What is ISO Certification?

Janitronics team members in a classroom setting

At Janitronics, we strive to meet the highest standard of cleaning. This goes beyond the products that we use; from training to management, we pay attention to every detail.

One way that we show our commitment is through our ISO 9001:2015 certification. It shows how we’re not only focused on good management, but also how we work to continuously exceed our own standards.

What is ISO?

ISO stands for the International Organization for Standardization. (“ISO” is actually not an acronym, but a name based on the Greek word “isos,” which means “equal.”)

 

Founded in 1946, ISO works towards creating high standards that businesses around the world strive to meet. Their goal is to have the standards of increased productivity and minimal errors and waste are met, no matter where in the world you are.

 

ISO has developed many sets of standards, each meant to measure specific aspects of businesses. The ultimate goal of each is the same: enhance and standardize good performance.

 

ISO certification is performed by approved third parties. These organizations inspect applying businesses individually. They point out problem areas and, if a business meets all of the standards, awards the appropriate ISO certification.

 

ISO certification doesn’t last forever, either. The certifications have an expiration date, and businesses must go through the whole process again to renew it. This is to ensure that the business standards do not fall over time.

 

The ISO 9000 Family

As mentioned previously, ISO has developed a large range of standards, meant to cover the many different aspects of businesses that can be found around the world.

 

One such “family” of standards is the ISO 9000 family. ISO 9000 is focused on quality management systems (QMS). With it, there are several quality management principles (QMP) that they look for:

  • Customer focus
  • Leadership
  • Engagement of people
  • Process approach
  • Improvement
  • Evidence-based decision making
  • Relationship management

ISO has a free online booklet that explains each of the characteristics in depth. Read more about the specific characteristics of each QMP here.

ISO 9001 is specifically the certification series that states a business meets the seven QMPs.

 

The ISO does not let anyone sit on their past successes, themselves included. They have updated the ISO 9000 family to match with continued updates in the world. Their latest update was in 2015, resulting in the name “ISO 9001:2015.” (You can read more about the updates here.)

 

Janitronics and ISO

At Janitronics, we understand the importance of keeping these high standards. It’s especially important in critical settings, such as medical and controlled.

 

Another important thing of note: these certifications are earned by individual offices, rather than the company as a whole. This is implemented by ISO in order to make sure that QMPs are met throughout an organization.

 

Below are links to our current ISO certificates.

Albany

 

Janitronics is serious about cleaning for health. If you want to learn more or see what we can do for you, reach out through our contact form here.