ISO 9001 has been around since 1987, but new additions and modifications are always evolving, in keeping with the core principles of quality improvement. The most recent version was published in 2015, which is what current companies use today while enforcing ISO 9001 enforcement.
In case you missed our previous blog post in this series in ISO 9001, you can check it out here. It explains that the first step in creating meaningful change through ISO 9001 is to embed values in your society, not just checkboxes on a list. How can you implement these standards and procedures? That’s what we’re going to talk about today.
A short overview of existing ISO 9001 standards and procedures is as follows:
The 7 Principles of Quality Management
The ISO 9001 standard contains seven fundamental concepts that function as a roadmap for quality improvement. In no particular order, they are:
- Employee engagement
- Leadership involvement
- Customer focus
- Continual improvement
- Data-driven decision making
- Systematic risk management
- Process orientation
Each of these principles has a specific meaning, which sums up as the ideals that drive daily operations and strategic initiatives.
Let’s take a closer look at each one:
Employee Engagement
It is everyone’s duty to ensure organizational excellence. By involving the whole team in quality control, everybody will contribute to its success.
Leadership Involvement
The leaders of your business should have a strong view of the future. This enables them to make choices now that will bring them closer to the future they want.
Customer Focus
Maintaining a clear emphasis on consumers – the lifeblood of your business – ensures that your dedication to quality is upheld. When you know what they want, you can make key decisions to meet their needs and therefore increase your service quality.
Continual Improvement
Continuous progress is at the heart of ISO 9001, and it acts as a reminder that there is still room for improvement. You will better react and respond to opportunities to change if you have the right systems in place.
Data-driven Decision Making
Well-informed decisions aid quality and risk management. Knowledge must be readily accessible, while facilitating contact, to make informed decisions.
Relationship Management
Your quality control system must reflect in your relationships with manufacturers, suppliers, staff, potential candidates, and customers. Trusted relationships allow you to expand and retain your competitive advantage, as well as developing mutually beneficial long-term strategies.
Process Orientation
Taking a process-oriented approach to business entails making sure not to overlook any information. For continuity and efficiency, processes enable everyone on your team to learn and do from the same playbook.
Using ISO 9001 Principles and Practices to Achieve Compliance
Though ISO 9001 standards can be classified as such, they should be applied cross-functionally to ensure that the organization is aligned. It’s not enough to think about each theory and how it works in its own little box. Companies should take these ideas a step further by figuring out how they affect their overall quality goals. Quality thrives naturally as you get to the root of why those systems have been introduced.
We’ll go into more detail about getting beyond enforcement in the next chapter of this series.
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