ISO 13485 is the international standard determining the special requirements for the companies, operate in the medical device manufacturing industry (diagnostic and therapeutic products).
The ISO 13485 Certificate ensures the continuity of the ability to determine and meet the customer demands for each company operating in the operational processes such as production, sale and procurement of medical devices.
It ensure the customer confidence on the fact that the products are manufactured in a system that is safe for human health in all phases such as beginning from raw materials to design, production, storing and shipment.
The ISO 13485 Certificate is required for manufacturers of medical devices to meet the legal requirements and to obtain CE Mark.
The benefits of ISO 13485 cannot be overstated. Companies of all sizes have realized significant savings in cost and time, plus other improvements that an efficient Quality Management System naturally bring about. The following is a list of six top reasons to implement ISO 13485 in your company:
ISO 13485 is the internally recognized gold standard for quality in the medical device industry. Certification to this standard shows clients and customers that your company takes quality very seriously, and that you have a system in place to ensure it. Your QMS can be a powerful marketing tool, and it has become a requirement in many countries for suppliers to show compliance. This translates to more opportunity.
The ISO 13485 standard is built on a set of quality management principles, one of which is ensuring customer satisfaction. This can be achieved by assessing customer needs and expectations, and striving to meet them. Customers know what they want, and what they need, and many of them will not even entertain a supplier that isn’t certified. Beyond that, ensuring the satisfaction of your existing customers keeps them coming back, and helps you sell your services to new customers. This translates directly to increased revenue.
Using the process approach outlined in ISO 13485, it’s much easier to discover opportunities for improvements. You’ll be able to identify and eliminate waste within and between processes, reduce errors, and avoid rework—facilitating greater efficiency and cost savings.
When employees are asked to help look for ways to improve their own processes, not only will they often provide the best insight – they will also be much happier and more invested in the success of the company. The more your employees understand their roles in delivering quality products and services, the more engaged they are, which leads to increased efficiency and productivity.
Another quality management principle of ISO 13485 regards the use of evidence-based decision making. When you use facts and data to drive your decisions, those decisions tend to be better aligned with the strategic goals of your company. While “gut feelings” may be appropriate in some social situations, they can spell trouble in business. An added bonus is the increased insight into the health of your processes, and any improvements that are made, once you keep track of the data.
A third quality management principle making up the foundation of ISO 13485 is the concept of continual improvement. When adopted as the culture in your organization, management and staff will always be on the lookout for ways to improve on how things are done. By establishing systematic processes for reducing problems and mitigating their effects, everyone will spend less time cleaning up mistakes, and more time delivering quality products and services.