This article talks about the cost for businesses in achieving quality assurance certification and provides businesses with a guide to optimizing the costs.
The cost of getting certified with ISO 9001 or any other quality assurance certification can be substantial, which may scare away some organizations, making them hesitant to achieve it. Outsourcing experts in quality assurance services and maintaining the operation of the quality management system (QMS) add to the costs of the certification processes. However, looking at the broader and long-term perspective, the costs are recovered with productive efficiency and higher profit due to higher customer satisfaction.
Instead of giving attention to the worries about the cost of certification, understand the journey of the certification and the costs involved in it. Some costs can be reduced with wiser decisions. Here is an estimation of the costs and certain ways to reduce them to derive the maximum return of the investment.
Costs of ISO Certification Explained
• Outsourcing Fees: These are the charges made by the quality assurance agency for premium consulting and other certification services, such as gap analysis, readiness review, training, and internal audits.
• Internal Resources Costs: The organization needs to spend some time and money on resources (such as staff training, team allocation, monitoring, tools for analysis) to complete the implementation of the QMS. These are the internal costs involved in the certification process.
• Registration Services Costs: A reputed, authorized registrar is needed to conduct the final certification audit and decide whether the organization is eligible to be certified. Registration costs involve fees of the audit officers, travel expenses, and administration fees. Also, the registration fees depend on the size of the organization, the intricacies of its processes, and how comprehensive it’s QMS is.
Apart from these inevitable costs, there are certain post-certification expenses as well! Every ISO certificate is valid for 3 years and needs to be renewed. The organization needs to conduct surveillance audits at least twice a year with professional auditors to ensure their QMS is consistently in compliance with the ISO 9001 standard.
Several Assured Ways to Check the Costs of Certification
Here are certain ways to reduce the costs for ISO certification.
Understand the ISO 9001 Standard Clearly
This is necessary to ensure that your QMS and strategy for quality management meets the ISO 9001 requirements. Thoroughly understanding each of its clauses from your appointed ISO consultants.
Choose the Agency of Consultants Wisely
Hire a team of consultants who can help you with the entire process of the certification and you will not need any other agencies for further assistance. Reach out to multiple consultancy agencies to choose the one that provides all-round assistance and charges a reasonable price for their services.
Provide Training
Educate your employees about the ISO 9001 requirements and give them training on the implementation and operation of the QMS. Hold workshops, seminars, or learning courses so that they can enhance their capabilities during the implementation. Training will make the employees competent in the processes, which will minimize risks in the process. This will help organizations save costs.
Efficient Allocation of Resources
Designate the staff with proper resources, set appropriate timelines, and define a systematic approach to implement the QMS. Perform the audit with efficient internal auditors to check the compliance of the QMS against the ISO requirements. Using the accessible resources (including staff) wisely will ensure that your business achieves certification quickly.
Perform a Gap analysis
With the help of your appointed consultants or experts, do a gap analysis of your business’s preexisting QMS. It will help you know what needs to be incorporated in the QMS to modify it and make it eligible for ISO 9001.
Do not let the costs of certification stop you from getting certified! The key is to do it right, and the best thing about any ISO certification is that it gives the organization enough liberty on how to achieve it. So, you can decide which quality assurance services agency to hire, how to plan your QMS implementation, and how to improve its efficiency. You can do so wisely by investing the least costs and spending fewer resources.
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