR
GDPR – General Data Protection Regulation – is the new version of the Data Protection Act. It is a lot more stringent on personal data that you have to hold for employees etc. and there is a greater commitment from the government to police this.
WayWeDo
Way We Do is cloud-based SOP Software… it turns your operations manual into a living, breathing tool that is used daily by your team. It securely houses all of your team’s work instructions such as “how to” information, policies and procedures.
Our Vision
Our vision is to provide our clients not only with third-party accredited certification to International Standards, but a system that will add value to your business.
Industries Served
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Blog:
ISO14001 – The Environmental Standard. What is it?
ISO9001 is well established as the standard for Quality Management. Used by companies globally to give a guarantee that they are operating to truly international standards that will be recognised anywhere in the world. Proven to help companies be...
Is My Business Eligible For ISO 9001 Accreditation?
Introduction There can be a misconception about ISO standards that they’re only for businesses of a certain size or selling certain products. Many young businesses hold it as an audacious prospect for the future and don’t realise the benefits...
What Level Of Maintenance Does An ISO System Require?
One of the important factors to be aware of when you decide to implement an ISO system is that it will require a level of ongoing maintenance. The certification is audited annually by an external auditor and re-certificated every 3 years. So you...
UKAS Accreditation
What is UKAS?
UKAS stands for United Kingdom Accreditation Service and is appointed by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) which is a sister organisation to the International Standards Organisation (ISO).
In other countries, there are other bodies – ANAB in the US for instance.
There is an accreditation standard – ISO17024 – and this governs the bodies that give full certification to the ISO series of standards – 9001, 14001, 18001 etc. UKAS are there to ensure that the company that accredits your company is reliable and that they are working to an agreed standard themselves.
What’s The Advantage Of Using A UKAS Approved Accreditor?
The main advantage is that you have the full assurance that your company is properly assessed by persons who can make qualified judgments on your company’s quality management system.
Not only do you have this reassurance, but so do your customers. In some instances, a non-UKAS approved certificate will not be recognised – government bodies, some areas of NHS, large companies, companies where quality is critical etc.
Why Would I Want To Use A Non-UKAS Approved Creditor?
It’s nearly always down to price, and the ease of getting certification. Advertisements abound for ‘fixed price, guaranteed’ certification.
The system is written, consultation given, and the certificate awarded by the same organisation.
This does not comply with ISO17024. In nearly every case, the certificate is awarded after the first audit, so long as you’ve paid the bill!
Is It Really That Bad?
Well, it can be! I have attended an audit where the auditor came in, never moved out of the room, observed two things which he said showed the company was continuously improving, chatted for an hour, got his paperwork out and made a few ticks on it, and then assured the owner that the certificate would be sent as soon as the money was in his bank. This certificate was not worth the paper it was written on!
On the other hand, by going for a UKAS approved accreditation company, you have the assurance that you have had a genuine third-party appraisal of your company.
Where Does A Company Like Qualiform Come In?
Qualiform is a consultancy which can write your manual with all the forms (mostly electronic these days) to help you comply with the standard.
We also help companies in the implementation of the standard and in post-certificate maintenance of it. But – we do not issue certificates!
F.A.Q.
Common Questions
Do I have to change the way I do things when I implement ISO 9001?
Most likely not…your business is running, you and your staff know how to do things, you’re successful and customers wouldn’t keep coming back to you if they weren’t satisfied.
ISO 9001 will put a system to the running of your business so that your current standards are maintained and improved as the business grows.
What are the 7 major clauses of ISO 9001?
The seven major clauses of ISO 9001 are as follows:
- Context of the Organisation (What you do)
- Leadership (Committal by Management to Continuously Improve)
- Planning (Working out how You will do it)
- Support (making sure you have the resources needed for the Business)
- Operation (The actual running of the Business)
- Performance Evaluation (Reflection on the Management System)
- Improvement (How can the Business improve in the Future)
Do I have to change the way I do things when I implement ISO 9001?
Most likely not. Your business is running, you and your staff know how to do things, you’re successful and customers wouldn’t keep coming back to you if they weren’t satisfied. ISO 9001 will put a system to the running of your business so that your current standards are maintained and improved as the business grows.
Will ISO take up a lot of my time to set up?
There are initial meetings for the compiler to analyse what happens in your company. This is not a drawn-out process and there is little interference with the day-to-day business. Once the system is written and agreed, then there is some time needed to implement it but as the system will be based on what you already do, this should be cut to a minimum.
Are there different types of accreditation?
Yes. Qualiform recommend certification by a UKAS Accredited Certification Body who are truly independent and operate according to the standards set out by the International Standards Organisation.
Some large organisations will only accept certification by a UKAS accredited CB.
What is the ISO 9001 definition of quality management?
ISO 9001 is the International Standards Standard which defines the requirements for an organisation’s quality management system, or QMS.
This will then be used to ensure that products and services are continuing to meet the requirements for regulations along with customer satisfactions.
Does ISO mean I have to keep loads of records?
Records do have to be kept for ISO 9001 compliance, but the task is not onerous. You will have many of the records already.
Keeping them is a lot easier now with the electronic systems that are available which means that transactions are traceable, and information can often be drawn out of the system for analysis and investigation purposes.
What does an ISO audit involve?
There are two types of audit – internal and external. An internal audit is conducted by staff or advisors such as Qualiform, and an external audit is conducted by the Independent Certification Body.
The length of the audit depends on the size of the business, but internal audits can be done section by section meaning little interference into the normal working day.
Most audits take a day, though with companies with more employees this can run into two, or even three days.
Auditors are not the ogres they are sometimes made out to be – their brief is to find evidence of conformance to the standard.
What is a quality non-conformance?
This is the word that everyone seems to fear about ISO9001!
Whether we call it a non-conformance, a mistake, an error, a complaint or a misunderstanding, something has gone wrong. Well, things do go wrong, we all make mistakes.
The ISO9001 system will help you in the analysis and identification of the problem which, when investigated, may be different to what was originally thought. It then helps you to look at ways to prevent the issue happening again – hence, continuous improvement.
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