I wants to know how the outsourcing of ISO documentation work is happening. How this process is carried out? How big is this service ..some guess / estimate are welcome.

You can hire a consultant or exprienced 'techie' to write SOME of your documents, but typically it is preferable that a company produce documentation internally.

As Mark said
many use to take an consultant to establish the system and in the same time to make training, if there is no one within the organization; to the person who will be in charge of it and implement it in the system.
The most important, i think is to have within the organization which is enough aware about the ISO documentation in order to established and to implemente it :). If you are a multinational; you can get a help "internaly" from one of your colleagues in another location.

If you have an experienced person in charge of overall implementation of the Management System, you could even hire a clerk or student to help develop your documentation. Students, especially, are a great - and often overlooked - resource! They get a wonderful learning opportunity and you get someone who is eager to work.

Hiring a consultant (or consulting firm) can be expensive - factors that may impact the overall cost include:


Size of your organization
Complexity of your processes
Maturity of your existing system
Amount of internal resources your company is willing to provide


It's very difficult for us to provide you with an estimate of the overall cost or even a consultant's "hourly rate" as this may depending on their own experience and "newness" to the consultancy world (i.e., a new consultant is looking to establish him/herself and thus may have a lower rate than a more experienced consultant).

If your organization is determined to hire a consultant, I would recommend that this consultant document only the higher-level documentation, but facilitate/coordinate the development of process work instructions to your own internal personnel. This entails training your people who do the actual jobs to also write about what they do...they know what they do best. The consultant can simply review the documentation and ensure that it fits all requirements.

I wants to know how the outsourcing of ISO documentation work is happening. How this process is carried out? How big is this service ..some guess / estimate are welcome.


This is a question somewhat like 'how long is a piece of string'? Impossible to say with so little information given. It'll depend on various factors, such as those listed by Roxanne.

If you have an experienced person in charge of overall implementation of the Management System, you could even hire a clerk or student to help develop your documentation. Students, especially, are a great - and often overlooked - resource! They get a wonderful learning opportunity and you get someone who is eager to work.

Hiring a consultant (or consulting firm) can be expensive

A student is certainly cheap and at times can be useful PROVIDED that, as you say, you have someone experienced in charge. They invariably need a lot of supervision because they lack experience (as one would expect) and aren't always very good at process analysis, understanding procedures and writing (all underrated skills).

Without an experienced person overseeing a student or newbie, it's a recipe for disaster and money-wasting in my experience. I've had to deal with/clean up the "results" many times.

I can't let the 'consultant is expensive' stand as always true: good ones are worth their cost. (Of course I'm biased).

But because of our experience and skills, we know what's required, have done it before, work much, much faster and thus often work out cheaper than spending 2-3 times as long with a student, not to mention producing a better result with usually higher value.

Why would anyone want a consulant developing/documenting thier system for them? While I agree a consultnat can sometimes add value to the development of a system they should not develop it alone. You are the ones that will be using it you need to understand it and put your own stamp on it.

We used an experienced ISO auditor who was out of work. He did the interviewing; flow charting and process mapping and then we (internal) did the scribing. It worked pretty well, less expensive than a consultant, we did not feel the pressure of the individual "knowing what is needed" plus it gave this person an income until they could get full time work. So ask you network within you org, business types or professional societies.

Good luck

Why would anyone want a consulant developing/documenting thier system for them? .
Some of the various reasons include: they don't know how to do this themselves, they don't have the resources/skills or time in house to do it, they have assessed the cost of training and/or hiring someone inhouse to do it, and decided it's cheaper to get it done by someone, etc.

While I agree a consultnat can sometimes add value to the development of a system they should not develop it alone.

"Alone"? Good heavens, no. I don't know where you got that idea from, but I fully agree with you that the idea having a consultant do this 'alone' or in isolation would be a/impossible and b/a dreadfully bad idea (even if it were possible, which it isn't). Any so-called "consultant" who says they can do this 'alone' is a consultant I wouldn't dream of using.

You are the ones that will be using it you need to understand it and put your own stamp on it.
Exactly - again I strongly agree with you. That's why any even half-way reasonable consultant/contractor/technical writer/whoever knows this, and builds it into the process.

And just before I posted this, Bob points out a good example of what I mean.

We used an experienced ISO auditor who was out of work.... It worked pretty well, less expensive than a consultant

I'd contend that you were using a consultant - an out of work auditor, acting as a consultant on your job.

I feel like I keep harping on this, but I do get a bit jaded with the oh so frequent 'all consultants are always expensive and not worth it' myth that keeps being promulgated. Tis not a truth!

My thoughts mirror Jane's exactly.

“If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.”

Red Adair

Great quote! I've always loved that one, & very apposite.

"Alone"? Good heavens, no. I don't know where you got that idea from, but I fully agree with you that the idea having a consultant do this 'alone' or in isolation would be a/impossible and b/a dreadfully bad idea (even if it were possible, which it isn't). Any so-called "consultant" who says they can do this 'alone' is a consultant I wouldn't dream of using.

Where I did I get this idea from? Well lets see, every company that I have visited that has used a consultant let said consultant develop the system, without having any input.

I wants to know how the outsourcing of ISO documentation work is happening. How this process is carried out? How big is this service ..some guess / estimate are welcome.

My interpretation of the OP's post is as follows:
1. He wants to know what is the future of the outsourcing of ISO documentation business.
2. How to go about doing it.
3. How big is the market........ some guestimate!

I think only those Covers from India can help him. Then again, the market in New Delhi may vary from those in Mumbai or Bangalore.

Why would anyone want a consulant developing/documenting thier system for them? While I agree a consultnat can sometimes add value to the development of a system they should not develop it alone. You are the ones that will be using it you need to understand it and put your own stamp on it.

Because Aaron, sometimes people can't get out of their own way, don't know where to start, haven't a clue about the use of appropriate tools, rely on a bunch of half-truths and innuendo about 'ISO' etc etc.

Creating a documented qms is a potential maze and some people never find their way out! We see that today with posts here all the time!

A good consultant will not only "sometimes add value', but will facilitate avoidance of the common and not so common pitfalls in doing this task. The consultant should not only be an 'ISO teckie' but a leader, facilitator, coach, guide and mentor to the client's people he works with.

That's where the (higher) price comes into play, instead of using someone who knows, technically, what the standard requires of documentation (like an out of work ISO auditor might) and does the job from the point of view of passing an audit, rather than creating a sustainable infrastructure to manage a businesses process by.......

Where I did I get this idea from? Well lets see, every company that I have visited that has used a consultant let said consultant develop the system, without having any input.

I'm tempted to say then they got what they deserved.

Would you let an architect design your house for you, without your input? OK, it's not a perfect analogy, but that's just either poor management or just plain silly on the part of the companies involved.

Yes, I know there are some so-called 'consultants' who do this or have done. They aren't worthy of the title.

But in any profession or field, there are good, bad and ordinary people. That's one of the reasons why it's important to take care in selecting a consultant (as with any other supplier!)

I've come across some downright awful so-called 'quality managers', 'safety managers' and 'environmental managers' in my time, for example, but I don't tar all professionals with the same brush.

My interpretation of the OP's post is as follows:
1. He wants to know what is the future of the outsourcing of ISO documentation business.
2. How to go about doing it.
3. How big is the market........ some guestimate!

I think only those Covers from India can help him. Then again, the market in New Delhi may vary from those in Mumbai or Bangalore.

Oops, you could well be right here. Ramvaidhya, can you clarify your question?

creating a sustainable infrastructure to manage a businesses process by.......

And isn't that the most important thing there is! Good documention is part of that sustainable infrastructure (and by that I most certainly do not mean acres and acres of manuals, nor incomprehensible 'Standard waffle'.