ISO and GRC standards for manufacturing: where to start: video

The standards manufacturers are asked for

Customers send supplier questionnaires, approved-vendor status depends on a valid certificate and auditors want to see production running. The standards manufacturers are asked for depend on what they make and who they supply: ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001, often as one integrated system; IATF 16949 for automotive parts; ISO 50001 for energy; ISO 13485 for medical devices; ISO 22000 for food; and ISO/IEC 27001 where customer data or designs need protecting.

The film runs through when each of these applies and where a plant should start, with a system built around the routings, control plans, shifts and suppliers it already runs.

Why manufacturers certify now, and the first step

The reasons are rarely abstract: a customer asks, a tender closes, an edition changes or something goes wrong on the line. Supplier onboarding packs and annual vendor reviews ask for a valid certificate, and a lapse can put a supplier on conditional status. Industrial and export tenders often screen out bidders without a certified quality system before price is compared. ISO 9001:2026 and ISO 14001:2026 have been published, each with a transition for existing certificates. Sector schemes add their own expectations: automotive parts under the IATF scheme, devices for the United States under the FDA's QMSR and food brands asking for FSSC 22000.

For most plants the starting point is ISO 9001, with ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 joining it in one integrated system with one internal audit and one management review for the plant. Sector standards such as IATF 16949, ISO 13485 or ISO 22000 come first where a customer or regulator names them. The aim is a valid certificate on the scope customers check, fewer repeat defects and safer shifts. Select the Standard™ helps a plant check which of these its customers are likely to expect.

On the plant side, Sterling's consultants work with your production, quality and maintenance people, and Effivity is included with the engagement at no additional cost. The accredited certification body decides.