Octavo Systems’ ISO Journey
For my first post as a part of Octavo Systems, I am pleased to inform you that we have started our journey toward validating our Best-in-Class organization by becoming ISO9001: 2015 certified. The International Standards Organization (ISO) that provides this certification is an independent, non-governmental organization of over 160 standards bodies.
From its inception, Octavo Systems has focused on delivering the highest quality products and services to our customers. We have built a team with deep industry experience and knowledge across every part of the organization, including the Sales, Marketing, Engineering, Applications, Packaging, Operations, and Manufacturing Departments. We are also partnered with Best-in-Class manufacturing organizations from around the world, which are already ISO certified. Octavo Systems does this to provide our customers, suppliers, and partners the best possible experience when working with us
Why ISO?
As our organization continues to grow we want to ensure that we have this dedication to quality firmly engrained in our DNA. This is why we have started the journey to become ISO 9001:2015 certified. Through its members, ISO brings together technical experts to share knowledge and develop relevant International Standards. ISO 9001:2015 is a quality management process followed by World-Class-Organizations. It outlines best practices for quality management and continuous improvement. It ensures that every part of the organization (Sales, Marketing, Engineering, Operations, R&D and Management) is driving to the main goal of providing quality products and services to customers. Becoming ISO 9001:2015 certified means Octavo Systems has implemented and engrained these best practices and processes into our day-to-day operations.
As an ISO9001 certified organization, our customers can be sure that we are consistently operating to meet their expectations and are focused on delivering customer satisfaction. Our customers can continue to expect high quality products delivered every time. For our partners and suppliers, it means you will be working with a certified premier organization that clearly defines processes and objectives. It means we will hold each other accountable for a best-in-class supply chain to meet the needs of our customers.
ISO 9001:2015 is not an easy certification to obtain; it requires participation of all functional, tactical, and manufacturing organizations in a business. It also requires alignment of all personnel from the top to the bottom. It involves ensuring that all procedures and processes used by the business are documented and controlled in a comprehensive corporate Quality Management System, and that there is evidence they are used and followed. In addition, a series of both internal and external audits ensure those processes and procedures are used in the execution of day-to-day business. This certification journey usually takes a full year or longer and requires continuous periodic audits to ensure continued compliance.
Stepping Through Certification
Octavo Systems is in the middle of this journey, which is expected to take a year. We are now in the process of completing documentation of all the processes and procedures brought to us through the experience of the various team members. They are being compiled into a centralized repository under change control, along with the records needed to document activities and events associated with compliance of the processes. The next phase will be to conduct a series of internal audits to ensure conformance. After all the requirements are completed we will complete an external audit conducted by an ISO certified auditor, which will enable us to receive ISO certification.
We are excited to be on this journey. It is a big milestone for our organization and we believe it will help us support our customers even better. I look forward to keeping you informed of our progress as we work to validate our World-Class-Organization with an ISO certification.