A common question I am often asked is “Do we need a consultant?”. Many organisations successfuly achieve ISO certification on their own, so using a consultant is defintely not a requirement. My own view is that if you have the time, enthusiasm and confidence to ‘do it yourself’, this is the best course. The system will be yours, you will inderstand it and your organisation will have better ownership of the system. However, having access to a consultant’s skills, experience and expertise can be very useful in working out how best to apply ISO 9001 or 14001 to your organisation, and may actually save you both time and money. Also, if you have an urgent need to become certified, using a consultant is often the most rapid approach.
