ISO 9001 for manufacturing: get certified online

A buyer cannot inspect every part, every batch and every process in your plant. They look for evidence that your quality is managed and not left to chance. ISO 9001 is the standard most buyers recognise for that purpose.

In practice the request reaches you in three ways. A tender names a quality management certificate as a requirement or a scoring criterion. A larger customer sends a supplier questionnaire that asks for it. A new partner or distributor wants it before signing a framework agreement.

Without a certificate you answer long questionnaires or lose the conversation early. A certificate shortens that step. It also makes you write down how your company really works, and your own team benefits from that.

• About ISO 9001:2015
• ISO for small and medium businesses

ISO 9001:2015 is not a product standard. It does not say which tolerance a part must meet. It asks how you plan, run, check and improve the processes that produce your parts. For a manufacturer that covers the whole path from goods in to dispatch.

The standard uses a few terms again and again. Here is what they mean in a production setting.

Nonconformity

A requirement that is not met. Example: a batch of turned parts measures outside the drawing tolerance.

Corrective action

A step that removes the cause, not only the symptom. Example: reworking the parts is a fix. Changing the tool wear check so the fault cannot repeat is corrective action.

Traceability

The ability to follow a product back to its material and process. Example: a lot number links a finished assembly to the supplier batch of raw material.

Calibration

Checking measuring equipment against a known reference. Example: callipers and micrometers are checked on a set schedule and marked with their status.

Supplier evaluation

Rating the companies that supply materials or services. Example: a coating subcontractor is rated on delivery reliability and rejected parts.

Documented information

Procedures and records you keep because the system needs them. Example: a work instruction at the machine and an inspection record for each lot.

These six requirements form the core of ISO 9001. Here is what each can look like in a small or mid-sized production company.

1. 01

   Context of the organisation

   List your customers, what they expect, the obligations that apply to your products and the factors that affect production, such as material supply or skilled staff. One page is enough.

2. 02

   Quality policy and objectives

   Write a short policy that management signs. Set objectives you can measure, for example on-time delivery or the number of parts returned by customers.

3. 03

   Risks and opportunities

   Keep a simple table: what could go wrong, how likely it is, what you do about it. Typical entries are single-source materials, machine breakdown and key staff leaving.

4. 04

   Process control

   Describe the main processes from order to dispatch. Define inspections, responsibilities and the records you keep.

5. 05

   Resources and competence

   Keep a maintenance plan for machines and training records for operators. Show that people who set up machines or inspect parts are qualified to do so.

6. 06

   Monitoring and improvement

   Review your objectives regularly, record complaints and deviations, hold a management review and act on what you find.

Zertify issues ISO certificates based on an online self-assessment. There is no on-site audit. You answer 30 yes/no questions about your quality management system, and the pass threshold is 20 of 30. SICE, the Swiss Institute of Certification and Education, reviews every assessment before the certificate is issued.

After you pass and pay, your certificate arrives within 4 hours. It is issued by G6 Agency AG under licence from SICE and is valid for 3 years. Every certificate can be verified publicly by number and QR code, and a short online re-audit confirms it each year.

The price is 599 CHF (599 EUR) in the first year, then 399 CHF (399 EUR) per year including the yearly online re-audit. It is an automatic yearly subscription. You can cancel at any time to the end of the current year in your customer account, and the certificate then ends with the paid year. Prices include 8.1% Swiss VAT for customers in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. You do not need an account to buy.

If your customers also ask for other standards, a multi-standard discount applies: 20% for 2 standards and 30% for 3 or more, also on the yearly fee.

• ISO 9001 at Zertify
• Pricing
• Start the free self-assessment

Before you buy, read the tender or supplier questionnaire. Note which certificate it names and in which form. Some buyers prefer the classic route with an on-site audit by a certification body, so compare the routes first.

The 30 questions follow the topics above: context, objectives, risks, process control, competence and improvement. Have your quality policy, process descriptions and inspection records at hand. The self-assessment is free and you can start it without registration.

• Compare the certification routes
• Certification without an on-site audit
• Start the self-assessment