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ISO 9000 for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises 1. ISO 9000 for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises
2. ISO 9000 related services from GQV Consulting, India. ISO 9000 for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises ISO stands for International Organisation for Standardisation. It is based in Geneva, Switzerland and was formed in the year 1947. The organisation consists of representatives from ninety-one countries. Each country is represented by its standard body. ISO comprises more than 180 technical committees, covering many industrial sectors and products. These technical committees, as far as possible, try to address the requirements of the member countries while formulating their standards. It aims at harmonization of standards at the international level with a view to minimise trade and technical barriers. ISO publishes both product and system standards. ISO9000 is a series of standards for Quality Management and Quality Assurance. While ISO9001, ISO9002 and ISO9003 are meant for certification purpose, ISO9000 and ISO9004 provide guidelines. When a company approaches a certifying agency for ISO9000 certification, the certifying agency does on-the-spot assessments of the applicant's Quality Management System. If it is found to comply with ISO9001/ ISO9002/ ISO9003, the certifying agency awards the relevant certificate. Any legal entity having manufacturing / service operations can apply for ISO9000 certification. Manufacturers, Service Organisations, Trading Houses, Banks, Hospitals, Educational Institutions etc. are eligible for applying. Benefits of ISO9000 Certificate For Small and Medium Scale companies, which normally do not enjoy much of brand image, ISO9000 certification helps to build confidence in the minds of customer organisations. This is particularly true in case of Tenders and other contractual situations involving institutional buyers. In India, where the Government is a prominent buyer, many of the public sector organisations have already started insisting on ISO9000 registration for vendor enlistment. In private sector also, the situation won't be different in the due course of time. In case of global markets, it is widely believed that the WTO is going to include ISO9000 certification as a pre-requisite for exports. Other benefits of ISO9000 registration are ...
Steps involved in ISO9000 Certification The steps involved in any ISO9000 certification project are the following:
There are three major cost elements in any ISO9000 project. They are : 1. Cost of
purchase/calibration of measuring instruments. The above costs depend on the size and complexity of operations of the applicant company.In Calcutta, for a small company having a manpower of around 20, with factory and office located in one place, the total cost falls in the range of Rupees 1.0 Lac to 1.5 Lacs. Yes, it doesn't cost so much as one might think. Before deciding on your ISO9000 consultant, consider the following: 1. Formal Qualifications: As in the case of medical / financial services, look for formal qualifications. At its minimum level, a graduate engineer with degree/diploma in Quality Assurance and Management may be acceptable. (Today, there are many reputed institutions in India that conduct degree/diploma courses in Quality Management). Apart from knowledge of ISO9000, your consultant should have adequate knowledge of Statistical Techniques (SQC, SPC, Design of Experiments etc.) 2. Relevant Experience: Your ISO9000 consultant should have at least three year experience in handling two to three ISO9000 projects independently or as the principal consultant. Avoid those with long experience in other fields and little exposure to ISO9000. 3. Willingness to help in documentation : Your ISO9000 consultant should prepare first draft of at least the Apex Quality Manual and Quality System Procedures. This would help in quick implementation of the system. (99.99% cases of project dragging is due to incomplete documentation !) 4. Support till certification: Get firm commitment from your consultant that he shall provide support till your company gets certified. 5. Avoid package deals: Some consulting agencies (also some auditing agencies) offer a total package of consultancy and certification. In such situation, you are very likely to get sub-standard consultancy and less valued certification (these auditing agencies do not command much reputation). This job is also very important. Usually, your ISO9000 consultant suggests a name. But, do not forget to ask your friends in the industry and verify the credibility of certifying agency. As ISO9000 is more relevant in contractual situations, your customer can well be aware of the standard of certifying agencies. Another point is regarding recognition of certification. In case your buyers are from a different country, it is better to select an auditing agency well recognized in the buyers' country. Cost is yet another factor. Due to stiff competition, certification fee has come down a lot. However, there can be hidden costs like cost of flying down an auditor from a remote location. In that case, hidden cost can be more than certification fees. So, always go for a credible agency with sufficient number of auditors stationed locally. BVQI, BIS, DNV, KPMG, RWTUV and STQC are some of the ISO9000 certifying bodies operating in India. Financial Incentives for SSI / Ancillary units in India There is good news for Small Scale Industry / Ancillary Units operating from India. The Government of India and some of the banks provide assistance to SSIs for acquiring ISO9000 certificate. 1. Re-imbursement of ISO9000 project cost The Govt. of India has launched a scheme in 1994 to give incentives to small scale / ancillary units acquiring ISO9000 certificate. According to the present norms, the scheme provides for re-imbursement to the extent of Rs 75,000/= or 75% of the cost (whichever is minimum). The scheme of re-imbursement will remain in operation till the end of 9th Five year plan, i.e., upto 31st March 2002. The costs that are admissible for re-imbursement are ...
Note: Hotel and Travel expenses are excluded. Contact: The Director, Small Industries Service Institute (SISI) of your state for details and re-imbursement application forms. You may also write to: The Development
Commissioner (SSI), 2. Re-financing (loan) from SIDBI The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) provides direct finance to SSIs in the form of loans (at an interest rate of 13% per annum) if the ISO9000 project cost is more than Rs 10 Lacs. In case your ISO9000 project cost is less than Rs 10 Lacs, you can approach your bank for a loan, which in turn shall be re-financed by the SIDBI. For more details and exact procedure, visit the web site of SIDBI at www.sidbi.com ISO 9000 related services from GQV Consulting, India. We offer three types of on-site services. 1. Project Consultancy : Under this package, we provide gap analysis, Top/ Senior/ Junior management workshops on ISO9000 and SQC, preparation of first draft of quality manuals, guidance during implementation, quality audit services, and, guidance in taking corrective actions on observations made by certification agency during preliminary as well as final assessment. Our experts shall make regular visits to the clients' factory / office to ensure that the new system is understood and implemented by the client organisation. We stay with the client till it gets certified. 2. Training Programmes: We also conduct in-plant training sessions for management and staff. 3. Quality Audits: On behalf of the clients, we also conduct internal quality audits and provide feedback on implementation status. We ensure best services of our well qualified consultants at very economic fees. Note: On-site services are presently restricted to clients from India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. GQV Consulting also offers consultancy support through e-mail. Under this scheme, you can get consultancy support for ISO9000 implementation, Samples of quality system documents, Executive training material, Assistance in identification of appropriate statistical methods for Quality Control / Quality Assurance, and, Data Analysis support. In this scheme, you get world class service at a very competitive fees. Note: Off-site services are open to all clients across the globe. BIS invites applications for Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Awards Applications are invited for Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Awards which is being operated by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to encourage indian industry to strive for excellence in quality. ELIGIBILITY : A manufacturing organization or service sector organization is eligible to complete for the award or commendation certificate, if it satisfies the following conditions: a) Applicant
organization is located in India. Further, if any applicant organization has received an award, it shall not be illegible to apply for an award for a period of three years after being awarded. However, this condition will not apply to those applicant organizations which had received commendation certificate. FREQUENCY : Annual, based on achievements in a calendar year. For eg. The 1999 award will be considered for results achieved during 1st January 1999 to 31st December 1999. NUMBER OF AWARDS : Four; one each for large scale and small scale manufacturing organizations, one for service sector organizations, and for BEST OF ALL. COMMENDATION CERTIFICATES : Thirteen, six each for large scale and small scale manufacturing organizations in industrial sectors, namely, metallurgical, electrical and electronic, chemical, food and drug, textile, engineering and others; in addition, one certificate for service sector organizations. APPLICATION FORMS : Application forms would be available form the sales counter, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), 9, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi- 110002 either on cash payment of Rs. 200/- or by Demand Draft/Pay Order. The application forms can also be obtained by post on payment of Rs. 250/- by Demand Draft. The envelop containing request for application form should be super scribed as "Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Award - Application Form Request." The Demand Draft should be in favour of 'Bureau of Indian Standards' payable at New Delhi. For details please
contact: Winners of Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Awards 1998 The following is the list of winners of awards and commendations for the year 1998. (Source: BIS, New Delhi.) BEST OF ALL AWARD : Category Awards Winners: Large Scale
Manufacturing Industry : Service Sector (Joint
Winners) : Small Scale
Manufacturing Industry : Commendation Certificates: Large Scale: Service Sector : Indian Oil Corporation Limited. - Jaipur Terminal and Laboratory, Jaipur Small Scale: Electrical & Electronic : Lipi
Data Systems Limited., Udaipur Additional Commendation Certificates: Highest score in
Eastern Region : ITC Limited., Kidderpore |
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 Last Revised on November, 2000. |
