ISO9001 in 2021 Week by Week - Week 9 – 5.2 Quality policy

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 with a 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!

5.2 Quality Policy

It’s hard to overemphasize how difficult this simple requirement can be to execute effectively.  There are a few words in the area of quality that are really “trigger” words, and therefore, automatically cause a fearful or negative reaction.  “Policy” is one of those words (and so are “risk”, “audit”, “document” and “corrective action”).  Many people find the word “policy” to be very regulatory and “police-y”.  Perhaps this is why this simple requirement gives so many organizations difficulty.  Writing a quality policy is the first challenge, but communicating it and getting engagement is the really tough part.

To start, (luckily) the standard gives very specific guidance to us to help us write a robust policy.

ISO9001 states, “The quality policy shall:

• Be appropriate to the purpose and context of the organization
• Provide a framework for setting and reviewing quality objectives
• Include a commitment to satisfy applicable requirements
• Include a commitment to continual improvement of the QMS”

Looking more closely at each of these:

• Be appropriate to the “purpose and context” means it should align with the most basic needs of the organization.  Why does the organization exist?  What/who are we committed to?  What/who matters?
• Provide a “framework for objectives” means it should communicate a commitment to meet some sort of goal which would support the policy.  This doesn’t mean that the objectives and targets themselves must appear in the policy.  Just that one could infer (quality, cost, delivery, for example) as key commitments (objectives) pursued by the organization.
• Include a commitment to satisfy applicable requirements applies to the requirements of all interested parties.  Some organizations like to include language like “meet or exceed expectations” in their policies.  That’s at the discretion of the organization.
• Include a commitment to continual improvement might mean the desire to “exceed expectations” or to challenge the quality objectives periodically.

An example of a Quality Policy might be something like:

“We are committed to providing widgets to the automotive industry which meet our customers’ expectations for quality, cost and delivery with a commitment to continually improve the output of our processes in those areas, while satisfying all applicable requirements (customer, internal and other). ”

But, the writing of the policy is the easy part.  The next subclause is a little trickier.

The guidelines state also that the quality policy shall:

• Be available as documented information
• Be communicated, understood and applied within the organization
• Be available to relevant interested parties

To achieve this, many organizations abbreviate or summarize their policy in a slogan.  It might be something as “Quality – Cost – Delivery For Every Customer – Every Time”.

However, a clever slogan or quality policy carefully crafted by a wordsmith can’t meet this requirement on its own.  It’s not difficult to document or communicate a quality policy.  But it IS sometimes difficult to gain a corporate wide understanding.  And then even if you are successful with that challenge, getting the organization to be able to demonstrate that understanding can be another challenge altogether.

This week is a great time to introduce the idea of “branding” your QMS.  The previous 8 weeks have required in depth self-reflection on why the organization exists – what matters and what it hopes to accomplish.  A focus on defining processes that will deliver products and services into the hands of its customers has been the responsibility of management as they define the organization and find the boundaries around the QMS quality management system (or as I like to refer to it – just plain management system).  Up until this week, all the work has been done behind the scenes by management.  This week introduces the first suggestion that EVERYONE in the organization needs to understand what the company does and how it operates.   

This is “branding” opportunity #1 – refer to it as a “management system”, removing the word “quality”.  It’s such a small thing, but if your organization really struggles with the idea of “quality” being “someone else’s job” or the responsibility of “the quality department”, then this might be a strategy for you.  In some contexts, the word “quality” can create an invisible division between operations and everything else.  Give this some thought and then consider….

“Branding” opportunity #2 – REMOVE the terms “ISO” and “ISO9001” from your vocabulary entirely.  You may have a small reference to it in order to introduce the idea that your QMS or management system is intended to comply with or follows the requirements of “ISO9001”.  But referring to anything in your management system as “our ISO system”, “our ISO documents”, “our ISO manual”, etc in general conversation, communication or training immediately separates “normal daily operations (that we all understand)” from “that other stuff (that we don’t all understand)”. 

           I recently helped a company achieve ISO9001 certification who never referred to “ISO9001”.  And they even referred to their quality manual as “The X Company Standard”, using the word “Standard”, but totally out of the context of ISO.  They had a small ceremony recognizing the achievement of the group involved in the implementation of the system, but there was almost no promotion of the “ISO” achievement.  Rather, they celebrated the success and results of their new management system and specific wins they had generated through internal audits (which they referred to as “internal audit/review/coaching events”, corrective actions (which they referred to as “lessons learned”) and continual improvement (which they referred to as “opportunities”).

“Branding” opportunity #3 - back to that word “policy” or “police-y”.  Just about every company I’ve ever worked with has had an issue on audit days with employees freezing up when asked, “Does the company have a quality policy?”  Every method is tried – posting the policy, hanging a banner, handing out pocket cards, quizzing every employee, preparatory internal audits, etc.  And yet, when the chips are down, employees may still panic and not remember, because of that word “policy”.  It makes one think they should be able to remember or recite a clause from a rule book.   

One approach I’ve seen succeed is to “brand” the quality policy as a “core value statement” or a “commitment”.  It’s not enough to simply write and present the quality policy to employees.  How we “package and brand” what is communicated is key.  We need to talk about the organization’s quality commitment.  And then we need to connect that commitment with each individual, by engaging them and ensuring they understand their role in maintaining the commitment (policy).

It’s important to have a thoughtful, well written quality policy/commitment/statement.  How it is communicated, executed and applied is even more important.

THIS WEEK’S HOMEWORK

If you’re building your QMS from scratch, draft a quality policy statement using the criteria above.  OR if you’re reviewing an already existing QMS, review your quality policy against the requirements in subclauses 5.2.1 and 5.2.2.  The ISO9001:2015 revision includes a consideration of “context”, so be sure to give your organization’s “context” and “interested parties” some thought.  Does your policy require any revision?

Now take a moment to consider how well understood your policy is with each and every individual in your organization.  Will anyone in your organization still have that puzzled look on their face if asked if you have a quality policy (or statement or commitment, etc).  Be sure this is considered and visited often within your organization.

This series is a DIY guide including lots of FREE STUFF.  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 for 100% VIRTUAL IMPLEMENTATION of ISO9001 Clauses 1-6 (there are only 10 clauses total!).  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!

And the options don't stop there.  

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!