An effective and efficient Quality Management System (QMS) using the requirements of the ISO 9001 standard requires writing a Quality Policy for your company. However, it is surely not a simple task as it requires several steps to move forward. Generally, the top managers are responsible for devising and implementing a quality policy for manufacturing.
The top management should keep the following things in mind while preparing a quality policy of a company.
Top management must ensure that the quality policy.
- Is suitable for the organization.
- Includes an affirmation to requirements and continual improvement.
- Provides a basis for quality objectives.
- Is communicated and understood by everyone in the organization.
- Is periodically reviewed for suitability.
The Quality Policy for Manufacturing & Organizational Goals
A quality policy is a reflection of the goals and objectives of the organization, therefore, it can be used as a filter for business decisions. If a company’s policy is to consistently deliver high-quality goods while continuously improving its processes and procedures, then a manager can look at how they are applying funds, and he can inquire regarding the release of funds that whether they contribute toward meeting the required standard or not. And if the manager finds that this decision will not contribute towards the objectives such as high-quality and continuous improvement, then such decision may be cancelled.
Focus on Customer Satisfaction
Customer satisfaction and requirements are key factors while making quality policies for manufacturing. If you are to effectively drive your Quality Management System toward improving customer satisfaction, it is important to make sure that you understand all the requirements to attain this. These requirements might come from customer preferences, customer specifications or through legal requirements in the context of your products.
Get Inputs from Internal Parties
The quality policy for manufacturing is in fact focused on the entire Quality Management System. It is generally to be used by all employees within the organization as a focus for their job. So, it becomes important to gather input from all entities of the company to ensure that the Quality Policy is applicable to all those areas. Therefore, it is essential to get the input of people in the various fields who would need to apply the policy. If employees cannot see how the Quality Policy for manufacturing relates to their job, then it becomes useless. And if they can see how it is related to their job, it would be instrumental in meeting the objectives of the organization in a more effective manner.
Quality Policy for Manufacturing and ISO 9001
The standard ISO 9001 certainly impose some rations on the quality policy for manufacturing that are important to note. The quality policy also requires showing the commitment of the organization to comply with customer requirements and to improve the effectiveness of the QMS. As we know affirmation to customer satisfaction and Improvement are key elements in the decision to implement a Quality Management System, so the quality policy for manufacturing should include this commitment. This can be done by stating this as a fact, such as “improving our commitment to deliver to customers on time,” but it needs to be backed up with plans to implement these improvements. A further requirement is that the Quality Policy for manufacturing should be appropriate to the purpose or the organization. For example, if a company manufactures cars, the quality policy should speak about this and not some other product that could be provided.
Write and Communicate the Quality Policy
Having all this information, you need to write a policy that can guide the organization and provide direction to create quality goals and objectives. Generally, a good policy is clear, precise, and easily applicable in various situations. It’s essential that all workers and management of the organization are aware of the policy and also clearly understand it. This means their job should support meeting the quality policy.
By focusing the actions of all areas toward the goals of meeting customer requirements and improvement will help the company to grow, which is what a Quality Management System is for in the first place.