International Standard for Organization: Foundation for Continual Improvement

ISO: “FOUNDATION FOR CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT”

Standards are agreed ways of doing something written down as a set of precise criteria so they can be used as rules, guidelines or definitions. [1] They are powerful tools that can help drive, innovation and increase more productivity. Then, They can make organizations more successful and people’s lives easier, safer and healthier. Moreover, Standards also serves to safeguard consumers and the end-users of products and services ensuring that certified products confirm to the minimum standards set internationally.

Meanwhile, No matter how big or small, regardless of the type of industry it belongs to, any organization has the desire to improve their system by improving Quality Management System, Environmental Management System, Occupational Health and Safety Management System, Information Security Management System or Business Continuity System.

Implementation of ISO for business in service management

In fact, If a business wants to increase their revenue in service management along with maintaining the ISO standards it should implement the system in a strict manner by fulfilling all the requirements. Consequently, The standards itself provides values, rules and regulation for maintaining organizations system in different areas of the organization whether it is product or service oriented. Therefore, these standards help to fulfill the customer requirements of any organization with continual improvement.

Below are some common and major standards among 21000 International standards which are adopted by today’s market actors all over the world through different accreditation bodies.

• Quality Management System – ISO 9001:2015
• Environmental Management System – ISO 14001:2004
• Occupational Health and Safety Management System – ISO 18001:2007
• Information Security Management System – ISO/IEC 27001:2013
• Business Continuity Management System – ISO 22301:2012

Standards as per the Context of Nepal

Indeed, The concept of standardization has recently entered Nepal. Organizations in Nepal are now trying to create a quality system in order to build a foundation for continual improvement of the organization. In fact, As ISO 9001 is the base of creating a system, organizations seem to be more inclined towards the standard.

Companies today are facing various kind of challenges, which hinders the functioning of operations and ultimately has become the reason for their downfall. Due to Challenges like small market, labor problem, risk management, globalization, changing regulations, uncertainty, have been found to be the issue of major concern.

For a reference, an organization regard their employees as their biggest asset. Then, Every person was assigned to a certain task; as cross functional team was not formed. As a result, the functionality of the particular department came to halt in the absence of the concerned person. Implementation of ISO 9001: 2015 helped the organization to resolve their existing issues. Among the 10 requirements, a single clause (clause 7 Support) was enough to aid the problem. Since policies and procedures were established according to the QMS, other employees could work as a substitute. In this way, business would flourish, without the dependence on a single employee.

Generally, the organizations are profit-oriented. so, they solely focus on providing their product or services to their consumers. However, with the increase in competition in the market, organizations need to shift their product or service oriented operations to a more customer oriented one. Hence, it is absolutely critical for the organization to satisfy their customer through quality product or service.

Identifying Requirements

The need to identify, fulfill and satisfy customer requirements has driven the organization, Towards generating new ways to accomplish the organizational objectives. In this scenario, ISO Standard can be the best element in attaining the pre-determined objectives as standards not only help to create a quality system in the organization but also helps in maintaining compliances and sticking to the policies which will steer the organization towards continual improvement.

Actual Scenario

In summary, The standards are developed and implemented in a way that helps fulfil the organization’s requirement by creating a system, which incorporates maximum area of operation. This helps the organization to function effortlessly in an efficient manner. Nevertheless, some organizations are found to be certified merely for the sake of obtaining the certificate, without prioritizing on implementing the requirements of the ISO standard.

Meanwhile, most of the organization are genuinely trying to create a better system through the ISO certification but they fail to follow through once they have been certified due to the lack of top level management’s commitment and employee participation.

Moreover, constant change in government regulations and political instability compels organization to make continuous alteration in the documented policies and procedures which also act as a hindrance in the implementation of the ISO Standard. It is not just important to understand the value of the certificate but businesses should be committed enough to translate these standards from paper to practice.

Purpose

As an organization becomes certified through ISO standards for their business and service management, the established guidelines will help the company to effectively handle problems and provide appropriate solutions. Further, The standard has been designed by incorporating perspectives from around the world, which will help to serve diverse consumer preferences with the aim to gain high level of satisfaction. Furthermore, since the ISO standard is a global benchmark, it facilitates the organization to compete in the international market.

With the increasing competition, the need for a system has become a must to drive the organization towards success. So, Different organizations have different systems as per their size and nature. The absence of the specific system does not indicate that an organization is unable to meet the standard requirement. Nonetheless the existing system must and can mold according to the set of requirement of ISO standard so that the organization can be ready for certification.

In a pragmatic working scenario, employees have different styles of conducting their tasks which is neither on record nor on maintainance. Although work perform is in an absolute manner, certain guidelines is not on establishment which may cause serious problems in maintaining the quality of work. In summary, With the help of the guidelines and the documentation of the working process, the organization will be able to enhance their quality of service which will contribute towards increment on return on investment.

Benefits of using standards:

So, Various organizations around the globe have been able to sustain their business and grow with the implementation of the ISO standards for service management. International standard is proving beneficial for the organizations as well as the consumers. For a consumer, international standard ensures the safety and quality of products as services whereas for the organizations, it functions as guidance to tackle some of the most demanding challenges of the modern business world and ensure the efficient operation of the business to steer it towards the heights of success.

• Firstly, it Improves performance and set consistency
• Secondly, it reduces Risks
• thirdly, Become more sustainable
• fourthly, Improve efficiency and reduce waste
• Customer satisfaction
• Access new markets
• Finally it helps in developing Corporate image

Who uses these standards for service management?

So, Organizations, from small to multinational businesses, performing various types of functions use standards to gain a competitive edge.

• Service Management Business:

  In addition, A Service type of business offers professional skills, expertise, advice and other similar products.

  • Schools and Institutes
  • Banks
  • Accounting and law firms
  • Healthcare institutions
  • Automobile Services
  • Private educations
  • Hotels
  • Amusement and recreation parks etc.

• Merchandising Business:

  This is also known as “Buy and Sell Business”. They buy product at wholesale price and sells them at retail price while making profit.

  • Grocery Stores
  • Convenience stores
  • Distributors
  • Resellers etc

• Manufacturing Business:

  It combines raw materials, labor and factory in its production process. The manufactured goods are then sold to customers. For example, companies that produce:

  • Food and Beverages
  • Chemical and Allied
  • Textiles
  • Machines and equipment
  • Furniture and Fixture

Stages for proceeding the ISO Standard Certification for a business and service management:

• Gap Analysis
• Awareness Training
• Process identification and definition
• Documentation design and finalization
• Implementation
• Internal audit training and conduct of Internal Audit
• Management Review meeting
• Review of Implementation
• Pre-Assessment

• Stage 1- Verification Audit
• Stage 2- Certification Audit

• Award of ISO certification
• Continual Improvement of the system through value added consulting and training services.

 

Check out your certificate whether it is from ISO registrar (Certification Bodies) or not? [2]

– PECB (Global)
– ISO QAR (Britain)
– DQS Inc (Global)
– TUV Rheinland (Global)
– DAS Certification (Global)
– Certification Europe (Global)
– Moody International (Global)
– British Certification Inc (India)
– British Assessment Bureau (UK)
– Certification International (Global)
– TUV Management Service (Global)
– EAGLE Certification group (Global)
– ABS Quality Evaluation Inc (Global)
– AJA Registration Canada Inc (Canada)
– Intertek systems certification (Global)
– Alliance International Register (Global)
– American Global Standards LLC (Global)
– Bureau of Assessment Services (Global)

– DEKRA Certification, Inc (North America)
– Transpacific certification limited(Global)
– The Registrar Company Inc (North America)
– Bureau Veritas Certification (North America)
– Canadian General Standard Board (Canada)
– BVQI- Bureau Veritas Certification (North America)
– International Quality Registrars Cooperation (Global)
– SGS International Certification services Inc (Global)
– International Certification Service (North America)
– Advantage International Registrar (North America)
– Royal cert International Registrar (Global)
– Zenith Quality Accessors Pvt.Ltd. (India)
– International Certifications Ltd (Global)
– Underwriters laboratories Inc (Global)
– NQAQSR Certification Pvt.Ltd. (India)
– Smithers Quality Assessment (USA)
– NSAI Inc (North and South America)
– URS India Ltd. (India)