ISO Consultants Are Getting Too Much From You

Ever wondered how much have you spent on your ISO 9001 Certification? 

Let me calculate for you:

Work Description	Number of Days
ISO 9001:2015 QMS Awareness Training	1 day
​ISO 9001:2015 Risk Based Training​	2 days
​Pre-liminary Review & Determination of Organizational Context, compliance obligations, scope and business process	1 day
​Development of Risk & Opportunity Register, Organizational Process Management Plan and Quality Objectives plan	2 days
​QMS Documentation Development	6 days
​Developing Quality Manual	1 day
​QMS Internal Audit Training	1 day
​Implementation Review – Procedures Walk-through	1 day
Consultancy guidance on internal audit & management review	2 days
​Pre Certification Audit	3 days
​Corrective Action Advice	1 day

​Total Man Days = 21
Total Money Spent = Training - 4 x RM 4,500 = RM 18,000 ; Consultancy - 17 x RM 2,500 = RM 42,500
Total Sum = RM 60,500

Having paid all these, you engage certification body to conduct external audit. Congratulations if you have passed the audit and obtained certification. What if this is not the case? Having a few NC's (non-conformance) in your audit findings? Having said that, again you engage the consultant to assist you in mitigating the corrective actions. You pay them the consultancy fees of RM 2,500 a day (which they will probably quote you 2-3 days) having you to spend another RM 7,500 as a result. 

Let's throw in a hypothetical situation. Is that the yardstick of an ISO 9001 Certification whereby you have to spend at least RM 60,500 to obtain your certification? What if, someone is telling you, they can get the job done with only one-third of the above price? 

Yes, one-third of the price. Which means, RM 20,000 until you obtain your ISO 9001 certificate. Corrective action? Non-conformities? No worry, we will do it for you at no cost (most of the time this is not needed since we deliver good job).

Having said that, why waste unnecessary monies just to obtain an ISO certification? Apparently, most consultants outside are charging an exorbitant sum and trying their best to justify the yardstick. But in SAM Consulting, we roll up our sleeves and work collaboratively with our client to deliver the best possible value for their investment and in doing so we build an inseparable relationship with our clients by understanding their needs and delivering solutions that they truly value.

Do spend the remaining RM 40,000 to upgrade the skills of your employees. An example will be investing money in the Lean Six Sigma programme to maximise yield output and minimise unnecessary wastages. 

Before I stop writing, it reminds me of the coming festive Chinese New Year celebration. On top of all, I am throwing in a 10% discount for those who have read my article. Which means, you are only paying RM 18,000 to journey your ISO 9001 Certification. Call 03-7624 5435 or email us at hello@samconsulting.com.my indicating you have read my article.