Quality Management System (QMS) certification

ISO 9001 Quality Management System

ISO 9001 Quality Management System is an international standard that provides a framework for any organisation to adopt. ISO 9001 helps foster the design and implementation of robust quality and business management processes. Its core aim is to help organisations enhance customer satisfaction through better quality products and services. The standard empowers the organisation to develop a bespoke system suited to their needs. The standard sets out requirements to be achieved; however, each organisation must develop their own processes and procedures to accomplish the intent of each clause of the standard.

ISO 9001 does not prescribe how a practice must apply quality processes or limit how you design; it provides a framework to manage quality, both on the project and the business processes that ensure quality can be achieved. Achieving certification to the standard offers confidence to internal and external stakeholders, especially clients, that quality controls are in place, and that they are systematically applied to all projects and operations.

How it benefits a practice

Some stakeholders consider design practices with a QMS accreditation to be much lower risk. Accreditation independently confirms that business processes are rigorous and quality checking mechanisms are in place. Having a certified system is often used as a benchmark by clients and stakeholders and helps avoid further testing and analysis of the businesses’ ability to provide quality outcomes. Benefits include:

• quicker and easier tendering responses for government and some private clients, saving valuable time
• giving confidence to practice leaders that project teams can deliver quality-controlled processes
• reduction in compliance risks for insurance providers, thus potentially reducing insurance premiums
• support for the ongoing enhancement of services and quality to clients, helping build return clients through increased satisfaction and word of mouth promotion
• often a requirement for tender panel inclusion for government and institutional clients.

Why clients are asking for certification

Generally, clients seek low-risk expertise from their consultants. ISO 9001 certification and its required auditing provide confidence to clients that a design practice has been independently assessed as having quality control systems in place, enhancing their ability to deliver a quality outcome. ISO 9001 is the most globally recognised quality management system and is used as the benchmark to assess organisations that apply quality controls throughout their operations.

Preparing for and achieving certification

Certification is an ongoing commitment requiring time, cost, effort and dedication each year to maintain certification. Commitment from the most senior leaders of the practice is essential to ensure certification can be achieved promptly and in such a way that it enhances your service delivery. A rushed and poorly implemented quality management system will be burdensome and likely abandoned. Practices should prepare for certification by engaging the services of a consultant or specialist who will guide you through the process to achieve certification. Some certification organisations can provide you with this consultation service before completing the formal certification audit. You may engage an independent consultant or have a staff member trained in implementing ISO 9001.

The time taken to become certified will depend on the maturity of the practice's existing quality control systems, the experience of staff, commitment by leadership and, familiarity with the standard. Certification preparation is likely to take approximately 200+ hours of a staff member's time (1 day per week for 6-9 months) depending on the practice size and staff experience with quality management systems. This approximate time is for the individual to set up and define the processes required to be implemented by the practice and its staff.

Preparation usually occurs across four stages. Completing all four steps is not mandatory; however, it will benefit practices with limited quality management systems experience.

1. Internal preparation - Nominate an internal staff member to lead the process and research the standard and certification process. Engage an external consultant/certification authority and build knowledge on how the standard operates. Attending 2-5 day seminars may be valuable and save time and effort over the longer term.
2. Gap analysis - Once you have engaged a consultant/certification authority, they will undertake a detailed review of your operations and project control systems and processes and provide a comprehensive report detailing where improvements or changes are required to meet the standard's intent. You will then develop procedures, processes or checklists that help meet the requirements of the standard.
3. Stage 1 assessment - Once you have addressed the gaps, a 'trial assessment' will be completed. The auditor will review your system and the changes you have implemented as though they are conducting the certification audit. This assessment will identify any final areas that may still require attention to meet the standard.
4. Stage 2 assessment - The stage 2 assessment is the final certification audit, where the external auditor will review your projects, documentation and control processes to determine if they meet the standard's requirements. Recently implemented procedures must demonstrate at least three months' operation to confirm compliance. The auditor will provide a detailed report with three possible outcomes:

a. If a major non-conformance is found, certification cannot be recommended, and the major non-conformance must be reduced to a minor non-conformance or eliminated. Usually, a revisit is required from the auditor to confirm this and required to happen within 90 days.

b. If a minor non-conformance is identified, the external auditor must approve a 'corrective action plan' provided by the practice prior to recommending certification.

c. If no corrective actions are required, a detailed report of the improvement opportunities to help your practice maintain a high standard of compliance will be issued along with confirmed certification.

Overview of requirements

ISO 9001 requires compliance across practice operations and project quality control domains. Practices must be able to demonstrate compliance with the standard across the following areas:

• Organisational context - You must have a comprehensive overview and process to understand your practice's internal and external context, stakeholders you engage with, and comprehensive knowledge of your operations and procedures.
• Leadership - Senior management must demonstrate commitment by engaging and facilitating quality management and ongoing improvements. A quality policy is required to codify the practice's commitment to its clients and undertake risk management through projects.
• Planning and support - Systems, practices, and processes which implement risk management, achieve quality outcomes, and manage internal change must be robust and implemented alongside the provision of skilled resources and knowledge of these systems and practices by relevant staff.
• Project delivery - The standard requires comprehensive planning, delivery, and control throughout the entire project life cycle. While these processes need not be comprehensively documented, clear and consistent methods can support quality management.
• Internal Auditing and Continuous Improvement - Practices must have procedures that audit the implementation of quality control processes. Internal auditing extends beyond the need to review documentation before release; internal auditing will likely check that documentation reviews have occurred. Audit findings must be reviewed by senior management and actioned accordingly. Internal auditing seeks to identify where processes have failed or deviated from expectations, empowering organisations to improve quality practices. Internal auditing can be undertaken by the practice's employees or by a third party engaged by the practice. Certifying authorities cannot undertake internal auditing.

Your quality management capabilities will mature as your practice implements a compliant system, and external auditors will generally accommodate your ongoing knowledge building and improvements. External auditors will also assist practices by providing improvement recommendations, having seen how other organisations manage these processes.

Ongoing management and maintenance

ISO 9001 certification requires ongoing management, attention, and commitment. The certificate expires after three years, at which point a recertification audit is required. In addition, external auditing occurs yearly to ensure that processes and practices are being followed and that you can demonstrate: compliance with the requirements of the standard, internal auditing has occurred, and continuous improvements are actioned. A report is provided highlighting any observations or non-conformances and provides your practice with an opportunity to improve its quality management system and project delivery practices. Every third year, recertification is required prior to certificate expiry.

The costs associated with external auditing will vary depending on the number of staff within the practice. Costs can be significant, and practices should seek quotes from more than one certifying authority to compare costs. Time and financial investment are required at the beginning of the certification process and subsequently each year through certification maintenance. All design practices, particularly small to medium sized practices, should consider in detail the benefits gained by achieving certifications alongside the time and financial investment required to do so.

ISO 9001 is periodically updated (reviewed every five years), first released in 1987, followed by subsequent updates in 1994, 2000, 2008 and 2015. A three-year transition period applies when an updated standard is released giving time for all certified organisations to transition to the updated version which may require modification to existing internal processes.

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Integrated management systems

Many ISO management system standards are integrated to simplify the implementation of multiple standards. Clauses across the integrated standards are either very similar or the same, enabling a practice to comply with many components of multiple standards through the deployment of the same process. This simplifies implementation and certification, as compliance with an integrated clause only needs to be audited once, rather than auditing compliance across each implemented standard.

Many integrated management system standards are available; however, the most popular for a design practice to implement are Quality management system (ISO 9001), Environmental management system (ISO 14001) and Occupational health and safety management system (ISO 45001).

Environmental Management System (ISO 14001)

Implementation of ISO 14001 assists practices to improve environmental outcomes associated with the operations of the practice to improve resource efficiency, reduce waste and lower costs. A certified Environmental Management System demonstrates that the organisation is committed to achieving positive environmental outcomes. This standard primarily focuses on practice operations but can support project design outcomes by increasing the practices' environmental knowledge and environmental processes related to project designs which can be included within the scope of the certification.

Occupational health and safety management system (ISO 45001)

Implementation of ISO 45001 assists practices in improving occupational health and safety (OHS) outcomes by implementing methods and systems that will improve safety within the workplace, prevent injury, and comprehensively and proactively improve OHS performance and wellbeing. This standard primarily focuses on practice operations and extends to projects when considering site safety practices for professional staff in areas the practice has control.

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