Guide to Quality Management Principles
Contents
The quality management system standards of ISO 9000:2008 series are based on eight quality management principles. These principles can be used by senior management as a framework to guide their organizations towards improved performance.
This guide will provide a general perspective on each of these quality management principles, giving an overview of how they can be applied to form a basis for performance improvement and organizational excellence.
Principle 1: Customer focus
Organizations depend on their customers and therefore should understand current and future customer needs, should meet customer requirements and strive to exceed customer expectations.
How to apply the principle:
Ensure you fully understand and record what the customer wants, including any specialist knowledge you may have that affects the application of the product. Check that you are able to provide the service on time and to price before accepting the order. For telesales, read the order back to the customer for agreement.
Keep open channels of communication with your customers. Ensure they have the latest information on your products and have a formal and effective mechanism for dealing with complaints. Find out what they are looking for that you might provide but are not yet offering.
Find ways of monitoring and measuring customer satisfaction. This can be by survey, but recording the results of face to face or telephone conversations can be just as effective, and there may be data in your existing management information systems that is relevant (numbers of credit notes, levels of repeat business).
Key benefits:
By ensuring you always meet or exceed your customer's expectations, you will increase customer loyalty which will in turn increase revenue. This should increase profit even further, as it is much cheaper to sell more to existing customers that it is to find new ones.
By maintaining good communication links with your customers, you will be more aware of market opportunities, enabling you to respond in a flexible and fast manner, leading to increased market share and revenue.
By understanding fully what your customers want you can make more effective use of resources. If you get it right first time, there is no need to waste effort sorting out problems, and the customer will be happier.
Principle 2: Leadership
Leaders establish unity of purpose and direction of the organization. They should create and maintain the internal environment in which people can become fully involved in achieving the organization's objectives.
How to apply the principle:
Establish a clear vision of the organisation's future, taking into account the needs of all interested parties including customers, owners, employees, suppliers, financiers, local communities and society as a whole.
Ensure clear accountabilities and responsibilities are defined, and ensure staff are given the authority, support, training and resources they need to perform their role.
Set challenging goals and targets throughout the organisation that support business objectives.
Create a fair and ethical working environment, and inspire by encouraging and recognising staff contributions.
Key benefits:
Staff will understand the organisation's goals and objectives, and how they contribute to the organisation's success.
Activities will be evaluated, aligned and implemented in a unified way.
Good communication between levels of the organisation will be developed and miscommunication eliminated.
Principle 3: Involvement of people
People at all levels are the essence of an organization and their full involvement enables their abilities to be used for the organization's benefit.
How to apply the principle:
Ensure clear reporting lines are established and that all staff know what they are. Make sure your staff understand the importance of their contribution and role within the organisation. Once staff feel empowered, they are more likely to identify constraints to their performance, accept ownership of problems and take responsibility for solving them. It is vital that staff see constraints and problems as an opportunity for improvement rather than a threat to their position.
Implement a system of performance review. If you empower your staff they will evaluate their own performance against their personal goals and objectives and actively seek opportunities to enhance their competence, knowledge and experience provided this is recognised and acted upon within the organisation.
Encourage staff to share knowledge and experience, and to openly discuss problems and issues rather than competing with each other.
Implement and disseminate an effective method for recording non-conformance, corrective and preventive actions as a mechanism for reporting and controlling the resolution of problems and issues.
Key benefits:
Staff will be more motivated, committed and involved within the organisation. This will lead to greater innovation and creativity in furthering the organisation's objectives. People will be accountable for their own performance and will feel more in control of their own destiny, and will consequently be eager to participate in and contribute to continual improvement.
Principle 4: Process approach
A desired result is achieved more efficiently when activities and related resources are managed as a process.
How to apply the principle:
Analyse your business and identify what processes you have. Look at what inputs they require, what their outputs are, what resources they need and how they are constrained. Understand how they interact - outputs from one process will generally be inputs to another.
Establish clear responsibility and accountability for managing key activities. Evaluate risks, consequences and impacts of activities on customers, suppliers and other interested parties.
Im plement systems for monitoring and measuring the effectiveness of processes, and use this information to influence decisions made relating to resources, methods and materials with the aim of improving the process and enhancing customer satisfaction.
Key benefits:
Effective use of the process approach and associated monitoring, measurement and analysis will lead to lower costs and shorter cycle times through effective use of resources.
Results will improve and be more consistent and predictable.
Improvement opportunities will be focused and prioritised (see Principle 7: factual approach to decision making).
Principle 5: System approach to management
Identifying, understanding and managing interrelated processes as a system contributes to the organization's effectiveness and efficiency in achieving its objectives.
How to apply the principle:
Following on from the process approach (principle #4), identify and understand how the processes within your business are interrelated and inter-dependant. Look at the interfaces between processes and consider whether they are efficient and effective.
Use the information gathered to ensure the system is structured to achieve your objectives, and to provide a better understanding of the roles and responsibilities needed to achieve objectives and thereby reduce cross-functional barriers.
Develop an understanding of your organisation's capabilities and resource constraints.
Define monitoring and measurement of the effectiveness of the processes and use the data gathered to drive continual improvement through the system.
Key benefits:
Processes will develop in an integrated and aligned manner that will best achieve desired results.
Effort can be focused on key processes.
The consistency, effectiveness and efficiency of your organisation will improve.
Principle 6: Continual improvement
Continual improvement of the organization's overall performance should be a permanent objective of the organization.
How to apply the principle:
Use processes for reporting and managing problems, complaints and ideas for improvement in a consistent and effective manner.
Ensure all staff are provided with training in the use of these processes. Make continual improvement of process and produce an objective for every individual.
Set targets for improvement and measure progress.
Recognise and acknowledge improvements achieved.
Key benefits:
Business performance and efficiency will improve.
Improvement activities will align with your strategic goals.
Increased flexibility to react quickly to opportunities.
Principle 7: Factual approach to decision making
Effective decisions are based on the analysis of data and information
How to apply the principle:
When identifying processes, put in place effective monitoring and measurement of performance and ensure the data collected is sufficiently accurate and reliable.
Make the data available to those that need it, and ensure it is analysed using valid methods.
Make decisions and take action based on the results of the analysis, balanced with experience and intuition.
Key benefits:
Decisions made will be informed ones.
It will be possible to demonstrate the effectiveness of past decisions through reference to factual records.
Opinions and decisions can be reviewed and challenged more effectively.
Principle 8: Mutually beneficial supplier relationships
An organization and its suppliers are interdependent and a mutually beneficial relationship enhances the ability of both to create value
How to apply the principle:
Balance short term gains with long term considerations when establishing relationships. Work with suppliers to pool expertise and resources where possible.
Identify criteria to apply to selecting suppliers. Employ monitoring and measurement to ensure that suppliers meet, and continue to meet, your expectations.
Employ clear and open communication. Ensure suppliers understand your expectations, and are confident enough to tell you in advance if they may not be able to meet them.
Share information and future plans, and where possible establish joint development and improvement activities.
Recognise improvements and achievements of suppliers, inspire and encourage them.
Key benefits:
The ability of both parties to create value will increase.
Joint responses to changing market or customer needs and expectations will be faster and more flexible.
Costs and resources can be optimised.
For more information, call 0845 020 4234 or email at enquiries@thequalityteam.co.uk
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