Charleston, S.C.-based Sage Services Group recently transitioned from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2008 standard to the ISO 9001:2015 standard. The scope of Sage’s certification includes: “Repair, Replacement Parts, Refurbished Equipment, Patient Cables and Designer of Accessories to the Medical Industry.”
Such a transition illustrates Sage’s commitment to quality services and products by providing strong business processes and customer interactions, company officials say. In fact, when the new ISO 9001:2015 standards were released in September 2015, Sage immediately began a significant review of its Quality Management System in order to adhere to the new requirements.
Moreover, Sage improved its focus on employee engagement in the processes, executive involvement in quality assurance, and more integrated processes throughout the company. Focusing on the three most common quality control struggles in the industry enables consistently higher quality and customer satisfaction at Sage, officials add.
Although complying organizations are given three years to conduct a transition audit, Sage’s transition audit was performed in December 2016–roughly one year after the new standard was released. Further, an external auditor conducted an extensive assessment of the processes and facilities. Employees were then evaluated based on their individual comprehension of the company’s quality management system.
To Ed Decker, Sage’s senior integration director who has been involved in implementing the Quality Management System since the company’s initial ISO 9001:2008 certification in 2014, achieving ISO 9001:2015 certification is a major milestone for the company. “We have invested a great deal in our Quality Management System and in communicating to our entire team that each person is a critical contributor to quality,” he says.
“These investments are increasing our ability to exceed customer expectations by consistently delivering top-notch products and services,” Decker adds. “I’m proud of our team and what we have accomplished together.”