ISO 9001 for the Construction industry 

ISO 9001 provides guidance to organisations to create an effective, efficient and sustainable Quality Management System (QMS) using the seven principles of organisational excellence.

These seven principles of organisational excellence create the foundation of ongoing performance and continual improvement within the organisation. They include:

• Being customer-focused.
• Identifying and nurturing leadership.
• Generous people engagement. 
• Utilising a process approach to project management.
• Continual improvement of artistry and processes.
• Decision-making is based on best practices, evidence, and metrics.
• Powerful relationship management.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards can provide robust management systems covering various processes. This helps to increase the efficiency of your processes by integrating best practices into daily operations. Acquiring an ISO certificate can help you compete for tenders, as many pre-qualification questionnaires demand this certificate, helping you to qualify for government contracts and win tenders.

Our professional, knowledgeable, experienced and reputable consultants have been helping construction businesses worldwide implement these standards for over two decades. Our three-stage certification process offers a cost-effective and fast route to ISO certification. We help you select the most appropriate standard for your business by analysing your core business processes.

There are several benefits that your construction business can reap from ISO certification. Here are some of the main benefits that the certification can deliver:

• Improved employee productivity through efficient training, development and communication.
• Increased efficiency in the delivery of products and services.
• Enhanced compliance with legislation and regulations.
• Increased cost savings.
• Reduction in errors.
• Faster delivery.
• Increased profit margins.
• Repeated business through faster delivery and consistency in quality.
• Demonstrating the evidence of your commitment to international standards of excellence.

The ISO 9001 standard is utilised by businesses worldwide to implement a safe, efficient and effective Quality Management System (QMS) to increase organisational efficiency, minimise costs and win customer trust. The standard is based upon seven principles of excellence, including customer focus, engagement of people, leadership, process approach, evidence-based decision, continual improvement and relationship management.

ISO 9001 is a requirement in the construction industry because construction projects are highly complex. The complexity can be impacted by various factors such as changes in demographical intensity, climate or environmental changes. Thus, a good QMS is a key to maintaining success, safety and quality. Beyond the evident benefits that the ISO standard brings for all businesses, there are some specific advantages of getting IS0 9001:2015 certification for your construction company:

1. Improved employee training, development and communication: One of the most pertinent things in the ISO 9001:2015 standard is that it offers guidance on leadership and engagement of people in all businesses. ISO 9001 teaches organisations how to engage with their employees in such a manner that leads to increased job satisfaction and output and imbues tasks with purpose. It is common practice to take pride in the work that you do. However, often it becomes challenging to measure how well your business is doing when it comes to achieving employee satisfaction. By including your teams in the processes outlined in ISO 9001 QMS, you will be able to facilitate greater involvement within the business. Additionally, by taking the time to revert to those in your employees through an interactive ISO training programme, you will make them feel valued and indispensable, thus increasing the rate of employee retention and engagement. Moreover, the process approach and the focus on continual improvement in the standard will also ensure that the process is periodically reviewed and improved, benefiting your organisation and your employees by making your workplace safer and more transparent.

Efficiently manage your supply chain: A typical challenge with the construction company is maintaining consistency across the supply chain. For example, even if you are careful about the quality of your services, there is no guarantee that the partners that you work with will share the same concern for production standards.

As a result, you are likely to find yourself sold short. You must audit the suppliers and contractors you work with regularly to ensure that the overall quality of services within your business is maintained. With the ISO 9001 standard, you are provided with an excellent framework for evaluating supplier performance through its relationship management principle.

1. Moreover, by utilising the standard, you will learn a fair, well-reputed and transparent way to assess how well the partnerships in your business are going. Both you and your suppliers can utilise the ISO 9001 standard recommendations as a guide to establish expectations that will yield mutually beneficial advantages in the long run. Consistency is also enhanced because of streamlining processes and creating a proactive attitude to problem-solving.
2. Win public sector clients: In addition to the general advantages that arise from acquiring accreditations or awards, the ISO 9001 standard will add value to your construction company, especially if you are trying to tender a contract from a larger organisation, public body or local authorities. Trust is the critical factor in tendering for clients from the public sector. As ISO 9001 is an internationally respected standard, you are likely to be recognised by your prospective public-sector clients and other big fish in your service sector as someone who prioritises quality. Accreditations like ISO 9001 help win larger clients who are not open to taking risks on their projects. Such clients have an extensive portfolio of providers to pick from. Your certification will make your business stand out, ensuring your potential client that you are committed to consistency, customer satisfaction and quality in all your business operations.
3. Easily comply with legislation and regulations: One of the core requirements of ISO 9001:2015 is for organisations to appropriately identify and adhere to all statutory and regulatory requirements that apply to their industry or the products/services they sell. Hence, acquiring ISO 9001:2015 certification would mean bringing your business into compliance with government legislation and regulations. In addition to enhancing compliance, the QMS will rectify, refine and correct your processes so that your business stays ahead of the legislation curve. This is because the QMS is based on continual improvement that routinely checks your compliance, improves your business processes and makes audits easier in the long run.
4. Manage risk efficiently: One of the unfortunate repeating themes in the construction industry is that contracts often rescale or go over budget because of oversights in planning. It is common to stop projects and go back to the drawing board to incur unnecessary costs as a process was misjudged. The QMS provides your team with the necessary tools to customise the system for each project you embark upon. The customisation ensures that no steps are overlooked, and each process is duly analysed. Moreover, because of its process-focused approach, the ISO 9001 standard helps organisations to isolate the critical aspects of their project success, going on to define the relevant processes associated with these factors. As a result, you will ultimately save time and money by providing your customer with a structured yet flexible solution that can be modified for each business case.

ISO 9001 certification process is efficient only if specific steps are completed. Let’sLet’s take a closer look at these steps.

The common denominator that prevents companies from obtaining certification is the lack of adequate planning. For your certification process to be successful, you must create realistic and attainable goals in reasonable periods. Therefore, it becomes essential to plan soundly.

In addition to planning, leadership is an equally pertinent aspect of ISO 9001 certification. For a construction company to successfully obtain their certification, the top management needs to be actively involved in planning, promoting, and securing ISO certification. The top management also needs to be actively involved in communicating the quality policy across the organisation.

Obtaining certification is a joint effort. Hence, the top management must nurture employee understanding and commitment to the ISO 9001 standard. Employee buy-in can be done by integrating the opinions and feedback of their key employees. Examples of such key employees include team leaders, supervisors, shop stewards and other members of the union.

Changes are complex for everyone. When the ISO 9001 standard is implemented in the organisation, there will be significant changes to the way tasks are performed. Additionally, there would be considerable changes to the organisational culture and processes. As changes are usually unsettling, it would be helpful to communicate about the changes to the employees in a timely, accurate and concise manner. Being well prepared helps organisations deal with challenges in a better manner.

Key Performance Indicators, or KPI, are instruments that effectively measure the progress of your certification process. However, internal audits are another great way to keep track of your processes, KPIs help to measure progress in a quantifiable manner. The best way to measure progress is to compare it with the objectives created in the planning phase.

Acquiring the quality standard is a guarantee if you use the right operation software. With Assignar, you can improve your quality management processes. Perfect Hire, one of our loyal clients, uses Assignar to maintain its workforce’sworkforce’s efficiency.

We are here to help you get ISO 9001 for your Construction company.

The ISO 9001 standard can bring many benefits to your construction company, including consistency in the quality of products you deliver, increased cost savings and lesser waste in your processes. As a direct consequence of these benefits, your reputation in the industry increases and your customers become more satisfied. We are here to help you acquire your ISO 9001 certificate for your company in the fastest, smoothest and most efficient manner.