Issue 106 – Who’s interested in the QMS?
ISO 9001:2015…
Who’s interested in the QMS?
I appreciate receiving emails with questions and/or comments from readers of this Newsletter… please continue to do so since it provides me with direction on where to aim the content of these publications. In my last Newsletter (ISO 9001:2015 Newsletter Issue 105) we discussed the topic of “What happened to the Quality Policy?”, and now in this Newsletter we will discuss “Who’s interested in the QMS?”.
The ISO 9001:2015 Element numbering…
Element 4 – Context of the organization
Element 5 – Leadership
Element 6 – Planning
Element 7 – Support
Element 8 – Operation
Element 9 – Performance evaluation
Element 10 – Improvement
Who’s interested in the QMS?… A question that often comes up with my Clients is how to get others interested in their Quality Management System (QMS) because in many cases there seems to be little to no enthusiasm for it. There appears to be some interest in “Quality” but when it comes to a “system to manage it”… not so much. Why is that? There always seems to be an abundance of interest to deal with “Safety” issues inside of any organization, where safety rules are enforced by having a system in place, involving both people with specific safety responsibilities, as well as plenty of safety procedures (documentation). This method or “system” seems to be widely supported throughout most organizations, from the top of the house to the front-line.
Perhaps one reason is that due to laws and regulations that have been enacted by various government bodies, Managers and Supervisors can be held personally liable if there is a safety incident. If the government does get involved in outlining what it expects regarding “Quality” (product specifications or service characteristics), typically this has to do with ensuring the “Safety” of the people using or consuming those products or services. Not to downplay “Safety” but isn’t poor quality performance also serious to the health of the organization? Poor quality will eventually kill a company, if left unchecked, right? A lot of employees depend on their weekly paycheck to support themselves (and others), so if sales of products and services slow down because “Quality” is not managed, then layoffs can happen, or worse, the company closes and all paychecks stop.
What can be done?… If there was an easy answer then this problem wouldn’t exist. In my experience, when I see signs of interest and enthusiasm for the QMS inside a company, almost every time it’s because the top person believes in Quality… they talk about “Quality” all the time… AND they walk the talk! In other words, they take decisive actions to demonstrate that “Quality” isn’t just a buzzword.
So what if your guy or gal just doesn’t believe that “Quality” is critical? In that case, your only option is to show them that it is business critical, and one way to do that is to speak in a language they understand… money! If you google the phrase “cost of poor quality” you will discover plenty of information and resources to translate “Quality” into dollars and cents. This will help you begin talking in a language that will start to get management’s attention. This can be a long and challenging journey but definitely worth the effort.
Be sure to watch for our next Newsletter issue where I will be answering some of the questions that I get from Readers of my Newsletters about how to implement the requirements of ISO 9001:2015 in a specific and practical way, that will also help improve business performance…
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Need Help?
ISO 9001:2015 Internal Audit Outsourcing (we can do it for you OR with you!)
For cost effectiveness, the Internal Audit function can be outsourced to an external experienced auditor on a periodic basis. This will provide an independent and objective assessment to management, of where process issues may exist, along with identifying opportunities for improvement. It will also provide the evidence needed to satisfy the Internal Audit requirements in the ISO Standards. We have used two different approaches with this service: a) We conduct the entire audit ourselves, or b) We act as the lead auditor, and along with your Team of internal auditors, we complete the entire audit together. This latter approach allows your people to receive guidance and direction from an experienced lead auditor while at the same time maintaining significant involvement in the internal audit process.
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Internal Process Auditor Training for ISO 9001:2015
The two (2) day Internal Process Auditing for ISO 9001:2015 Training Session is focused on a process approach to auditing with the objective being not only to assess conformance of the quality management system, but also to uncover process improvements during an audit. This goes hand in hand with the process auditing requirements found within ISO 19011 and the process approach covered in ISO 9001:2015, which promotes continual process improvement throughout this Standard. An enhanced checklist is developed, and there will be workshops throughout, to reinforce learning, as well as a live, practice audit. If you are looking to meet the ISO 9001:2015 internal audit requirements and to “raise the bar” for your internal audit program then this is the course you should consider.
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Until next time…
Tim Renaud
Helping Business Professionals Reduce Risk and Remove Waste!