ISO9001 in 2021 Week by Week - Week 27 - 8.2.1 Customer communication

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!

8.2 Determination of requirements for products and services

8.2.1 Customer communication

This week’s discussion is about customer communication, and the requirement is that first, there must be a defined process for how the organization will communicate with a customer.  Once again, I must point out the awkwardness of the structure of ISO9001:2015.  This section jumps around separating first having a process, then determining and then reviewing the requirements, using a lot more words than necessary in my opinion.  But let’s have a look at the first requirement, 8.2.1 Customer communication.

“8.2.1 Customer communication

The organization shall establish the processes for communicating with customers in relation to:

a)  information relating to products and services;

b)  enquiries, contracts or order handling, including changes;

c)  obtaining customer views and perceptions, including customer complaints;

d)  the handling or treatment of customer property, if applicable;

e)  specific requirements for contingency actions, when relevant.”

So, the requirement is clear, there must be established processes for these types of customer interactions.  Customers play a large role in the determination of these processes, particularly with regard to information and inquiries.  And it is important to have internal processes to supplement the customers’ preferred processes when they may be, shall we say, quite entrepreneurial and/or requiring a smidge more discipline.  Verbal requests, emails and so forth can work well in many situations, but can also lead to confusion and miscommunication.  This is especially true regarding changes.

Requirements a) and b) above address the subject of inquiries becoming orders in an important process that should be carefully defined.  That’s not to say an organization must put so many procedures and policies in place as to discourage a customer or negatively impact their experience, but rather to ensure the organization has a process to clearly define what the customer wants and their ability to fulfill those requirements.

Requirement c) is oddly placed in my opinion, because customer satisfaction and nonconformity are addressed elsewhere and in greater detail.  But, as there should be processes for determining what the customer “likes”, there should also be a way to determine also what they “don’t like”.

Requirement d) is a contract requirement that should not be overlooked.  Should the organization hold inventory or equipment (or intellectual property such as drawings, specifications, test methods, etc) as part of the product or service they provide, the expectations for the care for those items should be clearly defined.

And finally, requirement e) is a simple requirement for an agreement to ensure fulfillment of customer needs in case of emergency.  There is an expectation that there be a “contingency plan” of some sort in place, should foreseeable obstacles be encountered.  Simple, right?  Most organizations have at least a cursory plan (written or unwritten), should an emergency occur.

THIS WEEK’S HOMEWORK

Assess your organization’s processes.  Are there processes for communicating with your customers and do they ensure all necessary information is captured?  (Stay tuned, because as we continue this next week, 8.2.2 adds an additional requirement that the organization “shall review requirements not state by the customer, but necessary for the customer specified or intended use, when known”.  That’s a tough one, but we’ll tackle it next week.  Meantime, do your current communication processes foster a clear understanding of your customers’ needs and your ability to fulfill them?

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.

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 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!