FAQ
Please read through our Frequently Asked Questions. If you are unable to find the answer you are looking for please contact us.
Management
My company holds an ISO9001 approval. How will my certification body react to sub-contracting my Quality Management function?
Sub-contracting all or part of the Quality Management function is accepted and approved by all the major certification bodies – BSI, LRQA, NQA etc.
How many days per month will be required to manage my Quality Assurance function?
This depends on how much of the function you decide to sub-contract and on whether you require system improvements in addition to ongoing management of your existing system. A significant and valuable contribution can be made at a level of two to three days per month.
How much will sub-contract Quality Management cost?
After a free initial consultation to evaluate your needs, you will receive a written, customised quotation. Charges are made on a simple daily rate. Minimal overheads and efficient time management enable Clark Quality to offer extremely economical rates.
Standards & Certification
What is ISO9000?
ISO 9000 is a standard for a quality management system. It enables businesses to provide an assurance that they will be able to fulfil agreed customer requirements. Implementing an ISO 9000 compliant system can provide improved efficiency and customer satisfaction, and be an effective marketing tool.
ISO 9000 is a generic name given to a family of standards developed to provide a framework around which a quality management system can effectively be implemented.
ISO 9001, the requirement standard, includes the following main sections:
1. Quality Management System
2. Management Responsibility
3. Resource Management
4. Product Realisation
5. Measurement Analysis and Improvement
What does it mean to me?
To gain the maximum benefit from ISO 9001 there are a number of steps to take:
1. Define why your organisation is in business.
2. Determine the key processes that state ‘what’ you do.
3. Establish how these processes work within your business.
4. Determine who owns these processes.
5. Agree these processes throughout the organisation.
What is ISO14000?
ISO 14000 is an international standard that specifies a process for controlling and improving a company’s environmental performance.
ISO 14001, the requirement standard, consists of:
* General requirements
* Environmental policy
* Planning
* Implementation and operation
* Checking and corrective action
* Management review
This means you:
Identify elements of your business that impact on the environment and gain access to the relevant environmental legislation.
Produce objectives for improvement and a management program to achieve them, with regular reviews for continual improvement.
Can Clark Quality issue an ISO9000 or ISO14000 certificate for my quality or environmental management system?
No, Clark Quality is not a certification body. We can develop your management system for ISO9000 or ISO14000 assessment by a United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) accredited certification body. There are many to choose from.
How long will it take to get ISO9000 or ISO14000 certification?
This depends on where we are starting from.
If your business is operating successfully with satisfied customers, you will probably have 90% of the requirements of ISO9000 already in place. Addressing gaps that may exist in compliance with ISO9000, producing your manuals and implementing any necessary improvements is typically carried out over a period of 5 to 6 months. This gives you time between consultant visits to review and try out the manuals and processes before you commit to assessment.
ISO14000 brings additional requirements and will normally take 2 to 3 months longer.
Assessment by the certification body of your choice will take about another month.
What is ISO?
ISO is a network of the national standards institutes of 151 countries, on the basis of one member per country, with a Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates the system.
ISO is a non-governmental organization: its members are not, as is the case in the United Nations system, delegations of national governments. Nevertheless, ISO occupies a special position between the public and private sectors. This is because, on the one hand, many of its member institutes are part of the governmental structure of their countries, or are mandated by their government. On the other hand, other members have their roots uniquely in the private sector, having been set up by national partnerships of industry associations.
Therefore, ISO is able to act as a bridging organization in which a consensus can be reached on solutions that meet both the requirements of business and the broader needs of society, such as the needs of stakeholder groups like consumers and users.
What does ISO mean?
Because “International Organization for Standardization” would have different abbreviations in different languages (”IOS” in English, “OIN” in French for Organisation internationale de normalisation), it was decided at the outset to use a word derived from the Greek isos, meaning “equal”. Therefore, whatever the country, whatever the language, the short form of the organization’s name is always ISO.