ISO 9001

Acumen has gained an international reputation for the effectiveness of its ISO 19001 Quality Management consulting and auditing services. Our client base is extensive and covers a wide range of industries.

All our clients have achieved ISO 9001 certification at their first audit. Our Quality Consultants hold Lead Auditor Status in multiple disciplines including ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 and HACCP and have over 20 years experience.

The ISO 9001 quality management systems our Quality Consultants develop are not "off the shelf" systems, but fully customised to reflect your business practices and philosophies. They are cost effective, low maintenance and easy to implement.

Acumen can assist with

Development of ISO 9001 quality procedures & manuals
Development of quality policies
Development of forms
ISO 9001 audits
ISO 9001 training
Quality (ISO 9001) system implementation
On going management of the quality (ISO 9001) system
Integration of the ISO 9001 system with other standards such as ISO14001, AS4801, OHSAS18001, HACCP etc
Subcontractor and supplier audits

Developing an ISO 9001 quality management system is not difficult, It does not mean heaps of paperwork, hundreds of forms and lots of bureaucracy. A well designed system "just works" and is almost invisible in the day to day running of an organisation

ISO 9001:2008 is currently under review and a new version is expected to be released in September 2015.

The main changes appear to be:

Context of the Organizationrequires an organisation to determine the internal and external issues and requirements that can impact on the planning of the quality system.

Risk Based Approach - an organisation will need to determine the risks and opportunities that need to be addressed to ensure that the Quality Management System can achieve its intended results.

Scope and Applicability - organisations will have to determine the scope of the management system (similar to other management system standards) and document this.

Documented Information - the terms ‘documented procedure’ and ‘record’ and have been replaced with ‘document information’.

Quality Manual - The requirement for a specific document called a Quality Manual has been replaced with a clause titled Quality Management System and its Processes. Organisations are required to determine the processes needed for the quality management system and maintain documented information related to these.

Leadership - this requirement has been expanded and now includes:

Ensuring integration of QMS requirements into the organisations’ business processes

Promoting awareness of the process approach
Assuring the QMS achieves its intended results
Supporting other relevant management roles to demonstrate their leadership

Management Representative – now may be split amongst various personnel

Planning of Changes - where the need for change is identified there is a requirement for changes to be carried out in a planned and systematic manner.

Analysis and Evaluation - the output of the Analysis and Evaluation is now a defined input into the Management Review process

Management Review – this has been expanded to include a requirement to consider how changes affect the QMS, its strategic direction and the effectiveness of actions taken to address risks and opportunities

ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems are based upon eight quality management principles. These principles are:

Customer focus
Leadership
Involvement of people
Process approach
Systems approach to management
Continual improvement
Mutually beneficial supplier relationships
Factual approach to decision making