ISO 9001 Quality Management System

Customer Focus

"Profit in business comes from repeat customers, customers that boast about your project or service, and that bring friends with them" - Dr W Edwards Deming

This first principle requires that organizations focus on the customer and his/her expectations. Meeting customer requirements and ensuring that the customer gets what he wants is something every organization does. But to survive in today's competitive environment, going a step further, providing value to the customer and ensuring customer delight is what this principle focuses on.

Leadership

"It is most important that top management be quality-minded. In the absence of sincere manifestation of interest at the top, little will happen below." - Joseph M Juran

Leaders are the flag bearers of change required in an organization. Their role in establishing a quality management system and practices in an organization is paramount. This principle emphasizes the role of the leaders in creating a unity of purpose, driving and leading the quality management initiatives and promoting a culture of "Quality First" in the organization.

Engagement of People

"All anyone asks for is a chance to work with pride." - Dr W Edwards Deming

People are the most important pillar of an organization. An organization which has empowered and engaged people has mastered the perfect recipe for success. This principle focuses on ensuring people are competent on the basis of their skills, experience and knowledge to ensure they are capable of meeting the customer's requirements.

Process Approach

"If you can't describe what you are doing in a process, you don't know what you are doing." - Dr W Edwards Deming

A process is a set of interrelated activities which operates using some inputs and provides the desired output. This principle encourages an organization to bring in a process approach to the work. Adequate measurements and controls should also be put in place to ensure that the processes are achieving the business objectives.

Improvement

"The starting point for improvement is to recognize the need." - Masaaki Imai

This principle focuses on imbibing a culture of continual improvement in the organization. The organization should reflect on its own processes, analyse data and bring in changes in the system to improve its results. Continuous improvement brings in new opportunities and strengthens the organization further.

Evidence-based Decision Making

"Without data, you're just another person with an opinion" - Dr W Edwards Deming

This principle requires that decisions should be based on evidence or facts and not driven by feelings. Mechanisms should be built into the organization to gather data from various sources, analyse the results of this data and make decisions based on this data.

Relationship Management

"The result of a long-term relationship is better and better quality and lower and lower cost." - Dr W Edwards Deming

Strong relationships with your customers, suppliers, employees and other stakeholders goes a long way as each person works towards the achievement of a common goal. Keeping everyone on the same page, creating an understanding of the common goals and values is of paramount importance for a business to work efficiently and perform better with each day.

Appoint a Project Leader

Appoint a project leader who has an interest in Quality Management and the authority within the business to drive it forward.

Identify Major Functions Within the Business

Identify the major functions within the business and list the related processes for each function.

Document Business Processes

Document each process, identify responsibilities and related records. This includes the steps of the process, who is responsible for critical steps, what records are kept, who completes them, and where and for how long they are stored.

Review the System Against the Standard

Having documented the processes, the procedures need to be reviewed against the standard to ensure all of the requirements have been met.

Management Approval

Ensure that management review and approve the whole system. Management approval needs to be documented and recorded for the certification auditor.

Training

Now the system documentation can be formally released to the staff. The staff will need to be trained in using the documentation and made aware of their responsibilities with regards to the Quality Management System.

Conduct an Internal Audit of the System

Once the system has been successfully implemented, an internal audit of the system has to be conducted. This is a mandatory requirement of the standard; you must conduct at least one internal audit before certification. The purpose is to determine whether work processes are operating in accordance with the documented procedures.

Hold a Management Review Meeting

The meeting has to review the results of the internal audit, any changes to the business and any changes to the Quality Management System, customer feedback and other areas as indicated by the standard.

Engage a Certification Body

Engage a certification body to conduct the certification audit.