ISO - A Journey In Itself

Our Organization was certified ISO 9001:2008 recently . It has always strived to put its best foot forward. It highly values delivering best in class solutions to the clients and never compromises on quality. No wonder we were successful in being certified ISO 9001:2008.

The journey towards ISO wasn't easy though. We underwent loads of planning and estimation before we ventured for it. The QA team analyzed what it takes for an organization to be Certified ISO 9001:2008. Extensive study of the clauses was made to comprehend the in-depth essence of the Standard and how we could derive the best from the Standard towards streamlining the existing processes.

The Management was very vehement about being certified by one of the finest leading certifying body . Might be because they already knew it wasn’t a joke getting certified by them. So having set a high mission catalyzed the QA team to be more resolute towards realizing it.

Before going in for any external consultants to analyze our strengths and weaknesses we wanted to have an idea of where we stand and how far we still need to traverse. Having on deck the target date “By the end of November” endowed by the Management, the ISO Awareness presentation/training was rolled out by the end of July. The presentation served as an insight of the need for a new monster (ISO) for the employees and also opened doors in realizing how vital it is to comply with standards that would fetch business, recognition and order.

The presentation briefed why ISO is the order of the day, what benefits it can offer to the organization and the resources in the organization, what QMS is all about, what do the clauses signify, essence of Process Areas etc... This served as a stepping stone in the journey of ISO.

Having taken our first baby step, the next was gap analysis. Major process areas were identified. It’s always been tough for people to identify their process areas or rather understand what it all means though they have been doing it for years together. Though we dint encounter much of a difficulty in this arena, still we had to tread our way through. Those activities that churned out an output and gobbled up an input were identified and those regular vital activities that aided business were also spotted out to be Process areas.

We ended up with a large number of Processes. Segregating the vital few from trivial many were tough but we realized most of the processes only seemed to be the sub-process of crucial few Process Areas. Then came the process of determining the key inputs and the resulting outputs for each activity and the process involved in it. It was a nightmare aligning an already pumping process.
Once we wrapped up with this work, we already had a little visibility of areas we were lacking in and where help has to be rendered. A gap analysis checklist was prepared for each process and the flow of process was studied. The Gap Analysis served as a major eye opener since we took one process at a time and dint tussle the entire monster at once. Flowcharts for the process areas were prepared and the interaction between the processes was addressed. We also started working on those processes that needed serious nourishment.

Appropriate templates for the processes were prepared and also supporting documents/SOP for the processes was fabricated. We also systematized Team Meeting once every week where all the teams gather to discuss their work status, ongoing activities & new ideas. This opened new avenues of fresh pools of ideas.