ISO Consultants

Making Sense of Certification

Preparing your business for certification

If you need help to gain ISO Approval, renewal of existing maintenance work on your current approvals or even certification to a new standard, ISO Consultants are here to help.  Offering everything from DIY toolkits to regular in-house, onsite support. ISO Consultants are as flexible as you are.

With experience from many industry sectors, the team brings a no-nonsense, honest and practical approach to quality and standards.

Core ISO Standards. And Beyond!

We currently focus on twenty core standards. Our experience in the market has shown us that this portfolio will cover over 95% of customer requirements. We’ve listed the standards below, together with a very brief summary.

However, should you need one of the less-common standards, our long experience in consulting means that we can help.    Please get in touch for an initial chat whether your required standard is listed below, or is more unusual

ISO 9001 : Quality Management Systems

The original Management System Standard, aimed at consistent product and service quality. Its a great place to start

ISO 14001 : Environmental Management Systems

Absolutely essential for all businesses with a significant environmental impact. Helps with protection from legal action in respect of environmental matters

ISO/IEC 27001 : Information Security Management

Highly popular. IT businesses processing and storing data should hold this standard.  Furthermore, it’s a distant relative of mandatory GDPR regulations

PAS 99:2012 : Integrated Management System

Specification of common management system requirements as a framework for integration

ISO 13485:2012 Medical Devices Management

THE Quality Management Standard for Medical Devices. Essential if you want to sell in Europe.

ISO/IEC 17020 : Criteria for Inspection companies

General criteria for the operation of various types of bodies performing inspection. A standard for “inspecting the inspectors”

GDPR : General Data Protection Regulations

Mandatory if you store data. Penalties for non-compliance will be significant.

ISO 22301 : Business continuity Management

The standard for the “what if” scenario – how will our business function after a major disruption?

ISO 31000:2009 : Risk Management

Determining the stability of procedures and functions in a business.

ISO 50001 : Energy Management Systems

Measuring and managing energy usage

AS 9100 AS 9120  :  Aviation, Space & Defence

A higher level of quality management, with more stringent documentation than ISO 9001

Adding ISO standards to an existing system

You have an ISO certificate. Now you need approval to a newer standard

At one time getting an ISO 9000 Certificate made you stand out from the crowd and satisfied most customers. But business has moved on, legislation and customer’s demands have changed and now multiple approvals are often necessary – but they can be expensive.

ISO standards overlap, so if you need to gain approval against a new standard you need to make sure that the design of the system takes advantage of that overlap, and that the new system doesn’t repeat those elements already covered in the original system. Certification bodies also need to be “managed” to make sure that the cost benefits of dual approvals are maximised.

We have managed and designed many Integrated and Dual Approval Systems, including coordinating with the certification bodies to ensure you get the best overall deal. The companies below have benefitted from using us to bring their systems together, so why not contact us and see how we can help you. These companies did, and already have their multiple approvals in place.

What was the key driver in seeking ISO Certification?

We work closely with a major multi-national and are aware that their other suppliers hold ISO Certification. We needed it to safeguard our competitive edge. Also, as a marketing tool, it’s powerful – it shows that we operate up to an internationally agreed standard, a vital differentiator in our industry, recycling, where compliance is not optional.

Why didn’t you attempt to do the work in-house and via readily obtainable templates?

We already held ISO 9001, but the quality management system was becoming increasingly less relevant to our daily operations. My key area of focus is compliance and as recycling activities are closely regulated by The Environment Agency, this was an area where we needed the help of an experienced professional. It was time to make a fresh start, building on what we had, but creating something bespoke to our daily business activities. This couldn’t be achieved by filling in a few generic templates.

What was the biggest challenge to you and your team during the process?

As I mentioned, we already held ISO 9001. However, the key challenge was taking the best bits from that and transforming something generic to a genuinely bespoke system that was accessible and encouraged buy-in (hence compliance!). This was going to be an interesting experience! The old system had been neglected, had a puzzling structure and had not reflected the changes in our business. It was clearly generic and didn’t address how we worked. Furthermore, it was packed full of jargon and needed translating from consultant-speak into laypersons terms. Thereby providing a system that all could understand and use. Colin Brown of ISO Consultants was able to make the difficult and remote, simple and accessible.

What surprised you the most about the whole experience?

Continuing from what I’ve said just said, it was a delight to find how the standard and its needs could be simplified, but without compromising its effectiveness! Colin Brown was skilled at translation and application, along with being very patient with us!

How did the actual audit process go? How did Colin help?

It was a two-day process, but relatively uneventful, as the Quality Management System had been designed carefully. The assessor looked quite deeply into our business, but only a couple of minor changes were required to achieve certification.

How has certification improved your real-life day-to-day business activities?

It has added a structure and accessibility to our previous good practice. For example, as part of the QMS, I’m currently involved with an audit of both customer and suppliers in respect of their required accreditations. This has created a database within the company, which is proving extremely useful, as well as ensuring compliance with the Environment Agency requirements. Furthermore, it’s strengthened not only customer relations but our own status and credibility in the market.

Need more information?

If you can’t see your requirement listed above, or simply need some guidance, please feel free to  contact us.   By email :  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.