ISO9001 in 2021 Week by Week - Week 21 – 7.3 Awareness

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).  And, be sure to do your homework!

Persons doing work under the organization’s control shall be aware of:

a)  the quality policy;

b)  relevant objectives;

c)  their contribution to the effectiveness of the quality management system, including the benefits of improved quality performance;

d)  the implications of not conforming with the quality management system requirements.

This is simply getting the message across to your whole team that the quality management system exists and that it was built upon a central quality policy with some simple objectives.  Somehow, companies seem to struggle with providing the right training to get people to just understand and have awareness of the quality system!

How many ways have organizations tried to meet the requirement of “shall understand the quality policy”?  Hand bills, posters, employee badges with the policy on the back, memorization, chants, bumper stickers, geesh!  And the most success any of these companies can muster is that most of their employees can repeat the policy by rote or at least a catch phrase that closely resembles the policy.  When hit with the follow up question of “and what does that mean to you?” or “and what is your role in the quality policy?”, the employee flushes white and staggers away wearing a cloak of shame for having failed such a simple test.  This is typically because quality policies are overthought and over-engineered and under-understood.

This is ironic because the quality policy is said to be created, adopted and fully supported by top management, and often times, even top management doesn’t understand what they wrote or what it means.  So, how is an “Average Joe (or Jill)” who comes to work just wanting to put in a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay supposed to understand what it means?  Top management should take guidance from the Einstein quote “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough” and keep this as simple as possible.  Because, it is imperative that the quality policy be understood in order for it to serve its purpose as the bedrock for the quality management system.

I think this particular clause is extremely simply written and straight to the point.  It ties together that all persons must understand the policy (not just be able to recite it) coupled with the associated objectives as well as an understanding of exactly how their own work may impact the organization’s product/service.  If presented during orientation as a new addition to the organization, this can be so effective in the employee’s understanding of what they are to do, how performance will be evaluated, how to interpret feedback and what they are responsible for in terms of compliance.  And it is management’s responsibility to create a policy that is easily understood, objectives that support the policy and processes that are designed to achieve the objectives presented.  Easy beezy!

THIS WEEK’S HOMEWORK

First, take a good look at your quality policy.  Does it make sense?  Is it easily understood or is it a really wordy, run-on sentence which ticks all the boxes for compliance but has no meaning to its users?  If so, then suggest a retooling of your quality policy.  Yes, I know, we’ll have to reprint the posters, but take the opportunity to do it anyway.  Next, take a good sampling of your team, and try a different approach than the typical pre-audit walkthrough or real time audit approach.  Table the quiz-approach and just chat with several of your teammates about how your quality policy feels to them.  Is it sensible or silly?  Does it really tell a story or is it just a bunch of words?  What is their impression of what a quality policy should be (and whatever they say, write it down word for word and consider incorporating their language into your revision).

BRAND NEW PRODUCT!  BY CLIENT DEMAND!  Companies are tired of giving ISO9001 refresher training and ISO9001 training sessions to new hires.  Let me help!  I'll create a simple, customized on-demand training program and train your ENTIRE organization about ISO9001 and the specifics of your quality system.   Your custom on-demand course will include a personal video introduction with your company logo and personalized message, a general overview of ISO9001 and a custom presentation of your quality system structure with the graphics, examples and highlights of your choosing.  Connect with us today and as a bonus, I'll throw in a suggested list of quiz questions you can use to evaluate competency and understanding of your QMS and ISO9001.  You keep the video and you can use it for all future onboarding! 

Clients are loving this option and tell me they are seeing significant savings in training investment, more accessibility to their team members, and a more consistent understanding of the quality message throughout their organizations.  

And for those inside your organization who need a deeper understanding of the ISO9001 standard, watch this 3-minute video about another great resource.   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 continuing 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!