ISO 9001 Audit
Stern Rubber Company recently completed their annual surveillance audit for their ISO 9001:2008 registration. To maintain their registration, they are required to go through an annual surveillance audit, and a full recertification audit every three years. The recertification audit will be performed in June of 2016.
ISO 9001 is an international recognized quality management system that helps organizations ensure that they meet the needs of their customers and stakeholders, while meeting statutory and regulatory requirements related to the product. It deals with the fundamentals of quality and is based on eight management principles: customer focus, leadership, involvement of people, process approach, system approach to management, continual improvement, factual approach to decision making, and mutually beneficial supplier relationships.
Third party certification is required to confirm that organizations meet the requirements of ISO 9001. There are over one million organizations that have been independently certified worldwide, which makes it one of the most widely used management systems in the world.
An organization applying for ISO 9001 certification is audited based on an extensive sample of its facilities, processes, and products. The auditor notes any findings of nonconformities, observations, and opportunities for improvement. If there are not major findings, the certification agency will issue a certificate. If nonconformities are found, the company must put together a corrective action that adequately address the issue found, and once the certification body is satisfied that the problem has been resolved, they will issue a certificate.
The ISO 9001 is currently going through a revision, and the new standard will be 9001:2015. This revision puts more emphasis on risk assessment. Stern Rubber’s recertification audit in 2016 will be based on this revised standard.
During the latest surveillance audit at Stern Rubber Company in June, the auditor had no findings! Congratulations to all the employees who worked hard to ensure the company was ready for the audit!