Of all the organizations registered to ISO 9000 / ISO 9001, ISO 14000 / ISO 14001, TS 16949 (formerly QS-9000), etc., roughly half got there with the help of a consultant.
And those who recruit good consultants get the job done roughly twice as fast. (These statistics are based on surveys Kantner & Company has conducted over the years.)
By helping you avoid mistakes, a good consultant can help you get the job done faster. But only a good consultant can do this. Unfortunately the landscape is strewn with consultants who aren't so good.
How do you tell the difference? Before you hire ISO 9000 / ISO 9001 consulting help, here are questions to ask ISO consultants. (They pertain equally well to consultants for ISO 14000 / ISO 14001, OHSAS 18000 / OHSAS 18001, etc.) Compare and contrast the answers. The consultant who gives you the right answers is the one for you!
A reputable consultant will give you a range based on the amount of time they estimate, through experience, the process will take. Do not accept vague, open-ended evasions. And beware of quotes that seem exceedingly low.
Again, a reputable consultant will give you a range of time. Be wary of estimates that seem very short. Ask for the names of clients who have gone all the way through that quickly.
Make sure your consultant is versed in the current standards and can explain to your satisfaction which Standard fits you best. Some Standards have addenda or technical specifications specific to certain industries. With other Standards, there is flexibility as to which Requirements to apply in certain situations. The right consultant is so fluent in all these technical details that he or she will be able to guide you with confidence and complete credibility.
Reputable consultants may ask for a small advance for the first visit. Assuming creditworthiness, from that point on you should pay as you go on net 30 terms. Beware of consultants who require large advances. Odds are they are so lacking in confidence in their abilities that they use large advances as a hedge against getting fired. . .or, perhaps, they have financial problems.
If the answer is anything other than "zero," RUN. Reputable consultants add NO mark-up.
The answer ought to be, you pay only for the service you get. Not a penny more.
Lean toward consultants whose primary source of business is from client referrals.
Watch out for the "rain-maker" who sells the job on the strength of his/her credibility - only to assign someone you have never met to do the work. Accept nothing less than to meet and interview the person who will actually be working with you on an ongoing basis - BEFORE you hire the consulting firm. Don’t be some rookie’s guinea pig.
Make sure the consultant has actually guided firms all the way through from start to finish. Why should your firm be someone’s training ground?
The best consultants contribute to the technical body of knowledge by publishing books through major business publishers.
The firm you hire should have the resources, expertise, and credibility to be able to provide no less than 100% of the needed services.
The answer had better be "not one red cent."
Reserve for yourself this option. It only makes sense; you cannot know up front what priorities will emerge in your business during the months of the ISO 9000 / 14000 / 16949 process. Expect to be able to suspend the project without financial penalty (assuming reasonable notice), and to be able to resume it when you are ready.
The acceptable answer is "None." A reputable consultant is 100% independent, with no fiduciary or corporate relationship with any registration firm. Yet he/she must be knowledgeable and experienced enough to know who the good registrars are. (Some 75 operate in North America today. Most are competent, but there are, alas, some bad apples too.)
The answer should be a resounding NO! The consultant cannot help you during registration audit; the assessors will not stand for any participation on the consultant’s part. Consultants who recommend this, or even offer it, are simply out to pad your bill.
The answer should be, "Not ever." A reputable consultant works hard to ensure that you fully own your quality and/or environmental system at the time of registration. If after that you find you are compelled to continue to pay the consultant for help operating your system, then the system was not designed and/or implemented correctly.