The requirements of ISO is the foundation for all good common sense business practices and by implementing a QMS your company will certainly see internal and external benefits as it will provide you with the following;
- A consistent Product or Service
- Increase in customer confidence to ensure they receive the product they ordered.
- It helps to increase your employees confidence to do their job well as they are trained in all areas of their job which affect quality with their responsibilities being clearly defined, communicated and documented.
- It eliminates time wasted on “fighting fires” as problems are pulled out by their roots to prevent them from reoccurring and are documented as such.
- A QMS helps to ensure that there is clear communication not only within the company itself but with your clients and suppliers so that there is clear and documented communication to avoid misunderstandings.
- The QMS helps you objectively evaluate and improve your internal and external processes to increase efficiencies as well as quality and safety.
- All of these points helps to improve your bottom line
What Does a QMS Look Like?
A QMS Manual will describe how your management system meets the requirements of the ISO standard.The Manual will contain procedures for required areas of the ISO standard as well as procedures that you determine are required.
Process Instructions will describe how specific tasks are done with you deciding what process instructions you need to provide a consistent product or service which also seconds as a training manual for employees.
You will need to keep records that demonstrate that the documented procedures and process instructions were followed. All of these records must be maintained as they maybe required to be shown during an audit.
Procedures and process instructions as well as job descriptions and other responsibility documents will clearly describe employee responsibilities.
An internal audit program will continually evaluate the management system and highlight any areas that require improvement.Corrective and preventive action processes will allow problems to be fixed and verified for effectiveness.
Information from corrective actions, internal audits, process measurements and product measurement will be reviewed by the management team on a regular basis. The Management team will be informed on the QMS's performance and will take action for continual improvement.
Registration and regular audits by a UKAS registered company will confirm that your QMS is working effectively.
To implement a QMS you need to ensure that it is operating how you need to work which can take 12 months, but typically 6 to 12 months is more likely. Before your can demonstrate to a UKAS registered auditor you need to have at least 3 to 6 months of records.
You will need to keep records that demonstrate that the documented procedures and process instructions were followed. All of these records must be maintained as they maybe required to be shown during an audit.
Procedures and process instructions as well as job descriptions and other responsibility documents will clearly describe employee responsibilities.
An internal audit program will continually evaluate the management system and highlight any areas that require improvement.Corrective and preventive action processes will allow problems to be fixed and verified for effectiveness.
Information from corrective actions, internal audits, process measurements and product measurement will be reviewed by the management team on a regular basis. The Management team will be informed on the QMS's performance and will take action for continual improvement.
Registration and regular audits by a UKAS registered company will confirm that your QMS is working effectively.
How Long Will it Take?
To implement a QMS you need to ensure that it is operating how you need to work which can take 12 months, but typically 6 to 12 months is more likely. Before your can demonstrate to a UKAS registered auditor you need to have at least 3 to 6 months of records.
Your registration audit should be planned for no less than three months after you make the QMS “live”.
Factors that can affect the timeline include;
- The size and the complexity of your organisation
- How much existing documentation you have available to be utilised.
- The amount of resources that you have available for the project
- How much ISO expertise is available
Who Should be Involved?
Everyone needs to be involved in the process, either in the planning, implementation or the maintenance.
Management involvement is critical to the whole process, the management team must support the project by providing resources and removing any roadblocks. Employees should be involved in evaluating and documenting the processes in which they participate to collect an accurate record of what happens as processes are often followed but not documented.
Employee involvement is critical to getting them to buy-in and support the whole process, this support will help you successfully implement the new processes and make it easier to achieve your goals.
Employee involvement also gives them a chance to give you their input into any changes and modifications for process improvements.
ISO Implementation
The main keys to implementing a successful QMS;
- Understand what you already have in place.
- Understand what you need to add in order to meet the standard.
- Know the best way to add the needed components.
- Involve employees who understand the ISO standard and the QMS goals.
- Let us produce a solid plan for you to implement.
The Implementation Process
We along with the Management Team determine the new processes to meet the standard.
- A Steering Team, composed of key members will meet to coordinate efforts.
- The teams document the new process and develop the required records, forms, and process instructions.
- The team will then train staff members on how the new processes will work.
- When the new processes are complete, Internal Audits and Management Review meetings begin to assess the effectiveness.
- The QMS is used for 3 to 6 months before the registration audit is carried out.
- One cycle of internal audits and management reviews are completed.
Once all of these points are concluded it is time to arrange an audit to obtain your ISO 9001 registration.
You will need to arrange with a UKAS registered company to audit your manual and your company, the cost is usually around £1,200 and then the cost of yearly audits from then on.
There are some companies that will spread the cost over 12 to 24 months which could be of interest, we can guide you on this to help you further.