Discussing about ISO 9001 certification
DEKRA Audit Netherlands

Do you want to guarantee and optimize the quality and efficiency of your business processes?

ISO 9001 certification

Optimize your quality processes with an ISO 9001 audit

An ISO 9001 audit shows whether your processes and services are of a high quality. Then, if you attain ISO 9001 certification, the standard challenges you to continually improve. When conducting an ISO 9001 audit for your organisation, DEKRA’s experts focus on your organisation's specific quality processes. This ensures that your ISO 9001 certification is tailored specifically to your organisation.

Risk management and ISO 9001 certification

The ISO 9001 standard is an international standard that demonstrates that the QMSs in your organisation meets specific requirements. One of the most important characteristics of ISO 9001 is its risk-based approach. You will recognise opportunities and risks, identify appropriate risk control measures and then evaluate their effectiveness. This optimises your Quality Management System (QMS)and the corresponding processes, regardless of the size of your organisation, its focus or the sector or industry in which it operates.

ISO 9001 standard with Harmonized Structure

The ISO 9001 superordinate Harmonized Structure (HS) makes ISO 9001 compatible with other ISO management system standards like ISO 14001 and ISO 45001. ISO 9001 standard also paves the way for economic, market-oriented, sustainable and user-friendly operating procedures.

The benefits of ISO 9001 certification

  • You demonstrate your commitment to quality to your stakeholders.
  • You increase productivity and minimize risks.
  • Employees are motivated to optimise processes.
  • You save costs by a more cost-efficient approach.

ISO 9001 certification in 7 steps

We are happy to visit you or contact you via Teams or telephone. In the meeting, we discuss the ISO 9001 standard. Your organisation will then start to prepare for the ISO 9001 audit by carrying out an internal audit on the effectiveness of your processes.
Our auditors will carry out an audit on-site (at your organisation) to assess and review the effectiveness of your processes and see whether they are implemented as described in your organisation's quality management system. If the ISO 9001 audit reveals any differences, your corrective actions that meet ISO 9001 requirements can be reviewed.
Our auditors will share the results of the audit with you in the form of an audit report.
If you pass the audit, you will receive your ISO 9001 certification, valid for three years.
Within one year of the first audit, we will carry out a follow-up audit to see whether your quality system is still in compliance with the standard.
Approximately one year after the first follow-up audit, we will carry out a second follow-up audit to check again whether your quality system is still in compliance with the standard.
Three years after you obtain ISO 9001 certification, we will schedule a recertification audit. If the audit outcome is positive, we will extend your certification for another three years. You will then have a follow-up audit every year.
ISO 9001 certification whitepaper
ISO 9001 Certification: The Ultimate Toolkit
Receive the most important information about ISO 9001 in one clear PDF, including a step-by-step plan and a checklist.
DEKRA employees talking about ISO 9001 certification
ISO 9001 revision coming soon
ISO 9001:2026 is expected to be published in October or November 2026. Read more about what to expect from this update here.

The ISO 9001 audit procedure

People Based Auditing

Various certification bodies conduct ISO 9001 audits. What makes DEKRA unique? Our audit process always considers the human factor because experience has taught us how vital people are to the implementation of processes, systems and working methods. We call our approach People Based Auditing. A method that has been highly appreciated by our certificate holders for many years. It is now a standard part within audits where behaviour and awareness of employees play a role, such as in ISO 9001 accreditation.
In this way, we work with you to go one step further than the standard ISO 9001 requirements. You discover whether your organisational culture is aligned to the processes required. Human behaviour is the determining factor for success and People Based Auditing gives you an insight into this factor. This will make the quality management system come to life (even more) within your organisation and among your employees.
People Based Auditing in practice
  • Our auditors take the time to delve into your organization and your specific wishes and needs.
  • You will have a single point of contact throughout the entire process.
  • We support you in preparing for the certification process.
  • There is a greater level of awareness within the organization about the service quality.
DEKRA's expertise
Experience & knowledge

You can rely on DEKRA to help you with all your audit and certification needs. Our auditors have many years of experience in the certification of management systems.

Global recognition

Stand out from your competitors and strengthen your market strategies with successful certification, represented by our recognized DEKRA seal of approval.

Broad service portfolio

Our portfolio contains over 200 accreditations that can be combined to offer you maximum benefit.

Get in touch

Would you like to know how a DEKRA audit takes your organization to a higher level? We are happy to help you. Fill in the form below to get in touch. We are happy to help and discuss the process or answer your questions about the audit.
Do you have a question? Get in touch with one of our experts

ISO 9001 certification FAQs

ISO 9001 was introduced in 1987 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and has since become an internationally recognized standard for quality management. The current ISO 9001:2015 was published on September 23. The standard defines the requirements for a quality management system.
The purpose of a quality management system (QMS) is the sustainable and continuous improvement of the quality of a company's products, processes and services. The certification of your QMS according to ISO 9001 helps you to integrate quality awareness into every operational sub-process of your organization and thus achieve customer satisfaction and business objectives more efficiently. With the new ISO 9001 you update your QMS and make your operational processes economical, market-oriented, sustainable and user-friendly.
The new uniform “Harmonized Structure” represents a series of new clauses that allow easier integration of different management system standards in one company. In addition, the following improvements have been made:
  • Greater user-friendliness of the management standard.
  • Higher responsibility of top management.
  • Stricter definition of processes.
  • Increased consideration of interest groups.
  • Intensive evaluation of risks and identification of opportunities.
  • Rules for handling company know-how and sensitive information .
The Harmonized Structure (HS) is a uniform, overarching basic structure for all new, revised and future ISO standards. Through uniform terms and core statements, it facilitates the certification, integration and organization of different standards in a company. The standard therefore fits perfectly with other ISO standards for management systems. Examples of these ISO standards are ISO 14001 and ISO 45001.
10 chapters
The ten chapters of the basic structure for all management system standards with HS are:
1. Scope of application
2. Normative references
3. Terms
4. Context of the organization
5. Guided tour
6. Planning for the quality management system
7. Support
8. Operation
9. Evaluation of performance
10. Improvement
The cost of ISO 9001 certification can vary depending on several factors. For the entire certification process, keep in mind that costs are affected by:
  • the complexity of your organization;
  • the number of employees;
  • possible combinations with other standards. Many companies combine ISO 9001 with ISO 14001 and ISO 45001. A combined certification is cheaper than having the processes carried out separately.
Would you like to receive a cost indication that is tailored to your organization and needs? Request an online quote on our website.