At TIGERFLOW, we take great pride in that every system we engineer not only meets the rigorous standards required by law but that we also go the extra mile to receive various certifications from industry watchdogs, state and national governments and international organizations. To uphold these multiple certifications, our facility and processes are occasionally reviewed. We most recently completed our 5th ISO Audit to continue our ISO 9001:2015 / Full Design Certification, and that’s what today’s blog is all about.

Before we dive in too deep, the ISO is the International Organization for Standardization. They’re an independent, non-governmental international organization that sets and monitors globally agreed-upon standards for quality, safety and efficiency in almost every industry.

The Specifics of ISO 9001:2015 / Full Design Standards Certification

Now that we’re all on the same page, ISO 9001:2015 sets out the criteria for all quality management systems, including Australian quality management sytems and those of several other countries, and is the only standard of its type that provides companies with a true certification. This internationally recognized standard is based on several quality management principles such as strong customer focus, the motivation and implication of top management, the process approach and continual improvement.

TIGERFLOW Processes Observed in the ISO Audit

Having received the initial ISO 9001:2008 Certification in July of 2014, we upgraded to the new 9001:2015 certification in July of 2017 a year and a half ahead of the mandated schedule. The audit that just took place in June of 2018 was a surveillance audit to ensure TIGERFLOW was still meeting all standards necessary for certification. Over the 2 ½-day audit, several of our processes were observed, including Non-Conforming Product, Corrective and Preventative Actions, Management Reviews, Purchasing & Receiving, Vendor Terms & Conditions, Design and Development and Project Management. The auditor also reviewed several TIGERFLOW Work Instructions and Forms relating to those processes.

ISO Audit Findings

It is with great pride that we get to say TIGERFLOW had absolutely no CARs or PARs (corrective or preventative) findings. In other words, we didn’t just pass the audit and retain our ISO 9001:2015 certification, but we did it with flying colors. Now, that doesn’t mean we’re a perfect company, but it does mean that we take our dedication to quality and the processes we use to engineer our products very seriously.

There’s a Big Difference Between ISO-Certified vs ISO-Compliant

While iso 9001:2015 is the only standard of its type a company can be ISO-certified in, a certification isn’t required. Many companies can achieve being ISO-compliant by hiring external auditing sources to verify the processes are being followed. However, only ISO-certified companies are recognized internationally. Becoming certified is a fairly rigorous process but being truly ISO 9001:2015-certified is vital to TIGERFLOW because these Full Design Standards oversee all of our processes.

We take great pride in the various certifications TIGERFLOW holds and are more than willing to walk a customer through them to explain how each of them provides additional value and security in our products. If you’d like to learn more about TIGERFLOW products or certifications, explore our website or contact us today.

Author: Amy Beck, Quality & Process Improvement Manager