Introduction
Implementation of ISO 9001 helps organizations develop a solid foundation for their operations while offering customers consistent, high-quality products and services based on well-defined processes.
The quality management principles are the great premises that are used by the top management of the organization to guide the quality management system; they should not be confused with the mandatory compliance requirements or clauses expressed in ISO 9001. These principles, rather, constitute the reference framework for the successful implementation of the requirements.
The results of these principles applied to an organization are very positive; such as economic prosperity, increased productivity, meeting the requirements of customers and other stakeholders, among others.
The ISO 9001: 2015 standard considers these seven principles as fundamental pillars for quality management, they are described in ISO 9000: 2015, below we present an overview of each one.
Customer focus
Quality management systems have the macro objective of bringing the best customer experience, whether through a product or service. The organization must take care of its customers, understanding what they want and supplying them with Products and Services (P&S) that meet their expectations and needs.
For a company to be sustainable, it is important to have satisfied customers, and therefore they must understand their current and future needs, as well as satisfy all their requirements and strive to exceed their expectations. In today’s complex markets, organizations must be clear that the needs of their customers are not static, but dynamic, so they change over time, in addition to being increasingly demanding and increasingly informed customers.
Leadership
The leaders of the organizations define the purpose and direction of the organization, and create the conditions for it, as a whole, to walk in that direction and work to achieve the desired results, a condition without which success will hardly be achieved.
Leaders must create and maintain an internal environment in which employees can become fully involved in achieving organizational goals. Leadership implies a chain that affects everyone in an organization, from the highest levels of the structure to the operational force.
People make things happen. To achieve the objectives, it is necessary for people to act as a whole, guided by the same objectives. People must be led on this path and have the conditions, resources, competence and knowledge to achieve it. It is essential that the people of the Organization know and understand its purpose and direction, and feel supported and stimulated in achieving it.
Commitment of people
The results obtained by organizations are the results obtained by people at all levels and functions who work in the organization. To achieve them, it is necessary to determine the necessary skills and knowledge, ensure that people have them, and that they know exactly what to do for the success of the organization.
To achieve the above, it is crucial to work as a team, which represents a sensitive process and requires a lot of dedication, attention, and empathy from a leader to create a professional environment that brings out the best in each one. The staff is the essence of the organization and their total commitment enables their skills to be used for the benefit of the organization.
Process approach
The QMS is a set of interrelated and interacting processes to obtain results. An organization that understands how the results are obtained through the processes can optimize its QMS and consequently improve its performance.
Desired results are achieved more efficiently and effectively when activities and related resources are managed as a process. Hence the importance of viewing the organization as a set of related processes that interact to transform input elements into outputs, which in the long run will determine the achievement of the objectives and goals set.
Improvement
The continuous improvement of the general performance of companies must be a permanent objective. The continuous improvement of the processes is achieved with the PDCA cycle (Plan, Do, Check and Act), to improve.
The improvement applies to the products and services supplied or to be supplied by the organization. By improving products and services, whether existing, new or significantly modified, it must be ensured that customer satisfaction is maintained or increased, promoting new customers or markets and contributing to the organization’s sustainability.
The improvement is also applied to the activities and processes of the organization, helping to increase its results, improving performance and efficiency.
Evidence-based decision making
Decision making is a continuous process in the life of organizations at different levels. It is a process that can be complex because there are different sources and types of information, with different quality and validity. These have to be interpreted and can have different degrees of subjectivity. The decision is more objective and therefore worthy of more confidence when it is made from facts, evidence and data analysis.
Relationship management
Organizations necessarily interact with other organizations, and those that do not depend on any external organization for the provision of products and services are rare. Determining those that are relevant to your success and what the common objectives are will allow you to establish the necessary relationship to ensure the response to existing risks and opportunities and enhance the success of both parties. Sharing resources and competencies and managing quality-related risks among stakeholders increases value creation for all.
Conclusion
Adopting a Quality Management System must be a strategic decision made by the management of each organization. The design and implementation of these systems is influenced by the nature of the organization, by its needs, by its particular objectives, by the products and services it provides, by the processes it uses, and by its size and structure. Considering the aforementioned quality management principles is an important step to support the success of the process that is being undertaken.
References
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