From 1970 onward, numerous types of certificates appearThe QMS (Quality Assurance System) began due to the era of quality management. Customers needed confirmation that suppliers were meeting specifications. In this way, it would be possible to make the most appropriate selection of who would supply raw materials to companies. Over time, various standards were created around the world.In the USA, suppliers to the Department of Defense were required to register their QMSs according to the MIL-Q9858A and MIL-145208 standards.The United Kingdom created, in 1979, the BS-5750 standard also for QMS, in addition to many others for more specific sectors such as NQA-1 – Quality Assourance for Nuclear Power Plants; GMP – Good Manufacturing Pratices – in the medical products, medicines and food sector; (API)Q1 in the Association for Petroleum Industrys; CSA Z299 – Canadian; and AQAP1 and 13 – Allied Quality Assourance Publications – from NATO – the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.Seeking to avoid the large proliferation of standards, ISO (International Organization for Standartization) created a committee with the aim of evaluating the standards already created and, in 1987, launched the standards for the ISO Series 9000 Quality System: ISO 9000:1987; ISO 9001:1987; ISO 9002:1987; ISO 9003:1987; ISO 9004:1987. In essence, the standards incorporated much of the BS-5750:1979 elements from the United Kingdom. Also in 1987, the European Community began using the ISO 9000 Series, calling it the EN-29000 Series.In Brazil, the entity responsible for representing ISO is Inmetro (National Institute of Metrology). Through it, certifying companies are recognized and authorized to certify organizations that wish to achieve the “status” of “company with the ISO 9000 seal or others”. There is also the body responsible for standards. In the case of Brazil, the technical committee responsible for NBR-ISO 9000 is CB25, of the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards – ABNT.ISO 9000 StandardsISO 9000 Standards The creation of the ISO 9000 family of standards coincided with the peak of the Japanese economy. It even managed to bother American hegemony, which promptly restructured itself and reacted, as is typical of its strongly competitive style. One of the most important criteria for evaluating companies and individuals is the one that distinguishes the categories of winners and losers. The annoyance reached its peak when thousands of Japanese cars of undeniable quality began arriving at American ports, imported at competitive prices, even considering the additional freight costs and customs fees.The spread of ISO standards around the world happened very quickly. In Brazil, this fact was manifested more intensely in the 1990s, shortly after the launch, by the government, of the Brazilian Quality and Productivity Program (PBQP). These standards, even though they are currently taken as a guarantee or even a “synonym” of quality for marketing reasons, merely propose that industrial production or service provision processes follow criteria rigorously established in writing and subject to third-party auditing at any time. In theory, even a bad product can receive ISO certification, as long as the production process steps are recorded in writing and establish the measures to be taken in cases of nonconformity.A type of logo usually presented by certified companiesInitially, its specifications had rather restricted use, which is why ISO was practically unknown outside technical circles linked to product engineering. In practice, the general public would only become aware of ISO from the release, in 1987, of the ISO 9000 series, since its implementation involves the effective participation of all hierarchical levels of a business organization.The first ISO 9000 series comprised five standards (from ISO 9000 to ISO 9004), originally designed for industry. It followed multilevel standards and, thanks to its inherent flexibility, from 1990 onward it began to be applied also to other sectors of the economy, such as construction, services, health, hospitality, and education. ISO 9001 deals with the quality system. It is a pattern model aimed at ensuring quality in planning, development, production, installation, and service. It is the most comprehensive standard. It has twenty clauses or functional criteria (not all mandatory) that organizations must implement in order to obtain certification. It is the most complete standard, as it includes all the clauses of ISO 9002, which in turn encompasses ISO 9003. These standards can be divided into two types – guidelines and contractual standards – and companies can only be certified with respect to the latter. The guidelines guide the selection and use of the standards (ISO 9000) and the implementation of a quality management system (ISO 9004); the latter uses phrases such as “The quality system must...”. The contractual standards (ISO 9001, ISO 9002 and ISO 9003) deal with models for contracts between supplier (which is the company in question) and customer; they use phrases such as “The supplier must...”.From ISO 9000 to ISO 9004One of the latest revisions of the standards occurred in December 2000 and grouped everything under the single designation ISO 9000. To distinguish it from the previous one, the spelling ISO 9000:2000 is used in publications and various documents. The ISO 9000 family is strongly based on documentation and recommends the use of four levels of documents: the quality manual, procedures, work instructions, and quality records. What ISO seeks is for the company to have its documentation available in an accessible, fast, and easy-to-understand way for everyone, and for the means of carrying out the work to be in accordance with the needs so that they can meet the requirements of the standards; one example is keeping equipment clean and in good working condition.However, one of the most important aspects for certification and maintaining the ISO seal is the internal audit; that is, companies need to be in constant audits, carried out internally to identify possible failures and take the necessary actions to correct them, and even prevent future defects. In this way, people are prevented from losing track of their tasks. Thus, it is possible to maintain all documentation and everyone’s commitment to quality. ISO does not exercise coercive action, and the decision to follow or not its recommendations is up to each country or company. The application of ISO standards can be used when a supplying company is required to implement quality management in compliance with some principles such as: Brazilian government regulations, international standards, national standards, and company standards.Compliance with product specifications will also depend on other factors that are important to standardize and manage well, such as design, development, planning, post-production, installation, technical assistance, and marketing. The requirements specified in the quality systems proposed by ISO standards are complementary to the technical requirements specified for products and services.How to Obtain the ISO 9000 CertificateIf you want to know how to obtain the ISO 9000 certificate, keep in mind that the last stage is the certification audit—and that it does not always result in approval.After you contact the verification company, it will send at least one professional to carry out the assessment, which takes place in two parts.In the first, the auditor will make sure that all official and documentation issues are in accordance with what the ISO system requires. They will issue a report approving the documentation or requesting adjustments.Once the adjustments are made, the second stage begins. In it, the auditor will request access to the most different areas and management systems. Also, they will verify the points raised in the internal audit, the corrections that were requested, and whether they were effectively carried out.The certification audit generally takes between two and three days. Everything depends on the scope and size of the company.If everything is in order, the auditor will recommend the issuance of the ISO 9000 certificate. If the company does not meet the necessary requirements, however, the seal is not issued.In that case, a new request may be made after three months.In some companies it is possible to obtain the certificate with investments starting at R$ 6,000. The costs, however, can exceed R$ 40,000 in larger companies. Certification, however, is not lifelong—but it can become so. To that end, it is necessary to maintain good management practices, including adapting them to the new times. To ensure that this is being done, every three years the certification company must carry out a new audit to renew the seal—or, if applicable, request adjustments.Link to the ISO 9000 Certificate in PDFHere you can download the ISO 9001 certificate in PDF.Recommended research by Inmetro on ISO 9001Inmetro explanations about ISO 9001 and what it means for buyers.Survey of buyers’ perception of suppliers who have ISO 9001 certification. In this survey, we can see how companies search for their suppliers, what they look at when placing a purchase order, how they verify the quality of the supplied product, and these companies’ perception of whether having an ISO certificate actually helps to achieve better quality in supply.Survey of the credibility of ISO 9000 certifications. In this survey, the difficulties in obtaining the certificate and the main reasons for obtaining it were assessed.
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