ISO Consultant in Maidstone
Kent’s Outsourced Compliance Manager
You have got ISO certification or looking to get it. Someone needs to keep it alive. That doesn’t need to be you. Based just outside of Maidstone.
In 20 seconds….
Jeanette Wessen and Tim Thompson run Next Step Compliance, a family run, award winning ISO consultancy in Ditton, Aylesford, ten minutes from Maidstone town centre.
We build and maintain ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 systems for Maidstone businesses, including manufacturers, electrical contractors, construction firms and surveyors at Parkwood and Quarry Wood industrial estates.
Whether you are working towards certification, already hold it, or need someone to keep the system running between audits, we work on site rather than by email. Every client we have taken to certification has passed first time.
Where you will already find us in and around Maidstone
Parkwood Industrial Estate
Branbridges Industrial Estate;
including Linton Electrical, whose ISO 9001 and CHAS journey with us you can read about here.
Quarry Wood Industrial Estate
Including clients in Lenham, East Peckham and West Malling
We are based right on Maidstone’s doorstep in Ditton, Aylesford, close enough to be on-site when you need us, not managing your system remotely from somewhere else in Kent. If you would like to talk through your certification face to face, book a free 30 minute chat or give us a call, we are happy to pop in.
IRCA-registered. 100% client certification pass rate.
Most Maidstone business owners tell us the same thing: after certification, nobody’s quite sure who’s maintaining the system. It sits there, until before the next audit, when you start realising there is a lot of work to be done.
We take that off your plate.
As a local ISO consultant based on Maidstone’s doorstep, I maintain ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001 systems for small businesses and manufacturers across Maidstone, Lenham, East Peckham and West Malling. I work on-site with your team, understand how your business actually runs, and keep everything audit-ready year-round. So when your external auditor arrives, it’s just another day.
With Next Step Compliance you get one dedicated outsourced compliance manager in Maidstone who knows your business, visits you on-site, manages your compliance throughout the year and is there when you need them, at a fraction of the cost of a full-time employee, with none of the employment risk.
Your ISO system is certified. But who’s looking after it?
You have invested in getting ISO certified. It cost time, money and effort. The audit passed. The certificate went on the wall. Then what?
If you are like some Maidstone business owners, the answer is: nothing much. The system gets filed away. Your operations manager or admin person “owns” it alongside ten other jobs. Documentation doesn’t get updated. Internal audits slip. Nobody’s quite sure if you are still actually compliant.
Then your external auditor schedules the surveillance visit, and suddenly you are in “do everything at once” mode.
Trying to pull together evidence
Realising you have missed documentation updates
Finding non-conformities you could have caught months ago
Nobody’s quite sure if you are still actually compliant
Internal audits have slipped
A full-time compliance manager costs £35,000–£50,000 a year, money most SMEs don’t have. But ignoring your system costs more in failed audits, lost tenders, risk exposure. There’s a middle ground. And that’s what an ISO consultant in Maidstone like me does.
What it actually looks like to have compliance handled
Internal audits are scheduled
Not ad-hoc. Planned, on a calendar, with someone who knows your business running them.
Non-conformities from previous audits get closed
You are not carrying debt from the last audit into the next one.
Your team understands the system
Because we built it together, and someone keeps referring back to it. It’s not a mystery folder.
Documentation stays current
Process changes, risk updates, regulatory changes. They are captured and reflected in your system.
Your auditor finds a well-maintained, clearly understood system
Not a box-ticking folder. A system that actually works in your business.
The result of this? Confidence. You are not worried about your next audit. You know exactly where you stand.
IRCA-Registered ISO Consultants in Maidstone – Family-Run
Jeanette Wessen is an IRCA-registered Lead Auditor for ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001, and NEBOSH-qualified in Health & Safety, with a 100% client certification pass rate since 2022. Tim Thompson brings a background in bespoke manufacturing, fine art transport, and high-end precision work, and is working toward his own IRCA qualifications. Read more about Jeanette and Tim →
Together, we’ve helped Maidstone businesses across manufacturing, engineering, electrical contracting, and service sectors achieve and maintain ISO certification. 100% of our clients pass their certification audits. No surprises. No failed audits.
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Services for Maidstone Businesses
ISO 9001 Maintenance Support
Your quality system is certified. Now it needs to stay that way. I maintain your ISO 9001 documentation, schedule and run internal audits, manage corrective actions, and prepare you for your next surveillance audit or recertification.
ISO 14001 Environmental Management
Environmental responsibility matters to your customers, your supply chain, and local authorities. I keep your environmental system active and compliant, not just on paper, but genuinely embedded in how you operate.
ISO 45001 Health & Safety Management
For Maidstone contractors and manufacturers, this is essential. H&S certification opens doors with larger clients and the public sector. I support your system year-round, prepare you for ISO 45001 and help you build a genuine safety culture, not just a compliance folder.
Internal Audits
Independent audits that actually help. I come on-site, audit your processes against the ISO standard, and give you honest feedback on what’s working and what needs attention. Before your external auditor sees it.
New ISO Implementation
If you’re not certified yet, I guide you from start to finish. Scoping, system build, Stage 1 audit, Stage 2 audit, then moving into retainer support once you’re certified.
Constructionline, SafeContractor, CHAS, Achilles Accrediation
Working toward SSIP accreditation in Maidstone? I handle the documentation, manage the application, and keep you audit-ready.
Get in contact with Next Step Compliance
Looking for ongoing compliance support for your business in Maidstone? Want someone to take the management system off your plate? Need to get your ISO system back on track before your next surveillance visit?
Fill in the contact form for a conversation.
We can also support you with your ISO 9001, 45001 and Food Safety needs.