International Standards ISO 9000 and ISO 9001 describe the means and method of setting up a Quality Management System (QMS). What is not immediately obvious when reading these documents, is that they actually seek to help create a company culture to support the mission for better quality management, and not simply help to set up a QMS.

And it’s clear why: quality management no longer simply belongs to the quality assurance department or team. It has long become the responsibility of the whole organisation. From top management down, quality has begun to mean the continuous improvement of all employees and work processes associated with a product or service. So how do you engage the entire organisation to continually improve on quality?

There are a few ways you can begin building a quality culture. Central to setting up a QMS, for example, is the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle (PDCA) which can be used for any improvement process, and helps companies systematically tackle change. Couple this with risk-based thinking, which is intended to help companies identify and act on nonconformities and opportunities, and you’ll have a solid base to start from.

How to get started

First, determine what kind of change is needed in your organisation, and what the long-term goals should be. Take stock of how you currently operate, of your current way of working, and then determine how you wish to improve. What is the focus for your company and what are the pain points?

Allow for feedback from all personnel involved throughout the entire improvement process. Without proper communication, you run the risk of losing the commitment of your workforce. With the expertise of specialists who know the process to begin with, you will be able to optimally identify recurring risks, and you’ll have an easier time setting up a proper action plan in response.

The QMS in action

From this point on, you should have a good idea of where you want to go and how you want to get there. You should also have an action plan at the ready for any issues or opportunities that show their heads. With this in mind, you can begin improvement iterations across the board: quality assurance, compliance, supply chain, … Anything that has a connection to either your product or service, or to the customer, is something you can improve on. 

Plan the improvement you want to see enacted, then try it out. That’s the only way to move forward. After this, check for anything that went wrong or that went right during, and continue from that point onward, repeating the same cycle. Don’t forget to communicate clearly about all the methods and goals so everyone will feel motivated and empowered to participate. With communication comes culture, and that culture will become what keeps a QMS going.

Ensuring QMS’ effectiveness

So you’ve implemented a QMS and it’s working for you so far. Now make sure to keep track of performance metrics related to the business process you are looking to improve, but try to focus on something other than speed of delivery or improvement too.

While these are good indicators, also check whether the needs and expectations of all interested parties (customers, stakeholders, employees, …) are being met through different measures and consolidate from there. You can, for example, choose to focus on new opportunities for improvement identified through the PDCA-cycle. Or, alternatively, you can try to measure the speed of preventive or corrective actions, and see whether old problems reoccur.

Checking a QMS within your organisation can be similar to taking temperature of the prevalent (quality) culture of the company and workforce. You will see the motivation and employee drive first-hand if you track the right metrics, as the results will be clear.

Act the part

If a nonconformity is identified, you should be able to quickly implement preventive or corrective measures in order to assess potential risk, mitigate damage, or immediately improve the process in which the nonconformity occurred. 

This is where risk-based thinking really shines. Try to think of possible issues that can arise in a process and define a plan to act ‘in case of’ beforehand. In the eventuality a crisis hits, you will be able to respond sooner and more effectively. 

Nonconformities and other issues will happen, there is no way around it. If you chose to consider potential risks in advance, however, it will be easier to navigate those occurrences. What’s more, you’ll be able to improve based on the issues you’ve dealt with as you progress.  

Quality continues to expand as a strategic and managerial concept. It no longer simply applies to product or process quality. It’s not just about tracking consumer demands and customer satisfaction, or responding to trends. It now touches on a range of business processes (from supply chain, over compliance, to complaint management), and combines them. And with its rise in prominence, sustainability might soon become the very heart of the quality package.

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