ISO9000 and the Security Industry

The SIA believe that ISO9001 2000 registration will be beneficial for Security companies offering doormen or guards. Why? What do you need to do? How long will it take?

Here is a simple summary for you. To discuss it further please call us and we will happy to meet with you and help you achieve certification.

ISO9000 consists of a Quality Manual and a Procedure or Process Manual. The Quality Manual says for each section of ISO9000 whether it applies to you or not and if it does, points to the procedures manual where it will describe what you actually do. You will be doing many of the required things already. When you make a sale you record exactly what you are going to do for a customer. When you make purchases, you ensure your supplier knows what you want.

So where do these manuals come from. You can develop them yourselves but are probably better off talking to a consultant who can advise what should go in and what level of detail is required. Normally they will write them for you. Once they are in place the following things need to happed.

You need to check the manuals to see if they reflect what you really do.

You will then create a To Do List of all the things the manuals say you do which you do not yet do (such as audits).

You need to hold an Interim Management Review Meeting. You need to agree your main processes – probably Sales, Purchasing, Recruitment and Operations. You then need to discuss what you could do to improve each of them – unless they are perfect!! You then need to measure the current position of the measure chosen. For example you might choose Quote to Sales conversion rate for sales and staff turnover to assess whether recruitment was effective. What do you currently achieve? What should you try to achieve and how will you do it? You also need to ask some of your customers what they think of you against a set of criteria which you set. Again in the meeting pick what they think is worst and decide how to improve it.

You then implement these continual improvement actions.

Once the continuous improvements are underway and the to do list is completed, a set of audits is carried out. Do you do what you say you do?

After that reaudits are done of any areas with audit problems and a full management review covering the improvements but also other aspects of control of the business.

You are then ready for the assessment. This is in two stages. First the chosen assessment body do a desk check. Does what you have written comply with the standard. They may ask for a few minor tweaks at this stage. Second they assess you on site to see again if you do what you say you do. There are 3 possible outcomes. 1 you are perfect – rare 2 You fail dismally. Hopefully you have a consultant who will not let that happen. 3 there are between 1 and n minor things wrong you get 30 days to show you have corrected them or what your plan is to correct them. This you submit to the certification body who review these actions and then hopefully issue the certificate.

This work should take no longer than 6 months.

Once you have passed, you need to keep on with audits and Management reviews and continuous improvements. Also the certification body will come and check on you at least once a year to ensure you are continuing to follow the standard.

It sounds easy and it can be if you go about it the right way.

To discuss it further, please contact us - we will be pleased to help you.