IRIS Certification for the Rail Industry (ISO/TS 22163:2017)

The demand to maintain a safe, reliable, and high-performing railway infrastructure and the increasing pressure to improve customer service on the rail network means that having confidence in the supply chain is critical. To minimize the risk and impact of supplying poor quality critical products to the rail infrastructure and to deliver safe, efficient, and reliable products there is a need for Quality management system certification. Rail organizations have three core concerns: qualifying the project and series management, maintaining stable company processes, and constantly improving products and services.

Organizations focused on quality inevitably deliver more effective and reliable products and services, through instilling a culture that aims to meet the expectations of its customers. For the rail sector, the knock-on effect is enormous, with the potential to improve not only the reliability and safety of rail services but driving a platform for greater innovation as well.

The global standard for quality management systems in the rail industry is IRIS Certification. It is based on the ISO 9001 quality management standard, with the addition of rail-specific requirements. It was released in May 2017. It aims to help system integrators and equipment manufacturers in the rail sector make quality improvements through common best practices. ISO/TS 22163 defines quality management system requirements for the rail sector that can be applied throughout the supply chain—including design and development, manufacturing, and maintenance. ISO/TS 22163:2017 standard is considered to be valuable support in decisive subject areas for railway operators, manufacturers of railway vehicles, and also for the suppliers of the railway industry. The decisive subject areas include qualification of the company for project and series management for railway vehicle manufacturing, effectiveness and efficiency of company processes, and continuous development of product and service characteristics. It also aims at guaranteeing even better quality management, increased process efficiency, and excellent product quality. ISO/TS 22163 is ISO’s Technical Specification for rail organizations, contains the requirements set out in ISO 9001:2015, including the high-level structure used in all ISO management system standards since 2013, but also incorporates needs and requirements that are unique to the rail industry.

Benefits of ISO/TS 22163:2017

It is an Internationally recognized quality mark. It is a visible sign of compliance with the requirements of interested parties. There is continual improvement of processes and outputs. This certification constantly enhances the product and service quality. It Significantly reduces liability risks. Helps to get listed in the UNIFE database as a competent supplier. It increases customer satisfaction. ISO 22163 addresses risks and opportunities. It can constantly provide products and services that meet customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements and demonstrate conformity to specified qualified management system requirements. ISO 22163 helps the organization to ensure meeting all the requirements which help to establish effective QMS which consider effective QMS which consider specific requirements of the railway sector.

An organization’s processes will become more effective, faster, and more cost-efficient just by introducing the IRIS standard. Today, the IRIS standard is a core element of procurement requirements for companies and is supported by all the most important and largest systems of rail manufacturers worldwide.

If you are seeking IRIS certification as a company, you must present comprehensive documentation. Rohscertificationindia is a leading consultant to provide complete assistance regarding IRIS Certification (ISO/TS 22163:2017). Our team of expert consultants completes all the documentation processes required for the certification. Our consultants are specially competent in scope & industry. All the requirements of this International Standard are generic and are intended to apply to any organization, regardless of its type or size, or the products and services it provides.