[Cartel, LLC]

what all is involved with getting iso certified? benefits etc...

[chuck5121]

Lots of paperwork, ISO Auditors pouring over every part of your business. Keeping track of everything you do. You will have a Quality Manual which you have to follow (Say what you do---Do what you say) that is your Quality Manual. Benefits it "Can help" you get in with some big companies but not all the time. And it is expensive.

[flyinchips]

I have "walked the walk " with ISO certification. I'm a believer. It will improve the quality of what you produce. I have seen facilities that were truly world class by following the ISO way. I have also seen facilities that only "talked the talk". They had certification, but were not really interested in the continuous improvement part of the program. You can do either. Even the talkers improve by being participants, but the ones that live it, get really GOOD.

ISO is a program you practice everyday. At some point it becomes second nature. At the end of the year you can measure the benefits of the program. It will return monetary benefits.

Does it fit your company? I can't answer that. It is expensive to develop. The change in mindset is all encompassing. Everyone needs to learn and understand the ISO way. You don't begin this path on Monday and complete it on Friday.

Do the benefits outweigh the cost? Again, only you will be able to determine that. My guess is a 3 million dollar company would see the effort paid back in 1 to 2 years and be making more money the third and forward.

I have not experienced smaller companies attempting this. I do not know if they exist. Perhaps someone else will chime in and help fill in this void.