How Much Does ISO Implementation Cost?
Companies need to know about the consultancy cost of ISO implementation…and our aim is to give you a realistic, decision-ready view.
So, let’s not hang about, this is the bit we can easily and realistically quote for!
- A budget cost for the consultancy support required for UKAS accredited ISO implementation is likely to be in the order of £8-14k
But, as you might expect, there are some caveats:
- The final price will actually depend on a number of variables
- Consultancy costs are not the only costs you need to account for
The above budget costs are based on a single standard and an organisation with say, 25-50 people operating from one site.
The longer answer is there are a range of costs that need to be budgeted for, for implementation:
- Your own management time for implementation
- Your own ongoing management time
- The cost of the standards
- Any consultancy assistance – should you need it
- The UKAS accredited certification body costs
And, each of these will be subject to a whole bundle of variables.
What are the variables?
As you will no doubt appreciate, there are a whole number of factors that influence any management system implementation programme and each of these needs to be established, carefully considered and planned for as an integral part of the implementation process.
As an example, some of issues affecting the level of support required during the implementation phase include:
- Current company objectives and how they might translate into lower level and supporting management system objectives
- The number of standards registrations are required for (quality, health and safety, environmental, information security etc, etc)
- The required scope of registration; that is, will the whole of the organisation be registered or will some activities be excluded?
- The current level and scope of any existing documentation
- The consistency of deployment of practices across the organisation; that is, are there significant differences in the way different parts of the organisation (teams, departments, divisions) actually execute policies, procedures, guidance notes and work instructions
- The degree to which any performance measurement systems or KPIs are, or need to be, integrated into the system
- The degree of integration required with other management systems / initiatives
- The degree of integration required with current (or proposed) IT systems
- The degree to which any existing, or proposed, projects can be aligned to the development of the management system
- The degree of support required with
- Any training / awareness initiatives
- The roll out programme
- The assessment visits
Finally, the preferred consultancy approach, that is:
- “Hands on” – the consultant does most of the work
- “Facilitative” – your people do most of the work and the consultant works as a “guide”
- A “collaborative” workshop approach – a kind of halfway house
A more complete answer
Taking the full suite of costs in turn – let’s explore this a little more using that same 50-person single site organisation wanting to implement one standard:
- Your own management time for implementation
- Estimated – a day a month spread across the top team and probably one or two other ISO implementation champions
- The cost of the standards
- Circa £150 per standard available from the BSI shop
- Any consultancy assistance (should you need it)
- Estimated at £8-£14k per standard
- The UKAS accredited certification body costs
- Estimated at £1-2k per standard
- Duration: probably 5-9 months.
Let’s now take a couple of other examples from different businesses to flesh this out a bit.
Scenario A
Micro business, one site, ISO 9001 only:
- Implementation support “facilitative light touch” approach – your people write the procedures and consultants support them: ~ £2-6k.
- Implementation support “Full hands-on consultancy support” – consultants chat with your people and write up the systems which your people then approve: ~ £5-10k.
- External audit (Stage 1 & Stage 2): often £1k–£2k across the first year depending on provider and exact scope; add travel/expenses where applicable.
Scenario B
Small contractor, multi standard (ISO 9001, ISO 14001 & ISO 45001):
- The combined implementation approach reduces duplication: expect 3 standards for the price of 2.
- Implementation support “Facilitative light touch” support – your people write the procedures and consultants guide: ~ £4-10k.
- Implementation support “full hands-on consultancy support” – consultants chat with your people and write the systems which they then approve: probably nearer to £15-25k.
Scenario C
Medium manufacturer, multiple sites, multiple standards (ISO 9001, ISO 14001 & ISO 45001):
- Again, the combined implementation approach will reduce duplication, but the additional sites will increase implementation and audit time. The key will be the actual number of additional sites.
- Implementation support “facilitative light touch” support – your people write the procedures, consultants support: £6-12k.
- Implementation support “full hands-on consultancy support” – consultants chat with your people and write the systems which they then approve: £20-35k.
Note: Non-UKAS “quick” certificates may quote far less upfront but will usually be rejected in procurement or require recertification later via UKAS, inflating the total cost.
How Statius approaches pricing (so you don’t pay twice)
Depending on your existing processes and practises there are ways to minimise some of these costs. Some of which include:
- UKAS ONLY: we only take clients to UKAS accredited bodies. This is getting a bit “techie”, and there are other articles on this, but UKAS is the only UK government and internationally recognised body for “accrediting” UK companies (recognition being via an international IAF agreement). Using a UKAS body will ensure you don’t end up paying twice.
- Scope clarity: we nail down what’s in and out of scope, so implementation and audit days don’t balloon.
- Lean build: wherever possible we’ll use your existing processes and practices; objectives, targets, business plans, documentation and controls; we don’t create paperwork for paperwork’s sake.
- Integration: if you’ll need environmental or H&S later, we build the system to future proof for easy adaptation later.
You also need to consider the costs of the ongoing development and evolution of the management system, but that’s the subject of another article. In short, maybe 20-30% of the implementation cost.