ISO 9001:2015 – Newsletter – Issue 75

Issue 75 – Element 6: Planning – Why should Management do it?

ISO 9001:2015…

Element 6: Planning – Why should Management do it?

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 74) we discussed the topic of  “Element 5: Leadership – Why should Management care about it?”, and now in this Newsletter we will discuss “Element 6: Planning – Why should Management do it?“.

The ISO 9001 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

Element 6 – Planning consists of three (3) Clauses as listed below:

6.1  Actions to address risks and opportunities

6.2  Quality objectives and planning to achieve them

6.3  Planning of changes

Let’s talk about Element 6… As you look at the first Clause (6.1) above, you’ll perhaps realize that this is what caused all of the excitement about the word “risk” when the new revision of this Standard came out.  Excitement is probably not the right word since Clause 6.1 really doesn’t have any teeth in it (I will explain later).  I think Clause 6.2 (Quality objectives…) is much more interesting since it gives Managers (top; middle; front-line) the ability to make their QMS help the business run better.  I won’t bore you with the old cliche “if you fail to Plan than you Plan to fail” however that’s exactly the reason why Element 6 should be important, and why every Manager should do it (“Plan”).

Clause 6.1  – Actions to address risks and opportunities

This Clause contains two sub-clauses, namely 6.1.1 and 6.1.2 (with neither of these sub-clauses having titles). We previously discussed Clause 6.1 back in an earlier Newsletter (ISO 9001:2015 Newsletter Issue 73), when we covered the topics of Business/Strategic Planning and SWOT, where both of these approaches should generate actions to address risks and opportunities, which is what this Clause wants Managers to do.

Sub-Clause 6.1.1 asks you to refer back to the issues in Clause 4.1 (Understanding the Organization and its Context) and the requirements in Clause 4.2 (Understanding the Needs and Expectations of Interested Parties) as part of your “planning” process, and then continues on to explain why you need to address risks and opportunities, in sub-clause parts [a] through [d].

Sub-Clause 6.1.2 carries on and asks you to [a] “plan” actions for risks/opportunities, and [b] “plan” how you will weave these actions into your QMS (and then check whether these actions worked).  They finish by reminding you that it is completely your decision on how big or how small these actions will be.

I mentioned above that Clause 6.1 has no teeth in it and here is why:  There are no requirements for any documentation proving that you addressed this Clause.  This means that Managers can verbally describe how they identify “Risks” in their area of responsibility, including how they try to minimize them (…and the same can be done for “Opportunities”).

Clause 6.2  Quality objectives and planning to achieve them

This Clause contains two sub-clauses, namely 6.2.1 and 6.2.2 (with neither of these sub-clauses having titles).  Sub-Clause 6.2.1 asks Managers (top; middle; front-line) to specifically state what their Goals/Targets/Objectives are for Quality.  This is where Quality should get clearly defined for everyone in the company, and also where Quality gets to stand along side other important goals like Profit and Sales Revenue.

So how do you define what your Quality objectives are?  Let me answer by asking you another question:  How do you define your business objectives each year?  I’m hoping you’ll say that you do it by reviewing past performance; looking at what’s ahead of you (SWOT analysis); and then reviewing the key words in your Mission Statement to help you see where you need to be in the next twelve months.  That’s the exact same approach you should follow for establishing your Quality objectives, with the only difference being that instead of the Mission Statement you would use the Quality Policy.

Finally the ISO 9001 Standard makes sure that there is no confusion by telling you to maintain these Quality Objectives as “documented information”.  These requirements add some meat to what I’ve always said is a critical Clause within the ISO 9001 Standard because it drives your quality performance.

Sub-Clause 6.2.2 adds more substance to the topic of Quality Objectives by asking “Who”, “What”, “When” and “How”.  This level of detailed requirements will ensure that you are clearly stating how you handle Quality objectives within your organization.  By doing so, this ISO 9001 Standard is attempting to achieve more “business alignment”, and all of the Clauses within Element 6.0 are a good example of that.

Clause 6.3  Planning of changes

This Clause contains no sub-clauses inside of it and really aims at getting Managers (top; middle; front-line) to Plan how they will make “changes” to how they operate the business.  If there is one thing most Managers have learned is that “change” is a given, and to expect it.  Planning in advance how you will react to change is a skill-set many Managers could improve on since many don’t plan at all and get caught always playing catch-up.  Managers can use this Clause to build a checklist of questions that they can go thorough each time they are faced with “change”, in order to get back some sense of control in these situations.

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…