About PCG ISO 9001

About PCG ISO 9001 - Audit

The auditing process is a crucial element of securing ISO9001 and PCG ISO 9001 certification. This stage takes place when the business systems and processes are aligned with the PCG ISO 9001 requirements and when the EQMS is populated.

Within the context of the PCG ISO 9001 process, the objectives of an audit system include:

Establish that the QMS has been planned and documented
Verify that the QMS has been implemented and is being followed by the organisation
Evaluate the effectiveness of the QMS in achieving quality requirements and policy
Identify QMS nonconformities and weak areas
Ensure that identified or potential problems are corrected

Within the PCG ISO 9001 process, the stages allow for:

A pre-audit questionnaire completed by the participant
A remote internal audit carried out by either a qualified PCG representative or BQI Consulting Ltd
The ISO9001 Certification (external) audit carried out by Bureau Veritas

These different stages ensure that the business is ready for final certification and also any non-conformities have been identified and resolved.

Generally, timescales from the commencement of the training course to the requesting of a Certification (external) audit are a minimum of three months. The quality management system should have reached a level of maturity that shows it to be sustainable and effective.

There are six distinct requirements the company should have implemented prior to the request for a Certification audit under the PCG ISO 9001 Administration Policy.

About PCG ISO 9001 - Sustaining Quality

Attaining ISO9001 certification is a major achievement for any business. To ensure continued certification, your company must maintain the highest standards and demonstrate commitment to the quality principles. This means that the company must follow the quality principles of; customer focus, leadership, involvement of people, applying a process and system approach to management, continual improvement, making decisions based on facts and mutually beneficial supplier relationships.

The PCG ISO 9001 scheme requires member companies to initiate and accept internal audits annually. The aim of these audits is to provide your company with feedback that will support efforts toward continual improvement of the quality management system. It cannot and will not be the only source of improvement effort. Your company must review and act on, performance and achievements against the set quality policy and the quality objectives. The suitability of the quality management system and the quality policy must also be reviewed regularly as must the requirements of clients and customers. In addition the company must take into account the statutory and regulatory requirements of the supplied services and products.

The PCG ISO 9001 scheme provides the scheme member company with a structure and tools to simplify and enable these processes. These are:

An electronic repository or electronic file for mandatory documents and records,
Templates for recording the mandatory processes including but not limited to a Management Review Template, a Risk Assessment template, a Prospects template, a Training and Employee Development template, Objectives template, Pre-Audit checklist and an Issue Tracker,
A Quality Manual Document template,
A Quality Policy and
Procedural Documents.

It is expected that prior to the annual internal audit at least two annual management reviews will have been completed since the last internal audit and the pre-audit checklist completed. This in turn should ensure that the issues database and the other template records have been completed along with other tasks critical to sustaining the quality management system.

About PCG ISO 9001 - Costs and payment

PCG ISO 9001 scheme fees for the first year are non member £1495(excluding VAT), member £1,300 (excluding VAT). Included in this fee is a comprehensive package of features designed specifically to suit freelance consultants and contractors. Participants will not, under usual circumstances, need to find any additional funding, unlike some other schemes where the prices do not include all essential elements. PCG ISO 9001 is also available for companies with 4-10 employees for non members £2390 plus VAT and members £2,195 plus VAT. Included in the cost are:

A fully supported web site with forums specifically for ISO9001
A one day training course
The mandatory remote Internal Audit
The mandatory Certification (external) Audit
A fully-hosted Electronic Quality Management System (EQMS) and technical support throughout
The infrastructure to support all these elements

Renewal Policy

PCG ISO 9001 membership is renewable annually and is dependant on the following;

Payment of the annual subscription. The annual renewal fee is currently £750 + VAT (The renewal fee may be subject to change but was correct at May 05). Notification will be sent 30 days prior to the annual expiry of the PCG ISO 9001 scheme membership.

Maintenance of your company quality management system as evidenced through use of the EQMS in the preceding year.

At least one Internal Audit must have been completed in the previous year, any major or minor internal or external audit non-conformances corrected, and any audit observations addressed.

If ISO9001 certification has not been achieved within one year of joining the scheme a valid and acceptable reason must be provided by email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Regardless of the company situation renewal will not be accepted if ISO9001 certification has not been achieved within two years of joining the scheme.

Companies having achieved ISO9001 will have undertaken surveillance audits in the subsequent two years and a re-certification audit in year three, and maintained ISO9001 certification status. Companies that fail to maintain the ISO9001 certification will have to demonstrate an intention to regain certification within three months and booked additional internal and a re-certification audit. Addition internal and certification audits must be paid for by the member company.

Should there have been a customer complaint entered into the company's Issue Tracker by the PCG ISO 9001, the issue must have been satisfactorily addressed by the member company.

About PCG ISO 9001 - Quality Policy

The quality policy defines the intent of the organisation. What it intends to do and how.

The adopted Quality Policy must:

Be appropriate to the purpose of the individual member companies
Include a commitment to comply with the requirements and to continually improve the effectiveness of the company's quality management system
Be communicated, understood and applied
Be reviewed for suitability following change.

The PCG ISO 9001 Quality Commitment Letter can be viewed here.