What to Look for when Considering an ISO 9001 Consultant

Choosing an ISO Consultant

Choosing the right consultant is an important decision as this will decide how well and how quickly the management system is established in your company. Interpreting the ISO requirements into a simple user-friendly system that will serve your business rather than being an obstacle requires skills and experience.

Why Use an ISO Consultant?

There are many benefits for using an experienced ISO consultant. An experienced ISO consultant will:

Develop an ISO system that is easy and simple to follow and will be easy to maintain
Develop a system that is designed for your business needs and not on generic templates
Develop an ISO system that will streamlined your process and improve your business operations
Develop a system in a timely manner with minimal disruption to your business
Guide you in the implementation of the system
Support you in coordinating the certification audit
Address all finding identified in the certification audit
Provide support in maintain your system after certification

Who Can Become an ISO 9001 Consultant in Australia?

You may be surprised to find that there are no regulations governing this and anyone with little or no experience can declare themselves to be ISO consultants.

We have clients come to us after a ‘consultant’ has worked on their system for a long period of time, sometimes a year, with a large, complex system that is still not complete. We always have to start from scratch. We can deliver a system in 6 weeks.

key Requirements to Check for When Choosing an ISO Consultant

There are several aspects that you should verify while selecting a consultant. Ask the following questions while hiring a new consultant. When engaging an ISO consultant, you should do your research; ask for quotes from different consultants. When comparing quotes, try to evaluate, amongst other things, the following:

Does the consultant has ISO Certification
Company or individual
level of support
industry experience
customer service

Is the Consultant ISO Certified?

Whilst you would expect that all consultants would be certified to ISO 9001, this is not the case. It is not a requirement and in fact most consultants aren’t.

Are you Dealing with an Individual Consultant or an Established Company?

Are you dealing with an individual consultant or a company with a team to support your consultant? In absence of a team, they may find it difficult to fulfil the requirements of all the industries and may lack the expertise that is required for your industry.

Unfortunately, we have seen cases where clients came to us with un-finished systems, because the consultant was not able to finish the job.

The level of Support Available During and After Certification

You should check with the consultant how much support they will provide during system development, the implementation of the system, addressing of non-conformances identified in the certification audit and support in maintaining the system.

Many customers don’t realise that after certification, there are ongoing requirements to maintain the system and the certification. Maintaining ISO certifications is a continuous exercise, it does not end with the certification received.

Here are some of the things you need to know about maintaining your system after certification.

How Much Experience Does the Consultant Have?

How much experience does your consultant have? Have they previously worked with business in your industry?

How many clients they have successfully certified? How many certification bodies they have worked with?

Customer Service

What level of customer service are you getting from your consultant?

If you wait for days to get a quote, or a reply to your question, or your call returned, this is the service you can expect when your system is being developed and when you need support in years to come.