AQSIQ Overseas Supplier Registration
As you know, to qualify for new AQSIQ Overseas Supplier Registration, a scrap recycler must be certified either to ISO 9001 or RIOS. Which should you choose?
Comparison
Recycling Industry Operating Specification (RIOS), formerly Scrap3, is marketed by Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI). It covers quality, environmental, and health/safety management. RIOS is relatively new, and just starting to emerge from pilot program development phase. See our detailed assessment on our RIOS page.
ISO 9001 is the international quality management system standard, first published in 1987 and now in its fourth revision. It is recognized and accepted in over 150 countries; over 125 scrap recycling companies are certified. (More about ISO 9001.)
Assessment
While we are prepared to assist clients with RIOS implementation, our professional judgment is that, for scrap recyclers applying for AQSIQ Supplier Registration, ISO 9001 is clearly the better option. Compared with RIOS, ISO 9001:
- Has a much smaller footprint.
- Has a much longer track record of acceptance and success in the scrap recycling industry.
- Has unquestioned international credibility among consumers, regulators, and other important stakeholders.
- Brings with it significantly lower ongoing costs as compared to RIOS.
- Would be much less expensive and burdensome to implement (based on a comparison of equivalent documentation and tool sets; RIOS is so new that there is no dependable way to predict implementation cost).
Short answer: based on our scrap recycling industry work starting back in 1993, ISO 9001 is faster and cheaper to implement than RIOS.
How we can help
Some clients need a complete consulting assistance package to implement ISO 9001. Others, with internal resources and expertise, need less outside assistance. We offer various levels of consulting help to fit any need.
Here is the array of support options, starting with the least expensive. (For a comparison of the support features among the four options, see the table below.)
- For scrap firms with significant internal expertise and project management resources, our exclusive ISO 9001 Scrap Recycling Document Template Set is ideal. It includes all the fully editable (Microsoft Word and Excel) documents and templates needed for a scrap recycling-specific ISO 9001 system. This comes with a brief user guide and email technical support. Your cost: $495. (Order form here.)
- Distance Consulting Program is for scrap recyclers with adequate internal resources that need ongoing expertise / support without the expense of ongoing on-site consulting. This program includes one consultant on-site visit (to set up the system plan), followed by unlimited email / phone support at a flat monthly rate. For ongoing consulting expertise, this is your least costly option.
- On-site Consulting - Guidance Program provides you with monthly on-site visits during which we provide direction, templates, training, and compliance support.
- On-site consulting - Full Service is the full package. It includes monthly visits for the duration of the project and all necessary support services including system development, documentation, implementation, training, and compliance support.
Your next step
- Call Rob Kantner at 989.289.6005 with your questions.
- Request our free ISO 9001 Implementation Road Map to get better educated in how 9001 implementation works in the real world.
- Order our 9001 Scrap Recycling Document Template Set and save big money by doing much of the work yourself.
- Request a free no obligation quote for the other levels of consulting assistance outlined here.
Kantner & Company, Inc.11338 W. Walton Road Blanchard, Michigan 49310
989.289.6005 Copyright ©2009, 2010 Kantner & Company, Inc.