ISO9001 in 2021 Week by Week - Week 52 – 10.3 Continual improvement

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!

We hope you've enjoyed this year-long series exploring, in detail, the requirements of ISO9001.  And we'd love to hear your feedback.  What content will you find valuable for 2022?  Comment here, or connect with us today and let us know!

“10.3  Continual improvement

The organization shall continually improve the suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of the quality management system.

The organization shall consider the results of analysis and evaluation, and the outputs from management review, to determine if there are needs or opportunities that shall be addressed as part of continual improvement.”

This is where we stretch to when all else is going well.  As the management system matures and stabilizes, we are required to continually reach higher and higher to improve.

You may have heard that “continuous” and “continual” improvement are not the same.  There is no real value to splitting hairs on this definition in terms of tangible results to your quality system.  Many quality professionals like to parse words and deconstruct terminology, but I discourage this.  The skills that can be most effectively leveraged when trying to build effective quality management systems are communication and persuasion.  And in my opinion, quibbling over “continuous” v “continual” isn’t an effective use of either of those skills.

What is worth considering is whether your organization is actually engaged in an ongoing pursuit of “better” by stretching beyond its current performance.  One area that some organizations struggle with is focusing solely on “correction” or fixing issues and ignoring areas which are performing well enough,but could perform even better.  An example of this would be far exceeding targets for on-time delivery.  If you set your target at >=95% and you’ve run at 98% consistently for years, the expectation is that, over time, targets are challenged to encourage continual improvement.  This should, of course, be weighed against customer expectations, the cost and benefit to improve the target, etc.  But, some focus should be placed not only on correcting “problems”, but also recognizing opportunities for improvement and pursuing them. 

THIS WEEK’S HOMEWORK

Have a look at your continual improvement system.  Where do your ideas come from?  Employee suggestions?  Customer surveys?  Management review?  Discussions around risk/SWOT, etc?  All of the above?

Focus just on continual improvement.  Are there any continual improvement activities that, after consideration, are actually “corrections”?  Does your system help you know the difference and prioritize them?

If you need help improving your corrective action or continual improvement systems, connect with us today and we'll help you create a simple program that will help you achieve the real improvements your organization is looking for.  All the effort put into a quality management system should provide more value and get you better results!

Want your team to have a better understanding of Problem Solving?  Let us help you curate specialized training including 3 powerful problem-solving techniques ("5 Why", "Fishbone" and "Pareto") with a workshop to solve one of your organization's REAL LIFE problems.  OR,

Want your team to have a better handle on risk-based thinking and learn how to break a process down to identify its pitfalls, risk points AND continual improvement opportunities?  Connect with us today and we'll create a custom training session on FMEA Failure Mode & Effects Analysis.  We'll lead a dynamic, hands-on workshop to teach your team how to perform an FMEA and how that tool can be leveraged to launch powerful lean, Six Sigma and Continuous Improvement.

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. 

Or for targeted, personalized support and coaching, let’s partner together to talk through your issues, learn more about specific tools and applications and enrich your personal development through professional coaching.  Available weekly, monthly or whatever best suits your needs!

SUBSCRIBE today and great new stuff 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!