You already have a quality system. Let's make it certifiable.
You inspect parts, you keep records, you handle complaints when they come in. ISO 9001 asks you to prove all of that in writing, in a form an auditor can follow, then correct the few things you might have missed. I spent forty years doing this work. This course lays out every step to get there, with the forms and procedures to go with it, for $997.
See where your system standsA free 59-question gap analysis. Scored on screen in about fifteen minutes.
Most ISO advice was written for a company that isn't yours.
It assumes a document controller, an internal audit team and a budget line for compliance. You have a shop floor, an office manager who also handles purchasing, and a customer waiting on parts.
The system has to fit the shop
A twelve-procedure manual nobody opens will pass an audit once and then rot. What survives is documentation your people actually use, which means less of it, written in the language they already speak.
You need to know what auditors ask
Registrars have patterns. Internal audits, calibration status, nonconforming material control and management review minutes account for a large share of findings in small shops, and each one is preventable.
Knowing what's required isn't knowing how
Most ISO courses tell you what each clause requires and what you need to produce. Very few tell you how to actually produce it, step-by-step. This course walks you through each clause, providing you with detailed instructions, procedures and forms needed to get you ready for ISO 9001 Registration
One person built all of this.
I'm Steve Kent. I've spent over forty years in quality management, most recently as a Quality Director, and with roughly twenty of those years on ISO 9001 and its derivatives — AS9100 in aerospace and ISO 13485 in medical devices.
I've built quality systems from nothing and rebuilt ones that had quietly stopped working. I've prepared companies for registrar audits and I've sat on the other side of the table during them. That second part matters more than it sounds, because knowing what an auditor is actually looking for is different from knowing what the clause says.
Falcon Quality is a one-person practice by choice. I wrote the course, the templates and the assessment myself, out of what I've watched work and fail in real shops. If you decide you want consulting time as well, you get me, not an account manager.
More about how I work
How certification actually goes
Four stages. Most small shops starting from a reasonable base get through in four to six months, though that depends on your registrar's schedule and how fast your team can move. Anyone promising you a fixed number is guessing.
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Find the gaps
A clause-by-clause review of what exists against what the standard requires. You can start this yourself, free, with the gap analysis.
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Build the system
Procedures, forms and records written for how your shop runs. Lean enough to maintain, complete enough to pass.
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Train and run it
Your people learn the system, you run a full internal audit cycle, and management review happens for real. Registrars want evidence the system has been operating, not just that it exists.
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Certification audit
Stage 1 and Stage 2 preparation, mock audit, and support closing any findings the registrar raises.
Three ways to work together
Start wherever fits. Most people begin with the free assessment and decide from there.
Gap analysis
Fifty-nine questions covering every clause, including the 2026 changes. Scored by section, with a written finding for every gap.
Start the assessmentThe implementation course
Eight modules taking you from gap analysis to certification audit, with the full forms and procedures package. Work at your own pace, keep the system afterwards.
See what's coveredConsulting calls
Blocks of one-to-one time for the parts you'd rather not work out alone. Five calls for $600, ten for $1,000.
How the calls workOther standards
AS9100
Aerospace and defense. Everything in ISO 9001 plus configuration management, counterfeit parts control, product safety and first article inspection.
ISO 13485
Medical devices. Heavier documentation, design controls, sterilization and regulatory reporting obligations that ISO 9001 doesn't touch.
Common questions
- How long does certification take?
- Four to six months is typical for a small shop with reasonable processes already running. It can take longer if you're starting from nothing, and it depends heavily on your registrar's availability. Registrars need to see a full internal audit cycle and at least one management review before they'll certify, and that sets a floor no consultant can shorten.
- Should I wait for ISO 9001:2026?
- No. The sixth edition publishes on 16 September 2026, and it refines the 2015 framework rather than replacing it. Four clause areas change: climate in your context analysis, quality culture and ethics at top management, risks and opportunities separated in clause 6, and ethics awareness across the workforce. Certified companies have until September 2029 to transition. If you're certifying for the first time, build against the new version now.
- What does certification cost, all in?
- The registrar's fee is separate from anything I charge and usually runs several thousand dollars for a small shop, covering the Stage 1 and Stage 2 audits plus annual surveillance. Get quotes from two or three accredited registrars early, because their pricing varies more than people expect. If you need help, I can provide several good registrars to call.
- We're a machine shop working to customer prints. Does all of this apply?
- Not all of it. If you don't design product, clause 8.3 on design and development is a legitimate scope exclusion. If your material arrives on consignment and you buy nothing, parts of clause 8.4 may not apply either — though outside processing like heat treat, plating or calibration does count as purchasing, and most shops send something out.
- Can I do this without a consultant?
- Many shops can, and the course exists for exactly that reason. What people usually underestimate is the internal audit programme and the evidence trail, which is where most first-time certification attempts stall. If you'd rather work through it yourself and only call when you're stuck, that's what the consulting blocks are for.
- Do you work remotely?
- Yes, and most of this work is done remotely regardless of where you are. I'm based in Danville, California, so on-site work is straightforward in the Bay Area and possible elsewhere.
Find out where you stand before you spend anything.
The gap analysis covers all fifty-nine requirements across clauses 4 through 10, scores each section separately, and gives you a written finding for every gap. It takes about fifteen minutes and costs nothing.