Written by: Steven Severt, originally posted in Manufacturing Tomorrow on 10/19/2021
Organizations decide to become certified against ISO 9001 for several reasons, but once the decision is made, they are always left with some additional decisions to make regarding their understanding of the standard, their ability to complete a gap analysis or to conduct internal audits, and whether they have the resources internally to complete the implementation, among others.
A quick Google search will show that the question as to whether a consultant should be brought in to help is answered in countless blog posts and articles, but many of which are written by consultants who stand to benefit financially from your organization deciding that hiring outside help is the best route to ensure that the QMS is properly implemented and will provide the best chance at gaining certification following the CB audit – not exactly the most objective of sources.
All these articles seem to indicate that your organization will find that implementing with a consultant is more efficient and cost effective, but what happens when you hire a consultant that helps you to implement a system that you still do not understand and that you’re not likely to actually use?