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CERTIFICATION AUDITS FOR NOKIA
03.28.23
One of the world’s largest telecommunications companies, Nokia Corporation was established in Finland back in 1865 and was a pioneer in the rapid development of mobile phones in the 1990s and 2000s. Today, the corporation’s focus is largely on telecommunications infrastructure and internet of things technology.
FINDING A SOLUTION
Nokia’s goal is to satisfy its customers with high value and to excel in the marketplace, combining quality and cost with responsiveness and best interactions to deliver its roadmap.
At the heart of this is a culture of continuous improvement. The business is certified globally to a number of management systems standards which are required and/or expected by customers. Helping to showcase Nokia’s commitment to various aspects of organisational performance and create competitive advantage, certification to ISO management system standards helps to deliver ways of working that ensure business success.
Head of Quality Operations, MN Quality
Nokia
Conformance to global standards represents a healthy baseline in processes and ways of working that will ensure business success. We need these, even if customers don’t demand formal certification. They make sense for any successful business. And the audit programme from Bureau Veritas gives us an externally credible stamp of approval, with the guidance and insights needed to improve.
CERTIFICATION AUDITS FOR NOKIA
Continuous improvement made possible by Bureau Veritas audits helped to deliver significant benefits for
global telecommunications company, Nokia, including €50million annual cost savings, reduced defects and
improved cycle time.
Nokia recognises the value of ISO certification to help satisfy customer requirements and enlisted Bureau
Veritas to undertake external audits of its management systems within certification cycles. The audits
continue to help identify weaknesses, drive continuous improvement towards re-certification and enable the
benefits that ensure a noted improvement in value delivery.
PROJECT AT A GLANCE
Sector: Telecommunications
Location: World-Wide
Duration: Working together since 2011
Service: Management System Certification Audits
NOKIA’S CERTIFICATIONS INCLUDE:
- ISO 9001 Quality Management System
- ISO 14001 Environmental Management System
- ISO 45001 Occupational Health & Safety Management System
- TL 9000 Information and communication technologies (ICT) industry Quality Management System
- ISO 27001 Information Security Management System
- ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management System
With certification in place, it is important for any organisation to track progress and ensure improvement.
Keen to gain an externally credible stamp of approval and the guidance and insights needed to improve,
Nokia enlisted Bureau Veritas to manage the certification and hence external audit of its management
systems.
These audits provide Nokia with a health check of management systems, help identify weaknesses from
an unbiased view, and ensure a company-wide dialogue on where the business is at and where it needs
to go in order to maintain quality, environmental, health & safety, information security and business
continuity standards.
They also help to deliver significant benefits for the business through continuous improvement, as
noted below.
PROJECT BRIEF
Bureau Veritas was selected due to its strong reputation in management system certification. With a
specialist team of experts, Bureau Veritas brings quality of service, global coverage and cost-effectiveness,
enhanced by combined audits to help streamline Nokia’s audit programme.
This experience and expertise helped to ensure an independent, external view of Nokia’s management
systems with credibility and complete confidence.
The scope of works includes:
- Planning and delivery of management system audits across the Nokia business globally
- Providing comprehensive audit reports to Nokia outlining the details of any non-conformities raised against the applicable ISO management system standards, alongside the management of any necessary corrective actions
- Issuance of updated management system standard certificates as required due to changes to the scope of certification, or renewal of the certification
- Analysis of the audit data to support the identification of systemic type issues or improvement opportunities across both the business and the different management system standards
ACHIEVEMENTS
On average 70 audits are delivered annually across the world for all of the management system
standards, with detailed audit reports provided promptly to key individuals within the Nokia business.
Nokia commented that the audits were well planned and executed, with highly trained and credible
auditors.
Head of Quality Operations, MN Quality
Nokia
Overall, the service from Bureau Veritas is great. Auditors are highly trained and credible, and the audits are completed with the right level of rigour. External audits and certification ensure our internal dialogue about improvement, help us to increase management support and interest, and give us external credibility. They help us to know our strengths and weaknesses, and enable a continuous review and improvement of our management systems.
From a quality perspective, Nokia’s focus on continuous improvement has brought cycle time and
quality improvement. The company communicates its certifications to customers and this is a requirement in most cases. With this in mind, the improvement generated by the Bureau Veritas audit programme is one of the drivers towards competitive edge.
In addition, quality improvement has many benefits for Nokia. Continuous improvement is generating a minimum of €50million each year in cost savings, defects are reducing every year (10% minimum improvement) and cycle time has improved. This has helped ensure a noted improvement in value delivery.
Certification Director
Bureau Veritas UK
This contract is another example of our expertise in certification, working with a multinational corporation to provide an external, independent assessment of its management systems to support continued growth. Our insights continue to give Nokia the platform to improve and deliver significant savings and benefits as a result.
NEXT STEPS
Nokia will continue to work with Bureau Veritas in line with management system certification schedules to
ensure continuous improvement and deliver further operational benefits.