1. What is ISO?
   ISO is a non-governmental organization that forms a bridge between the public and private sectors. On the one hand, many of its member institutes are part of the governmental structure of their countries, or are mandated by their government. On the other hand, other members have their roots uniquely in the private sector, having been set up by national partnerships of industry associations.
   
   Because "International Organization for Standardization" would have different acronyms in different languages ("IOS" in English, "OIN" in French for Organisation internationale de normalisation), its founders decided to give it also a short, all-purpose name. They chose "ISO", derived from the Greek isos, meaning "equal". Whatever the country, whatever the language, the short form of the organization's name is always ISO.
   
   ISO is the world largest standards developing organization. Between 1947 and the present day, ISO has published more than 18 500 International Standards, ranging from standards for activities such as agriculture and construction, through mechanical engineering, to medical devices, to the newest information technology developments.
   
   
2. What is ISO 9001 certification?
   ISO 9001 is the requirement for Quality Management System. If your organization is meeting the requirements, you can apply. BMQR will assess and issue certification.
   
   
3. How does ISO 9001 certification applicable to our organization?
   Quality is the requirement for every business. So ISO 9001 certification is applicable to all legal businesses.
   
   
4. What is the difference between ISI and ISO?
   ISI is the product certification. If a product carries ISI mark, the product is meeting the required quality requirements. ISI certification is issued by BIS only.
   
   ISO 9001 is the management system certification. It means, how your process is established, systems are developed to satisfy the customer. ISO 9001 certification is NOT product certification.
   
   
5. How do we prepare for ISO 9001 certification?
   Please download or purchase ISO 9001 standard from www.bis.org.in Implement the requirements. Impart training, prepare manuals and follow the records. There are many consultants available in your area, you can get their help. If you specifically request, BMQR can refer the consultant suitable for you. In any case, BMQR and their staff NEVER do consultancy.
   
   
6. How long ISO 9001 certification is valid?
   The certification is valid for three years subject to annual surveillance audits.
   
   
7. What are all the documents required for ISO 9001 certification?
   Quality Manual, Procedure manuals, Work Instructions, Various formats to support your core function, Customer complaint record, customer feedback record, internal audit and management review records.
   
   
8. Should we increase the manpower for getting ISO 9001 certification? Do you need an exclusive one person for maintaining this certification?
   You need not increase the manpower. In fact, the effective ISO 9001 QMS will reduce the manpower. You need not have an exclusive one person for maintaining ISO 9001 certification. But you need to appoint one Management Representative from your organization who will co-ordinate all ISO 9001 related activities.
   
   
9. What will be the cost of certification?
   There are three cost involved in ISO 9001 certification.
   1. Implementation cost (including document preparation, calibration, house keeping etc)
      
   2. Consultancy Fee, if you employ a consultant
      
   3. Certification Fee (It is based on number of employees. Please visit webpage PRICE LIST)
      
      
10. What are the other cost involved in certification other than fee (hidden cost)?
    1. Auditors transportation and accommodation
       
    2. Service tax for certification fee.
       
       
11. What will be the recertification cost?
    The certification fee is calculated based on number of employees. BMQR will charge as per the number of employees after three years.
    
    
12. What is your audit procedure? Will you do surprise check?
    Auditing is a fact finding exercise and not fault finding exercise. In fact, more non-conformance means more opportunity for improvement. Auditing is a planned activities. As per our procedure, we cannot do surprise check. Our audits are classified into two stages. During the stage 1 audit, the auditor will verify the readiness by performing onsite document review, verification of important processes, internal audit and management review records etc. He cannot issue non-conformance at this stage. He will issue Area for concern which you have to close before certification audit. Stage 2 is the certification audit when the auditor will perform complete audit.
    
    
13. We are having some important trade secret. How will you audit?
    BMQR executed an agreement which covers confidentiality. BMQR and their staff will not disclose any of your information to any third party without your written permission. BMQR is interested in the compliance with the system requirements only. You can very well keep your trade secrets even without showing to our auditors.
    
    
14. What is the period for certification? Can we get permanent certification?
    All certificates are issued for three years. BMQR do not issue permanent certificate.
    
    
15. How long the certification process take?
    BMQR expect minimum three months implementation. As per our experience, BMQR take at an average of 15 days to 30 days to issue certification from the date of application.
    
    
16. I want to get certification at very cheap rate. What shall I do?
    QMS is a tool for improving the performance of an organization. It is a proven tool in many countries and industries. Our sincere advice is to go for proper implementation and get the benefits. BMQR do not compromise on the requirements and cheap certification is not possible.
    
    
17. I want to get BMQR certification even though our implementation is very less. What shall I do?
    It is IMPOSSIBLE to get BMQR certification.
    
    
18. I want to go for ISO certification just for getting the logo to put in our marketing materials. What shall I do?
    It is your ignorance. ISO 9001 QMS have plenty of benefits. As you are paying, we recommend you to go through the process and get the benefits. BMQR do not compromise on implementation effectiveness.
    
    
19. Do you fail any organization for certification?
    ISO audits are not fault finding, it is a fact finding. We will categorize the non-conformities and give back to the clients for further implementation. On satisfactory compliances, BMQR issue certificates.
    
    
20. How can we know that the certificate received by is genuine?
    All BMQR certified clients are listed at www.bmqr.com. If your name appear, your certificate is genuine.
    
    
21. Are all the certificated companies are equal in their level of practice? How can we know the difference?
    BMQR assesses the effectiveness of QMS implementation. The effectiveness varies from clients to client even though all are certified. BMQR displays the effectiveness rating in the website.
    
    
22. We want to improve the effectiveness rating. What shall we do?
    Please take corrective action for the non-conformances and implement the recommendation for improvement. Please invite BMQR to carry out special surveillance. Thus you can improve the effectiveness rating.
    
    
23. What is accreditation?
    Accreditation is the procedure by which an authoritative body gives formal recognition that a body or person is competent to carry out specific tasks.
    In relation to management systems, an accreditation body will evaluate the competence of a certification body to perform the certifications for which it wishes to be accredited. Once accredited, this indicates to the client of the certification body that its competence to do the certifications has been independently confirmed.
    
    Some conformity assessment bodies may wish to distinguish themselves from their competitors by having an impartial evaluation of their competence by an accreditation body based on internationally-recognized criteria.
    
    Excerpt from the ISO website:
    "In most countries, accreditation is a choice, not an obligation and the fact that a certification body is not accredited does not, by itself, mean that it is not a reputable organization. For example, a certification body operating nationally in a highly specific sector might enjoy such a good reputation that it does feel there is any advantage for it to go to the expense of being accredited. That said, many certification bodies choose to seek accreditation, even when it is not compulsory, in order to demonstrate an independent confirmation of their competence."
    
    
24. Is it compulsory for us to go for annual surveillance audit? What will happen, if we do not complete the surveillance audit?
    Yes. This is the requirement as per ISO 17021. The surveillance audit shall be completed before the anniversary of certification audit. BMQR will immediately suspend such clients and the details will be updated in the website.
    
    
25. If we get ISO certification, our business will improve. Is it so?
    A recent survey by ISO in 10 countries shows that implementing standards can provide economic benefits from between 0,5 % and 4 % of their annual sales revenues. Please visit http://www.iso.org/iso/pressrelease.htm?refid=Ref1471
    
    
26. How can we improve further than ISO 9001 certification?
    Regular internal audits, management reviews, corrective and preventive actions, continual improvement projects, attending seminars, workshops will improve you further. BMQR provides training, seminars and workshop on various QMS topics at selected locations at free of cost.
    
    
27. If we have quality issue with BMQR certified clients. What shall we do?
    You can contact the customers. They will respond and treat your complaint. If it is not solved, you can make a complaint to BMQR. We will verify the status and give you feedback. Please note that the outcome of such investigations will be purely based on the nature of complaints.
    
    
28. How can we contact BMQR?
    You can contact our nearest branch office. The contact details are listed at Contact Us
    You can contact our customer care helpline 24 x 7 at (0) 7358394362
    You can e.mail to iso@bmqr.com
    
    
29. How can we use BMQR logo?
    ISO 9001 certification is a management system certification and not product certification. So if you use our logo on the product, it may mislead your customers that your product is meeting ISO 9001 requirements. So using our logo on product, test certificate etc are not allowed. For further details please refer our "Use of Mark" or contact our office, we will guide you.

Still, if you have any question, you can mail to iso@bmqr.com

All the best!