Confined

I wasn’t around when our system was set up, but we did it almosy wholly because the tenders that we were applying for at the time stared to insist on it.

I would strongly suggest a “reputable” certification body (BSi for instance – other suppliers are available). I’m not at my desk so I can’t get the details, but those companies are themselves externally accredited by UKAS (??? others can feel free to provide more detail, and correct me if necessary!). Let’s call them Group A. In some other areas (e.g. ATEX certification), your quality system MUST be certificated and audited by a Group A company.

There are still, I believe, some companies that will provide a 9001 certificate, but aren’t themselves accredited (for instance……, nope, not going there!), let’s call them Group B.

Having had many years experience of audits by both Groups (and accepting that we might have been lucky/unlucky with individual auditors):

The Group A ones tend to be more thorough and involving. The auditors spend a good deal of their time in various parts of the building, speaking to actual employees, looking at what actually happens.

The Group B ones haven’t always been all the above. They’ve not all been worthless, but on a couple of spectacular occasions they consisted of the auditor sat with a tick list in front of him saying “show me the …….”.

As a result we would only use a Group A company.

In terms of training, we use the same Group A company who we use for certification. It’s not always cheap, but it has been very good training, and you learn to think like their auditors, which helps when you’re working with the system and being audited.

My tuppence worth!

Unless customers are pushing you down the 9001 route (which they're probably not) I'd develop an in house system more bespoke to your business.

There is no reason that the system you set up could not be made to meet the requirements of ISO 9001, but without having it externally verified.

If you are a quality-oriented organisation providing a good product or service, then ISO 9000 is an excellent tool for demonstrating to your customers your commitment and dedication. The process of achieving the standard is not too difficult (there are many good consultants out there if you don't have the time to create it yourself), but the rewards are worth it.
My organisation could not live without it now; it promotes good management practice, continuous improvement and product/service development and dovetails into many other standards such as OHSAS 18001 and ISO 14000. I developed and have been been managing our system for 18 years; through this time the company has grown and developed into a a sector leader, now providing products at the very top end of the market.
Use BSI if you go for accreditation, they are the best and give excellent support.
So, if your top management consider themselves proactive and forward thinking, are into an on-going programme of improvement and customer care, nail them into a decision.
Good luck!