A simplified structure, a less prescriptive format, greater consideration of the organization’s environment through interested parties, an analysis of the organization’s context and risks: the first companies to achieve AFAQ ISO 9001:2015 certification explain the value of the recently published standard.
CIFEA-DMK, an MKG Group company specializing in relationship marketing; the Construction Privée division of Bouygues Bâtiments Ile-de-France which builds new private tertiary property (offices, places of worship, shopping centres, etc.); the Côte d’Azur region’s RSI office (self-employed social security scheme); Papeteries des Vosges, a leader in premium thin opaque paper and also certified to AFAQ ISO 14001:2015: these four organizations with clearly different profiles and sizes are among the first to be awarded the 2015 version of AFAQ ISO 9001 certification.
BUILDING A CHANGE MANAGEMENT PROCESS
For companies such as Les Papeteries des Vosges, the renewal audit coincided with the release of the new version. This company works extensively for the pharmaceuticals industry (paper for patient information leaflets) and is subject to stringent quality obligations. “The 2015 version recognizes and confirms the new dynamic that is driving our quality and environmental management systems,” explains Quality Manager Adeline Colin. “Our system already incorporated the concepts of context, interested parties and risks. We have fine-tuned those concepts and included opportunities. In terms of change management, our customers in the pharmaceuticals industry are extremely demanding when it comes to keeping track of any changes that could affect the quality of our products and anticipating risks. Therefore, we have drawn strength from our experience in recent years to build a change management process.” Achieving certification according to the 2015 version endorses the efforts made over the last few years.
INJECTING NEW DRIVING FORCE
The 2015 version came at just the right time for the Côte d’Azur region’s RSI office, insofar as it coincided with the changes sweeping the organization. “The timing was ideal for incorporating the new version and therefore assessing our operational performance,” advises Sonia Hamoudi, Management Assistant and Quality Manager. At a time when the self-employed social security scheme was facing a barrage of criticism, certification offered the solution for improving quality of service.
Patrick Daviot, QSE Director of Construction Privée at Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France, was looking to “inject new driving force into the organization’s management system.” Frédéric Masoero, Quality Director of the MKG Group to which CIFEA-DMK belongs, believes that: “The 2015 version truly reflects the challenges actually facing companies.”
AN AUDIT THAT PRIORITIZES RESULTS OVER MEANS
All the companies agree that the value of ISO 9001:2015 lies in its greater emphasis on the organization’s operation and processes including relationships with interested parties, and shies away from the prescriptive format of the previous version. “Smoothing out the standard is more in line with the problems actually facing organizations,” advises Sonia Hamoudi. “It is easier to understand, and the documentary work has been considerably streamlined.” “AFNOR Certification auditors prioritize content over form,” adds Patrick Daviot.
Taking consideration of the different internal and external interested parties (customers, suppliers, etc.) allows organizations to re-engineer all their business processes together. “This raised question marks about our knowledge sharing system,” comments Frédéric Masoero, “and we have now been able to deploy leadership and even include our production employees. If it were not for this standard, the idea would never have occurred to us.”
It is the same story at Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France: “The latest version of ISO 9001 prompts organizations to step back from all their business processes (work, trade, HR, corporate affairs, etc.) by analyzing the challenges, opportunities, priorities and risks. This allows the organization to formulate highly relevant action plans,” adds Patrick Daviot.
A TOOL TAILORED TO CURRENT CHALLENGES
Analyzing the organization’s context and risks is an invaluable exercise. “Identifying the context and risks early into the process addresses our need to improve services for subscribers,” insists Sonia Hamoudi. “Assessing risks minimizes the impact that changes in our operation could have on our customers and in our environment in the broadest sense of the word,” adds Adeline Colin.
“We now have a true management system, a tool for progress that is aligned with the organization in its context,” concludes Frédéric Masoero. The MKG Group clearly intends to extend this system to all its entities by certifying them to ISO 9001:2015.
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