In our first blog with our customers, we speak to Paul McDonell, Director – Park Quality ISO Certification Services

Paul is a professionally qualified auditor with 22 years’ consultancy and auditing experience. He act’s as the quality consultant for MDL since 2008. He audited the Mercedes Benz “Must” Standard on behalf of the Daimler Group. Over the past five years, he has implemented the ISO 9001:2015 standard in the majority of the Mercedes Benz Dealerships in Ireland. He acts as an independent auditor for EQA Ireland. He has designed and implemented combined ISO standards for 9001, 14001 and 45001 in the following sectors: Printing, Chemicals, Commercial, Recycling, Distribution, Warehousing and Security.

In our conversation about ISO, we asked him some questions which we are sure everyone would be highly interested to learn more about or understand what is ISO all about…

What is ISO & How does it benefit companies?

The ISO or International Organisation for Standardisation is an international body based in Switzerland that develops and publishes a substantial catalogue of industrial and commercial standards across the globe. ISO 9001:2015 is the world’s leading Quality Management standard. This standard helps organizations ensure they meet customer requirements and implement a management system that minimises business risk and maximises business opportunities.

The key benefits of an efficient quality management system include:

• Enables an organization to consistently improve the quality of its products and services thereby enhancing its reputation to its customers and all other stakeholders.
• Improved business culture by implementing repeatable business processes that ensure that objectives are created, implemented monitored and delivered.
• Helps organizations identify and address business risks and enhance business opportunities.
• Work in a more efficient way that will sharpen business processes and increase efficiency.
• Improve employee morale, resulting in increased profitability and competitiveness.

How long have you been consulting and training companies in ISO?

I have 22 years’ experience in ISO consultancy delivery and training. My first contact with ISO was back in 1988 when I was part of a management team that implemented ISO 9000:1987 within my employer’s company.

What is the next big thing in ISO?

The ISO completes an annual Survey of valid Certifications to ISO management system standards worldwide. ISO 9001:2015 remains the most popular standard in the world with just under 1 million organisations registered as certified in 2020. ISO 27001 is one of the fastest-growing management standards. The number of certifications has increased by 300% over the past four years. ISO 27001:2013 is the international standard that describes best practices for an information security management system (ISMS).

Do companies need to renew/re-do their certification?

In order to remain certified, an organization must complete an annual third-party audit based on its chosen ISO standard. The certification body will award a certificate to the organization once they have achieved the requirements set out in the standard.

Do ISO certifications differ by country, if so, how?

No, certifications do not differ from country to country. An ISO certificate is awarded by the certification body, using a common set of rules that are detailed in the relevant ISO standard.

If you are interested in ISO or want to learn more about ISO please do get in touch with Park Quality here