ISO certification ensures a business’ products and services are safe, reliable, and of good quality.

In recent years, businesses have found it increasingly difficult to differentiate themselves from competitors. Becoming ISO certified opens up business opportunities to create a positive business image in the eyes of stakeholders and the community.

How do I get ISO certification in New Zealand is a question many organisations ask. Businesses use ISO certifications as strategic tools to minimise waste, increase workplace productivity, and reduce errors or workplace incidents.

The certification process contains five stages:

Stage one: Gap Analysis
Stage two: Certification Documentation
Stage three: Developing a Management System
Stage four: Implementation
Stage five: Auditing and Ongoing Improvements

After the initial consultation, Citation Certification will outline the components involved in the certification process, achieving certification is a step-by-step process.

Initial consultation and choosing a certification

Citation Certification provides auditing and certification services for various ISO Standards, including Occupational Health and Safety Management (ISO 45001:2018 certification), Quality Management (ISO 9001:2015 certification), Environmental Management (ISO 14001:2015 certification), and Food Safety Management (ISO 22001:2018 certification).

How to become ISO certified is a common question during the initial consultation. We’ll discuss what your business has previously done in the area of compliance and what you wish to achieve from the certification process. This information will help determine which certification is best suited for your business needs and specifics on how to get iso certification in New Zealand.

Visit our certification page for an up-to-date list of all the latest available certifications.

We also offer a range of training days that are ideal for managers, internal auditors, system managers and employees who have a responsibility to comply with standards or manage compliance. This training introduces you to the standard and walks you through the different components that make up the standard, including internal auditing.

Although there are multiple ISO standards, the process for how to get ISO Certification is quite similar. Read on for an overview of the ISO certification process.

Optional stage one: Gap analysis

The gap analysis involves a review of your business against the desired ISO standard. It identifies the areas your business is lacking in and requires improvement to become eligible for certification.

Once the gap analysis is finalised, Citation Certification will review the analysis with your management team. The gap analysis will be used as a basis to prepare the compliance documentation to meet quality management systems.

Stage two: Prepare your documentation to become certified

Preparing ISO documentation is a key component of the process, as this is what organisations will scrutinize during the review process. The documentation needs to outline compliance objectives and the procedures the business will follow to ensure compliance with that specific ISO certification.

For example, the ISO 9001 standard ensures a business provides ongoing quality management. Without the appropriate documentation, the systems will not be successful, and you won’t become ISO 9001 certified.

Once complete, a JASANZ accredited conformity assessment body, can review the documentation as part of the audit process. This documentation will prove that your management system meets the requirements of the chosen Standard.

Stage three: Developing a management system

Depending on the certification and business requirements, you may choose to develop a new management system to ensure long-term compliance.

The next stage after developing a management system compliant with ISO certification involves implementing the system into your business.

Stage four: Implementation

The implementation stage is often the lengthiest. In this phase, the ISO requirements become part of the organisation itself.

Stage five: Auditing and ongoing improvements

Auditing is an ongoing process. It’s conducted both internally and externally from the business to ensure processes remain compliant with ISO certification and meet the standards set by international organisations. The involvement of certification bodies in this stage ensures adherence to recognised standards.

The benefits of a continual improvement process include:

The ability to identify new opportunities for more efficient processes
Identify new challenges as they arise
Quickly respond to new changes made to the certification

Business owners need to provide internal training to ensure staff and stakeholders are proficient in the process and can fulfil the objectives identified in the documentation stage.

Depending on the certification you choose, ISO certification can help your business increase efficiency, effectiveness, safety, and customer loyalty.