All charges are calculated on a per day basis. The daily rate varies depending on the scope of work and other relevant factors.

Projects such as implementation are planned over the number of working days estimated to be required in order to complete the project.

After implementation, EQS offers optional maintenance contracts at an agreed monthly rate that usually include 2-3 days per month where consultants make regular visits to plan, co-ordinate and perform the activities regularly required in order to continuously maintain the effectiveness of the Quality Management System such as updates to documentation, internal audits, management reviews and resolution of non-conformances.

Clause 5.3 of the ISO 9001 standard states the following:
Top management shall assign the responsibility and authority for:
a) ensuring that the quality management system conforms to the requirements of this
International Standard;
b) ensuring that the processes are delivering their intended outputs;
c) reporting on the performance of the quality management system and on opportunities for improvement, in particular to top management;
d) ensuring the promotion of customer focus throughout the organization;
e) ensuring that the integrity of the quality management system is maintained when changes to the quality management system are planned and implemented
Normally, there is no need to employ additional staff due to the implementation of ISO 9001 but there are several functions that do need to be performed on a regular basis in order to maintain the QMS and, in large, organisations, these functions can become a full time job.

Some of the key functions required by the QMS are planning and performing internal audits, updating QMS documentation when required, co-ordinating management review meetings and over-seeing the resolution of non-conformances within the Quality Management System.

As an additional service, EQS can provide maintenance contracts after implementation where a monthly rate is established which includes regular visits from a consultant who maintains the QMS and handles the above-mentioned functions ensuring that they are carried out in accordance with the requirements of ISO 9001.

One of the requirements of ISO 9001 is the need for documented information and the need to perform monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation. Documented information can be either procedures or records. This approach provides more flexibility to an organisation whereby they can maybe reduce the number of procedures and rely on records to support the management system.

However, when we implement ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems we aim to keep all processes as simple and user-friendly as possible. Paperwork is only generated where the need is identified for evaluation of information, preserve organisational knowledge or to prevent errors due to lack of information. Every effort is made to ensure that paperwork generated throughout the QMS is simplified and does not become excessively time-consuming or slow production unnecessarily

Any person may implement an ISO 9001 Quality Management System in their organisation but unless that person has a very good knowledge and understanding of ISO 9001, it can be a difficult and time-consuming process.

In the same way that we make use of accountants to manage our book-keeping functions, the use of consultants to implement, audit and maintain your QMS is certainly advantageous. The combined knowledge and experience of the EQS consultants ensures that implementation and maintenance of your Quality Management System is carried out efficiently, within a suitable time frame and, more importantly, that the QMS is value-adding and conforms to the requirements of ISO 9001.

For an average sized company, implementation projects are usually spread out over 6-8 months. The time needed also depends on the degree of quality and process controls and the documentation that is already in place in the company before the start of the implementation.