We all believe in quality, committed to it when we implement ISO
9001:2008 quality management system. But many managers find it difficult to
ascertain to what, specifically, are they committed to leading to all sorts of
problem associated with implementing ISO 9001:2008, such as:
- Top management did not define
“quality” clearly in relation to
the business (quality policy)
- Top management did not act to clearly
ensure that “quality” is
achieved (quality objectives)
What business sense will tell you the reason why you need to define
“quality” is this:
“if you don’t know what it is, you will never know whether you’ve
achieved it.”
Not knowing where you want to go, what you want to do makes it
impossible to communicate to your workforce and managers what is to be achieved
and why, let alone motivate them to act and support the ISO 9001:2008
initiative.
With the many definitions of quality, for all practical purposes let us
ignore all of them first. The best and only definition of quality that counts
is the one on which you and your colleagues agree upon. It is how your company
defines quality. The agreed quality definition is technically called quality policy. The agreed quality
policy should (then) be the driving force of the system and commits the
organization to both meeting requirements and improvements called for by ISO
9001. The quality policy is the key document against which the performance of
the quality system is audited.
The company is required to ensure that it continually improves the:
- Degree to which company’s products and
services meet customer requirements
- Effectiveness of processes (i.e., improved results)
- Perceptions of customers as to how
well their requirements have been met
Continual improvement is not some special form of improvement. The
continual improvement principle implies that the company:
- Adopt the attitude that improvement is
always possible and that there is always room for improvement
- Develop the skills (e.g., looking for
causes of problems) and the tools like simple charts and graphs to be able to
improve systematically
- Always know what to improve next and
how to measure the improvement
Provided you take into account the few important items ISO 9001 asks
for, you can define and measure quality any way you choose. And once you have a
set of objectives that fits customer needs, you can drop the vague word
“quality” and focus your energies and system on achieving the objectives.
The translation of the quality policy into practice is made by defining
supporting objectives but ISO 9001 does not specify how quality objectives are
documented: they may be documented in business plans, management review output,
annual budgets, quality plans, etc.
Quality Objectives are now a clear
requirement in their own right as opposed to being just a part of quality
policy. Quality objectives must be established, support the quality policy, be
measurable and focus on both meeting product requirements and achieving
continual improvement ultimately leading to customer satisfaction.
When quality objectives are defined it must
reflect the quality policy, be coherent, and align with the overall business
objectives, including customer expectations. Logically, ISO 9001 Quality
Objectives must deliver a meaningful result and therefore Quality Objectives
equal Business Objectives. Of course,
the objective of any organization (whether for profit or non-profit) is to use
their money wisely?
ISO 9004:2000 Para. 6.8 Financial Resources
recommends that:
Management should plan, make available and
control the financial resources necessary
to achieve the organization’s objectives
and encourage improvement of the organization’s
performance.
Improving the efficiency and effectiveness
of the quality management system can influence positively the financial results
of the company, by: internally--by reducing process and product failures, or
waste in material and time, or; externally--by reducing product failures, costs
of compensation under guarantees and warranties, and costs of lost customers
and markets. It is highly imperative that reporting of such matters to provide
a means of determining ineffective or
inefficient activities and initiating
suitable improvement actions.
Let us always remember that quality
objectives are not static, they are always active, things waiting to be done.
Quality objectives need to be updated to meet business conditions. Growth does
not trickle down, so continuous improvement efforts must address organizational
and customer needs directly. There is clearly a link between revising the
quality policy and quality objectives and the organization’s commitment to
continual improvement, especially when continual improvement is best measured
in monetary terms.
Quality is always a choice, a commitment.
It is never a dream nor a panacea. Quality is never an accident. It is always
the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and
skillful execution. It represents the wise choice of many alternatives.
-OM-
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Rafael Pablo M. Fernando is currently
the Officer-in-Charge of the Total Quality Management group of the Subic Bay
Metropolitan Authority (SBMA). He is also connected with Integral Transformation Group, Inc., a transformative management
group giving organizations and its people alternative forms of managing and
living life to the fullest. Formed 1992, ITG-TheGroup
extends management services, education & training, and advocacy
activities in the areas of: total quality management-ISO implementation,
organic agriculture, cooperatives, sustainable development, Vedic culture,
good governance, strategic management, institutional development, among
others. He is also an Associate/Consultant
of several management/development
groups, like: Quality Partners Co., Ltd. (QPCL), GeoData Solutions,
Inc., the Asian Development Bank (ADB), among others. (January 5, 2012).
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