When people think of ISO 9001 certification, they often picture large multinationals with entire departments dedicated to compliance. What many I imagine, don't expect is a small, specialist security software company based on the south coast of England holding the same standard. ORBNET Systems does and for our sins we’ve just completed our latest internal audit this month, as part of keeping that certification current ahead of our external audit later this year.
It's not about the certificate on the wall
As ISO 9001 is a quality management standard. It sets out requirements for how an organisation controls its processes, manages risk and continually improves the way it works, all the while providing a path to ensure we give our customers the quality they deserve. For a company of our size, that might sound like overkill. In practice it is the opposite.
Being small means every person on the team wears several hats. Without a documented, audited system behind that, quality can easily depend on who happens to be doing the work that day rather than on a consistent process. ISO 9001 forces us to write things down, review them and keep them current, regardless of who is in the room. That matters just as much, if not more, for a lean team as it does for a large one.
ORBNET builds integrations and products for Milestone environments, often supporting critical infrastructure and security operations where reliability is not optional.
Our clients really need to know that the software and support they receive is built and delivered to a consistent, audited standard, not just backed by good intentions.
Holding ISO 9001 gives clients an independently verified answer to that question. It means our processes for development, support and change management are examined by an external body and are proven to work, not just described in a sales pitch.
It is easy to assume that a small vendor cuts corners on processes in order to move fast. ISO 9001 certification pushes back on that assumption directly. When we are tendering alongside much larger integrators, being able to point to the same recognised quality standard puts us on equal footing where it counts, regardless of headcount.
Of course, every business goes through periods of change, and ORBNET is NO exception. Over the past year we have kept our quality management system running and improving even through difficult key staffing changes. That continuity is itself a demonstration of what the standard is meant to achieve.
It is not dependent on any one person. It is built into how the company operates.
Internal audits are a routine part of maintaining ISO 9001 certification, not a one-off event. When ours was carried out as with any thorough audit, the auditors found & identified a few areas for improvement. That is the process working as intended. Yes, occasionally we pick up nonconformities, but it is only through identifying them that we can move forward, by learning from these and improving.
Continual improvement is one of the core principles of the standard and treating audit findings as opportunities to tighten our systems, rather than as failures, is exactly what keeps certification meaningful rather than becoming a box ticking exercise.
We are now working through an action plan ahead of our external audit which will be held this December, and we will share more about that process in future posts.
As a small business, ISO 9001 is not about competing on size. It is about proving, independently and repeatedly, that our clients can rely on us regardless of how small we are. That’s a commitment we intend to keep building on.
If you would like to know more about our ISO 9001 certification or how it shapes the way we work with clients, feel free to get in touch.