ISO 9001 in Sion: certification entirely online

Sion is the capital of the canton of Valais. Public bodies, construction and craft businesses, producers, service firms and IT companies all work there. ISO 9001 is voluntary, so the request usually comes from outside: a supplier questionnaire, a tender or a customer audit that asks for proof of a quality management system.

The following kinds of business meet that request most often.

Manufacturers and producers

Buyers want to see controlled processes and documented corrective action before they place a repeat order.

Trades and craft businesses

Working as a subcontractor for a larger contractor or a public client brings the question of a documented quality system.

Service and consulting firms

Clients ask how work is planned, checked and corrected when something goes wrong.

IT and software companies

Larger customers add ISO 9001 to their vendor reviews and ask for the certificate number.

Public institutions

Bodies that run structured services use the standard to fix processes and responsibilities in writing.

The classic route with an on-site audit by a certification body means agreeing dates, hosting an auditor and releasing staff for interviews. Depending on the body, the auditor travels to you. For a small company in Sion, that is a lot of coordination for one certificate.

The Zertify route replaces the visit with an online self-assessment. Your answers are reviewed by SICE before the certificate is issued.

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

ISO 9001:2015 describes what a quality management system must do so that products and services reliably meet customer and legal requirements. The standard fits a joinery as well as a software house. It rests on seven principles: customer focus, leadership, engagement of people, process approach, improvement, evidence-based decision making and relationship management.

In practice, six requirements carry most of the work.

1. 01

   Know your context

   Document who your interested parties are and which internal and external issues affect your results (clause 4).

2. 02

   Set a policy and objectives

   Management writes a quality policy and sets objectives that can be measured (clauses 5 and 6).

3. 03

   Assess risks and opportunities

   Identify what could prevent you from delivering as promised, and what could help (clause 6).

4. 04

   Define and control processes

   Describe how an order moves from request to delivery, and who is responsible at each step (clause 8).

5. 05

   Provide resources and competence

   Make sure people, equipment and know-how are in place for the work you accept (clause 7).

6. 06

   Measure and improve

   Track performance, review it, and correct what does not work (clauses 9 and 10).

The certificate is issued by G6 Agency AG under licence from SICE, the Swiss Institute of Certification and Education. SICE reviews every assessment before issue. There is no on-site audit. Each year a short online re-audit confirms that the certificate still reflects your company.

The price is CHF 599 in the first year, then CHF 399 per year including the yearly online re-audit. The certificate is valid for 3 years. Billing is an automatic yearly subscription that you can cancel at any time in your customer account, effective at the end of the current year. If you cancel, the certificate ends with the paid year. For customers in Switzerland and Liechtenstein the prices include 8.1% VAT. You do not need an account to buy.

If you add a second standard, such as ISO 14001, you get 20% off, and 30% off from three standards upwards. The discount also applies to the yearly fee.

• ISO 9001 at Zertify
• Prices and discounts
• Start the free self-assessment

Everything happens in the browser. You can work on it from the office in Sion, from a building site or from home.

1. 01

   Open the self-assessment

   It is free and needs no registration. Have your process descriptions, objectives and records to hand.

2. 02

   Answer 36 yes/no questions

   11 of them are mandatory requirements of the standard and must all be answered yes. Among the other 25, at least 17 yes answers are needed to pass.

3. 03

   Pay online

   Once you have passed, you pay the first-year price. SICE reviews the assessment before the certificate is issued.

4. 04

   Receive the certificate

   The PDF arrives within 4 hours after passing and payment. It carries a certificate number and a QR code.

• How it works in detail
• Start the free self-assessment

Every Zertify certificate can be checked on a public verification page, by certificate number or by scanning the QR code on the PDF. A purchasing department that receives your quote or supplier questionnaire does not need to phone anyone. It checks the number itself.

Put the certificate number into tenders and quotes, and send the PDF with your answers to supplier questionnaires. When a customer plans an audit, point to the verification page first and discuss the rest from there.

• ISO for small and medium businesses
• What certification costs