ISO 9001 is the international standard for organisational excellence and the world’s most widely recognised quality management standard. It allows firms to continually monitor, manage and improve quality across all operations.
At first glance, the amount of work involved can appear daunting and dissuade companies from going any further, particularly smaller organisations who may question the need for it, such as Lautrec Technology Group who were initially hesitant.
However, following requests from Auckland Council to provide evidence of quality management systems for producer statement authorships, Lautrec decided to implement ISO and found the process straightforward and the benefits numerous and ongoing.
We spoke to Lautrec Chief Executive and Director Juliet Hyatt-Brown about how the company approached implementing ISO and why it’s keen to maintain it.
Why did you choose ISO over other quality management systems?
I thought ISO was worth considering when we were looking to implement a more formal quality management system (QMS) as it has been in existence as a QMS benchmark for many years and has been used in the construction industry for some time. We also had a couple of overseas jobs, and I knew that ISO was well recognised internationally as a quality mark.
How did you approach implementing ISO?
We worked with a consultant, an ex-auditor, who understood our business and helped us set up a system that was manageable and suitable for our size (we had 22 people at the time we introduced ISO). She identified that we already had a lot of quality assurance elements covered and just needed a manageable way to collate and organise all the documents that could be easily related to ISO requirements.
The consultant encouraged us to stand back and look at the big picture – the purpose and focus of ISO accreditation – which is a commitment to quality and continuous review and improvement. It was valuable having someone to guide our setup who was knowledgeable about the ISO standard and what the auditors look for. She was also familiar with the construction industry.
She suggested a simple one-page excel spreadsheet designed for ISO covering all the key elements of the business and containing links and notes to separate documents, such as policies, checklists, and staff surveys. We continue to work with and regularly update this spreadsheet. It is a great overview of the business and particularly good for planning because it is split into three sections:
- Strategy
- Delivery and operations
- Support – which covers resourcing and how we support our team (training, etc.)
She also put together a document for us relating to the different parts of the ISO standard. So, if the auditor asks how we have covered certain aspects of the standard, we can quickly look at the checksheet and inform them. We don’t have any big manuals. We just have a series of documents, most of which we had anyway.
Our first auditor, who had been auditing for some time, was very impressed with how user-friendly, practical and comprehensive the spreadsheet was and noted in his report that it was a highly effective way to approach the process and to use as a management tool. We sailed through our first audit with no non-conformances noted and have managed to keep that clean record for each subsequent audit, which the consultant said is unusual.
What benefits have you experienced?
The one-pager spreadsheet provided a valuable framework to help us set up our QMS because it made us look at quality measures for all aspects of our business, rather than just focusing on how we deliver projects. This was a great starting point to build a strong QMS.
And everything we do is now more clearly aligned, which is beneficial to the company. Our values, business plan and strategy are clearly linked to the operational and people aspects of the business. For example, some questions in our annual staff survey are specifically designed to help us measure how well we support the team and communicate our strategy, and the survey responses are fed back into the spreadsheet. Our annual reviews remind us to regularly check that our policies, business continuity plan, risk register, procedures, etc., are up to date and relevant and encourage us to explore how we can keep improving. The whole team can see that there’s a purpose for everything we do, and this simple system helps us keep an eye on all areas of the business.
It’s also great when you go for a tender and can supply your ISO accreditation to cover any QMS requirements. Auckland Council also accepts the ISO certificate when renewing our producer statement authorship without needing any other documentation.
Will you continue with ISO given the cost involved?
It is expensive but we’re currently intent on maintaining it. Accreditation lasts for three years, and auditors undertake an interim annual mini audit to check you’re keeping to the standard. We also carry out our own biannual internal audits, which feed into this and demonstrate that we’re checking up on ourselves, particularly if there is anything we think needs reviewing. By having these regular audits, we are incentivised to keep our focus on the quality and efficiency of our systems and outputs, and on measuring how well we are doing.
ISO is still very useful even though we’ve now downsized. We still want to do a good job, and with a smaller team, and fewer resources, you need to be smart about how you do things. I wasn’t initially aware of quite how beneficial it would be for the whole business, but our entire team has brought into this simple ISO approach and can see how it helps us keep our service delivery levels high, so at this stage I feel it is worth continuing with the accreditation.
Has having ISO accreditation helped you win tenders?
I think more design consultancies have ISO accreditation now than five years ago so I don’t know if we stand out, and I can’t say it’s won us a job, but I think it helps. We receive a lot of work through referrals, and it’s probably beneficial if people are thinking of bringing us on for the first time as it does provide some reassurance around our QMS.
Is it good for repeat business?
We have noted that we now don’t get any client complaints and feel more on top of our workflow. We also have quite a few referrals from existing clients and the improvements ISO has helped us implement are probably a factor, rather than the accreditation itself. We now run a much tighter ship regarding sticking to our processes and holding ourselves to account if things don’t go to plan.
Auditors have noted that they can see our engagement in the process; that we are genuinely intent on continuous improvement and have an integrated focus on quality – we are living and breathing it – rather than seeing ISO accreditation as a tick box.
Is maintaining ISO accreditation arduous?
No. There’s a bit of work in the initial set up, but most companies, unless starting a business from scratch, will have the beginnings of a few basic business plans which can be adapted. Some things can be multi-purpose, for example, combining your risk register with your business continuity planning. As long as you can show you have covered the relevant aspects, you don’t need multiple documents. There are smart ways of doing it.
We’ve had two different auditors over the last eight years and have implemented different opportunities for improvement they’ve suggested, which have been very valuable. Following our first audit, we set up an issues register that we check in with at our weekly team meetings. We note anything that hasn’t gone to plan over the previous week, such as any mix-ups with drawings or missed timesheets, and this is done in a no-blame / no name environment so we can all take ownership and focus on getting things working as smoothly and efficiently as we can – looking at the process rather than the people. It enables us to analyse why we are doing something a particular way and whether there’s a better option.
Our biannual internal audits also get us used to holding ourselves to account and help everyone feel comfortable when the auditors come. We’re used to having someone ask questions such as where we recorded something, how we know there was an internal review, how we delivered something, and so on. It’s a great process and has just become the way that we do things. We seem to have come up with a formula that fits the ISO format, and our system seems to help the ISO auditors to audit us too.
Do you have any advice for firms considering implementing ISO?
When you start the process, being under such scrutiny can make you feel quite sensitive and apprehensive, especially if it involves a small business that you’ve personally established. We’ve found however, that you soon see its benefits, and having an external review of all aspects of your business provides fresh perspectives and alternatives. Having this independent view also makes it less personal and keeps everyone focused on the core object of improving the business.
In our experience, an ISO compliant QMS wasn’t too painful to implement because we had external help from a consultant at the initial set up phase. This is especially important in a small company, where you don’t have much time to take care of governance and strategic planning work on top of day-to-day management of the business. The aid of an experienced consultant was cost effective, time efficient and made the whole process less onerous.
I don’t think pursuing the full ISO auditing process is necessarily essential and the cost can be an issue. However, taking the time to set up a good, workable QMS is valuable, and we have found that ISO provides a good framework for this. Over the eight years since we implemented the one-pager QMS approach, we’ve experienced multiple benefits for the business, including setting us up to gain ISO accreditation.