JQA conducts assessments that provide your organization with the opportunity to recognize the potential for system improvement as your organization aims to enhance the effectiveness of the quality management system and the organization's social value.
⇒Summary ⇓Procedures of Assessment and Registration ⇓FAQ
ISO9001 is the international standard for quality management systems that can be used to respond to the needs of your organization's customers and markets through the quality assurance of its products and services.
ISO9001 is the international standard for quality management systems focused on achieving continual improvement of customer satisfaction and quality management systems through quality assurance. The value of an organization is evaluated according to such aspects as its business performance, competitive strengths, social trust and level of recognition. The quality management system improves the ability of the organization to respond to customer and market needs and enhances customer satisfaction through the quality improvement of products and services, thereby increasing the value of the organization. As such, regardless of the size of the organization, it has been widely used not only in the manufacturing industry but also in the other industries including information and service industries.
Moreover, in recent years, ISO9001 has been utilized in improving business efficiency and strengthening organizational structure, which are established elements in terms of compliance and corporate governance
JQA is a pioneer of ISO assessment, and our auditors, who have knowledge of a wide range of best practices, conduct assessments that may help to enhance the value of your organization.
JQA has conducted quality management system assessment in a way that suits the scale and characteristics of the businesses in which the assessed organizations are engaged. As a pioneer of ISO assessment in Japan, JQA has assessed and registered the greatest number of organizations in Japan, and has handled the mature management systems of many influential organizations. JQA auditors are highly experienced in conducting assessments and have a thorough understanding of a wide range of best practices. We hope that you find JQA's proven experience and reliability helpful in enhancing the social value of your organization.
JQA also has affiliations with 37 influential assessment organizations in other countries (IQNet members*) to support organizations that are active in overseas countries.
*IQNet is composed of 37 leading certification/registration organizations from 34 countries around the world and is the world's largest global network. The network has already issued over 250,000 certificates, and there are more than 10,000 auditors deployed around the world. Over 40 languages are used in conducting assessments.
JQA's ISO9001 assessment emphasizes the following points taking into consideration the needs of your organization as well as those of society.
(1) Effectiveness of the management system
- JQA places importance on whether the objectives of your organization are effective and whether they are aligned with customer needs and expectations.
- JQA assesses the effectiveness of the management system based on both the outcomes obtained by its scheme and implementation level of the system.
- JQA focuses on whether "Check" and "Act" phases are conducted based on the criteria for each process and whether the correlation among the processes is consistent. In this way, the effectiveness of the management system for the entire organization is assessed.
(2) Process assessment
- Assessments are conducted focusing on whether customers' requirements that are input and the products and services that are output are integrally linked within the process so as to achieve quality assurance and enhanced customer satisfaction.
- Operation status is assessed so that customer satisfaction is enhanced, clarifying the correlation, input and output of business processes.
- Emphasis is placed on the mechanism for achieving the organization's objectives; in addition, an assessment is conducted to determine whether the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle is functioning autonomously in line with the actual business processes.
(3) On-site assessment
- Whether the policy and objectives set by the top management have been understood for each process and at each level of the hierarchy is assessed, thereby enhancing the motivation of personnel at the job site.
- Through on-site assessments at the job sites where products and services are produced and provided, the actual circumstances and issues associated with the system are reported to top management.
Procedures of ISO9001 Assessment and Registration: From the Declaration to Certification/Registration and Steps after Registration
⇑Summary ⇒Procedures of Assessment and Registration ⇓FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions concerning ISO9001
⇑Summary ⇑Procedures of Assessment and Registration ⇒FAQ
How is the number of assessment man-days determined?
The number of assessment man-days is determined for each organization based on the IAF Guidelines that are internationally recognized.
In the assessment, JQA confirms whether the PDCA cycle is working properly at the operational level, the process level and the system level and whether the management system is functioning effectively in line with the actual process flow of your organization. For this reason, JQA has set the necessary number of assessment man-days for each organization based on the IAF Guidelines, considering the size of the organization, number of sites and complexity of processes.
- How should we apply for the assessment schedule?
- Fill in the necessary items on the application form for the assessment schedule and submit it by the 5th day two months prior to the month you wish to be assessed.
Please fill in the necessary items on the application form for the assessment schedule and submit it by the 5th day two months prior to the month you wish to be assessed. You will receive notification from JQA regarding the schedule approximately one month before the assessment based on the outcome of discussion with you using the information received.
- Can you explain the process assessment?
- It is an assessment that is conducted in line with the processes set by your organization or the actual process flow of the tasks.
ISO9001 has adopted a process approach. The approach is intended to enhance customer satisfaction, which is the objective of the management system, by clarifying the mutual relationship, input and output of each process of your organization and managing the operation status.
JQA believes the effectiveness of the management system can be assessed appropriately using the process approach. In particular, JQA believes that the assessment of related processes with a focus on enhanced customer satisfaction would prove effective, as regards the performance of the management system.
- Please let me know about the exclusion of requirements of ISO9001.
- Exclusion is approved only for the requirements of "Product Realization," Chapter 7 of ISO9001.
The requirements stipulated in Chapter 7 "Product Realization" of ISO9001 can be excluded from application only when there is no task (activity) deemed to fall within the scope of registered activities. As such, exclusion is not approved when the task (activity) that falls in the category is actually carried out. When the application is excluded, the requirements excluded and reason (justification) also need to be clearly indicated in the quality manual.
