Quality Assurance
Stay ahead of the pack with ISO certification.
Consider your business's global reach. Now answer the
following question: What's your competitive advantage? Unless
"quality" tops your list, you could be at a disadvantage,
regardless of your product or service.
Adhering to the formal set of quality standards published a
decade ago by the Geneva-based International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) is becoming increasingly important for global
success. "No one has made it a requirement, but it's the
trend," says Michael Ehsani, president of the American
Institute of Consultants Quality Services Inc. in Houston. Every
year, his business helps a handful of firms complete tedious and
complicated ISO 9000, ISO 14000 and QS 9000 certification
procedures, which have already been adopted by more than 98
countries and organizations worldwide.
Put simply, ISO 9000 refers to the set of standards established
for quality management and assurance. Any type of company can apply
for certification, from staffing businesses to pharmaceutical
companies. Businesses can also apply for ISO 14000 certification--a
management system designed for operations directly impacting the
environment. And QS 9000 sets the standards for the automotive
industry.
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Certification gives you an edge and emphasizes to potential
customers and suppliers worldwide that you've made a serious
effort to ensure your products and services meet the highest
quality standards possible. It also opens your business to
opportunities you'd otherwise miss, because ISO-certified firms
will usually only do business with other certified firms.
"If [companies] don't implement such a program,
they're not going to continuously improve the quality of their
products and services like they should to stay competitive and
profitable," warns Ehsani. "And if they don't do it
and their competition does, the competition is going to beat them
to the punch in every bidding situation."
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