How to Make ISO Documentation
No one knows your job the way you do. However, if you describe it in writing, you can share your best practices and improve troublesome areas. Standards assure manufacturers and consumers that products and services meet certain requirements for safety, reliability, efficiency and interchangeability. Standards also benefit the environment, allow for improvements in fabrication and use and level the playing field by promoting fair trade between countries. ISO can be summed up in the phrase, "Document what you do, do what you document."
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Instructions
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Review the ISO website to determine if there are existing standards for your product or industry. If not, there is a procedure for developing them.
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Using the standards as a reference, plan out the documentation you will need. For example, ISO 9000 standards require a quality manual, procedures, work instructions and records.
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Brainstorm your process.
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Draft the results and test them against the actual process.
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Update the documentation to reflect the actual process.
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Tips & Warnings
Keep the ISO documentation a "living" document, easy and inviting to use. Refer to it frequently and use it to standardize your product or service.
Documentation is critical to ISO approval. Once you have won ISO approval, advertise the fact so that your customers have another reason to rely on your products and services.
In addition to gaining ISO approval, your organization can benefit from ISO documentation because it is a good training tool and can reduce the number of questions escalated to supervisors and managers.
If you take the opportunity to improve the process, then update the documentation, not before. Your ISO documentation should reflect what actually happens during the process, not a description of what you would like the process to become.
References
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