So your customer is pressuring you to become registered to a Quality Management Standard

So your customer is pressuring you to become registered to a Quality Management Standard.  What a pain!  Just something to cost you more money and take your mind off the business.

Or is it? 

There is a reason why the ISO 9001 standard has for over  25 years and why over one millions companies are now registered.  Sector specific standards such as AS9100 for Aerospace, ISO/TS 16949 for Automotive and ISO 14000 for Environmental all build on ISO 9001.

The reason is common sense.  The reason is business/process management and improvement.    The ISO standard provides guidelines for good business/manufacturing practices.  Registration provides the verification that you have the systems in place.  Customers view it as verification that you have the systems in place and the discipline to maintain and improve them. 

The standard tells you the “what”; you provide the “how” that fits your business.

Good use of the standard leads to confidence and improvement.  Poor use of the standard leads to a waste of time and money.

So, while your customer may be “urging” you to seek registration, make it work for you. 

This series of articles will review each of the sections in detail, but let’s set the tone.

The eight principles of Quality Management ( ISO 9001:2008 subclause 0.1) are:

1.       Customer Focus

·         You must understand current and future customer needs in order to meet them.  Strive to exceed them

2.       Leadership

·         Establish and communicate the purpose and direction of the organization

3.       Involvement of people

·         Know, use and expand the talents of all people in your organization

4.       Process approach

·         Process: a set of activities that are interrelated or that
interact with one another.

5.       System approach to management

·         Manage the interrelated processes that drive the business.

6.       Continual improvement

·         Static companies don’t last.

7.       Fact based decision making

·         Ban knee jerk reactions. 

8.       Mutually beneficial supplier relationships.

·         Be a good customer to your suppliers.  It will pay off for both of you.

The words are nice.  The philosophy is logical.  The consistent practice requires thought, design and education.  The deployment requires discipline.

The rewards are tangible.

Start a conversation with your team.  How well do you practice the principles of Quality Management

Our next blog will discuss Clause 4 of ISO 9001:2008, Quality Management and General Documentation.

Please contact us for help with any of your  Quality Management needs.  We are ready to assist!

Regards,

DonnaLynn