ISO9001 in 2021 Week by Week - Week 15 – Support 7.1.2 People

This is a 52 week discussion of ISO9001:2015. Each week, we discuss a specific clause of the ISO9001:2015 standard in detail and look for ways to trim the fat. (As a member of TAG/TC176, the committee responsible for review and revision of ISO9001, (possible revision in 2023), I’ll keep you posted on what I learn all year!)

(It is strongly recommended that you purchase a copy of ISO9001:2015  for reference).

7.1.2 People

“To ensure the organization can consistently meet customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, the organization shall provide the persons necessary for the effective operation of the quality management system, including the processes needed.”

I think we can all agree that the "people resource" is the most precious of resources to a business.  We all say it, but do we back it up with action?  I guess, the first thing we need to do is identify which people we need.  Which people, with which skills, with which values, for what type of culture, to accomplish what?  These are areas that sometimes are taken for granted.  Good news for us, this week's section gives us some guidance on at least what we should be thinking about. 

This section is a little befuddling to me, however – not the intent, but how it is organized.  (And if you wish to follow my rant, you’ll need to follow along in your copy of the standard).  The 7.1.2 “People” section contains just a general statement (above) requiring that the organization effectively “put enough people in the chairs”.  But it does little to discuss any more detail.  The sections following (which talk about other types of resources) provide details and examples of the resources to be considered – 7.1.3 Infrastructure suggests “buildings”, “equipment” etc, 7.1.4 Environment suggests “physical, social, psychological, etc” and 7.1.5 Monitoring Resources makes is clear the resources must be “suitable” and “maintained”.  But 7.1.2 simply says “shall provide the persons necessary”.

The standard identifies “organizational knowledge” in 7.1.6 as a critical resource, but treats it sort of like a much needed library of information which must be later connected back to the people (ie the organization must find a way to link the “people” with the “organizational knowledge” (library)).  The standard then jumps up one level to 7.2 Competence & 7.3 Awareness which is all about people and how the organization will be able to effectively use their knowledge and skills to meet its objectives.  But then in that same level, it switches to 7.4 Communication and 7.5 Documentation which are obviously relative to people, but not as directly.  In my humble opinion, the layout is awkward.  But I do like a lot of what is being said.

This week, our task is an easy one – we simply need to “provide the persons necessary” to keep our processes and QMS moving along.  (A few sections later, we will identify how we determine that we indeed have the “persons necessary”).

So, this much awaited section "7.1.2 People" leaves us a little underwhelmed.  It doesn’t say much about this treasured resource all organizations must continually develop and provide a culture where they may thrive.  It does, however, recognize the first step which is to evaluate what you’ve set out to do and then make sure you have filled your bench with the right team to do the job.

THIS WEEK’S HOMEWORK – NO HOMEWORK!  We will take the week off and wait until there’s something a little more meaty for us to work on (which will be next week 7.1.3 Infrastructure).  But, in the meantime, take this moment to catch up on previous homework.  And, also, research whether there is intentional thought by management during strategic planning around "People".  When discussing new technologies, is there a parallel discussion around whether current personnel and their skillsets would be adequate to develop those technologies?  In discussing new markets, is there a parallel discussion around whether the current sales and marketing teams would have knowledge of those markets?  In discussing new market segments or customers with additional requirements such as lab certification or systems certifications such as ISO, AS, IATF, is there planning around supplementing the team with additional personnel or obtaining necessary expertise in new areas?  If not, try to have a discussion with someone who might have some ideas of how to add this enhancement to the strategic planning activities.  

This weekly series is a DIY guide including lots of FREE STUFF like templates, examples and tutorials.  So, SUBSCRIBE today and we’ll keep it coming to your inbox weekly.

But, if you’re ready for more - if you’re ready to TRANSFORM your organization, we can team up LIVE or VIRTUAL for IMPLEMENTATION of ANY or ALL ISO9001 Clauses.  We’ll lead your team and build a fully compliant foundation for your quality system so you and your team can understand the requirements and have the confidence to continue forward on your ISO9001 journey toward BETTER QUALITY.   World Class Quality, ISO9001 certification, lower costs and higher yields are just the beginning of the benefits of a robust quality system.  Connect with us today and LET'S GET STARTED!

HOW ABOUT A GREAT RESOURCE TO IMPROVE THE SKILLS OF YOUR PEOPLE?!  Watch this 3-minute video about another great resource to accompany this series.   Get the self-directed, on demand, online learning series  ISO9001 in Plain English, today and you'll get:

• A clear understanding of the requirements of ISO9001:2015
• Proven tips to build a robust quality system that's easy to use
• Ways to reduce documentation and paperwork (yes, really!!)

Each video is about 15 minutes and targets a specific element of ISO9001, (with over 6 hours of total content!).  We translate all the gobbledegoop into Plain English you can understand and leverage the requirements to get maximum VALUE from your quality efforts. 

For a deeper dive into the process side of your quality system, get Tribal Knowledge - The Practical Use of ISO, Lean and Six Sigma Together, a simple guide to UNITE ISO9001, lean and Six Sigma to create a robust quality system with better results.  Read what ASQ American Society for Quality – Quality Progress Magazine had to say about it. 

We look forward to taking this YEAR LONG journey with you.  SUBSCRIBE today and the series will come to you weekly to get you off to a great start and your quality system reinvigorated. 

And join me on my journey to always keep improving!