Any organisation that wishes to maximise its business growth can benefit from acquiring ISO compliance. ISO standards published by the parent entity, International Organization for Standardization (ISO), represent best practises along a range of operational areas such as quality management, environmental impact or occupational safety. Whenever any organisation achieves compliance and obtains certification, it showcases its superior operational efficiency to the world. In this article, we will talk about ISO compliance and its benefits for you.
What is ISO compliance?
Whenever an organisation strictly adheres to the requirements outlined in a specific standard, they attain ISO compliance. Essentially, ISO standard contains a set of recommendations that organisations can adhere to build a customised management system.
When an organisation goes through all the recommendations, select the ones that are applicable to them, and implement them clause by clause, they achieve compliance.
Here, it is important to mention that certification is different from compliance. Compliance merely means that the organisation is self-declaring its adherence to the recommendation, whereas, certification is granted by a third party body, when the management system clears an external/certification audit.
In general, it is recommended to get help from a third party and an ISO consultant. If you live in Australia, ISO Council is one of best ISO consultants in Australia and can help you get ISO certification in the fastest time and at the lowest cost.
What are ISO compliance standards?
ISO compliance standards is another term used to describe ISO standards. The best way of defining an ISO standard is to call them “a feasible formula” to describe the best method of doing/achieving something.
ISO standards cover a wide variety of business processes, including quality management, environmental management, health and safety management, energy management, food safety management, information security management, and so on and so forth. Each of the ISO standards has specific advantages. For example, the benefits of ISO 27001 include protecting against security risks and improving structure and focus.
Common ISO compliance standards
Some common ISO standards include:
- ISO 9001: This standard is best known for creating a Quality Management System (QMS) that helps to enhance the quality of products and services produced as well as improve customer satisfaction rates.
- ISO 14001: This standard is best known for improving the environmental performance of an organisation by creating an Environmental Management System (EMS), that helps in waste reduction, carbon footprint management and creation of green products/services.
- ISO 45001: This standard reinforces the occupational safety measures in an organisation through the creation of an Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS).
- ISO 27001: The standard helps to keep an organisation’s sensitive data authentic, integral and confidential through the implementation of an Information Security Management System (ISMS).
Maintaining ISO compliance
Like mentioned above, the recommendations outlined in an ISO standard helps organisations build a customised management system. Whenever they undergo an external/certification audit by an accredited certification body, they achieve certification. Obtaining certification is not the end of maintaining ISO compliance. Certifications can get suspended if there are changes in the business structure or there are discrepancies in the management system.
To ensure that there are no discrepancies that are unknowingly developed in the management system, business owners must conduct yearly surveillance audits. In fact, after obtaining the ISO certification, organisations enter a three-year cycle of validity. To maintain the validity and compliance of the certification, it is necessary to conduct these surveillance audits and then undergo a recertification audit at the end of the three-year cycle.
Benefits of ISO compliance
There is a reason why ISO standards are revered across the business world. These standards are developed with inputs taken from industry experts, making the standard extremely feasible, practical, innovative, and cutting-edge. Whenever these tried and tested processes and best practises are adopted within an organisation, companies can make more efficient and strategic decisions. The best way of summarising the benefits of ISO compliance is to say that ISO compliance can help drive improvements and innovation.
The benefits of ISO compliance include:
- Embed sector-specific best practice procedures and processes across the entire organisation.
- Promote periodic evaluations that improve processes and procedures within the company.
- Inputs design from expert bodies that are regularly updated to reflect changes in the business world and market trends.
- Better brand reputation, as ISO compliance is recognised by companies, regulators, governments and organisations across the world.
- Compliance with ISO standards help companies adhere to industry, legal or regulatory obligations.
- Delivers a clear trust signal to stakeholders, customers and prospective partners.
- Improves efficiencies by removing redundancies from work flow.
- Harmonises and unites employees by promoting employee engagement.
Conclusion
Whenever an organisation strictly adheres to the recommendations in an ISO standard, they achieve ISO compliance, and when they undergo an external audit, they achieve certification. As ISO compliance are created by taking inputs from industry experts, compliance helps drive improvement and innovation.
