ISO 9001 is the standard for quality known worldwide and adopted by over a million organizations. It provides a framework of requirements for the Quality Management System (QMS) which would help the business to achieve quality excellence and continual improvement. The ISO 9001 certification is essential for businesses to sustain themselves in this competitive world. To achieve the certification, they need to meet several clauses of the standard. Each clause underlines a set of requirements that organizations need to fulfill to establish the QMS. Clause number 5.2 underlines the requirement for a definite quality policy. A composite and well-planned policy is essential to lay the foundation of the QMS. In this blog, we provide you with essential guidelines to set up your quality policy to meet the clause.
Guidelines to Meet Clause 5.2 of Quality Policy of the ISO 9001 Standard
Purpose of the Quality Policy
On learning about the clause during the certification procedure, the first thing that may come to mind to is, what makes a policy crucial for implementing the QMS? Well, the policy would be a creation by your organization’s top management by considering the ideas of several managers, business goals, and direction. Therefore, it would set up the organization’s objectives regarding quality management towards which everyone would move. The policy is also the root cause behind the establishment of proper culture in the business.
Steps to Build the Policy
The ISO 9001 boldly states that organizations need to create, write, document, convey, and enforce the policy in practice. The step to establishing the policy as a firm declaration by your organization is hence complex and involves the directors, managers, departmental heads, and project managers. They should lay the policy by filling the appropriate template. The policy must reflect the context, strategic direction and purpose of your organization. It must be specific to your business. The ISO 9001 does not make organizations do the same things for achieving quality management. It is about doing what suits your organization right to achieve continual improvement.
Communicating the Policy
When the quality policy is comprehensively built, it should be gradually introduced to the employees and help them understand. It would not work as the foundation stone of your QMS until it is made a part of the daily processes and work procedures. Therefore, communicating the policy to employees is the next crucial step. You need to ensure that each one of them understands the policy and applies it. You can use several useful ways to communicate and educate your employees about the quality policy. It can be communicated through a visual presentation, a manual or handbook, print materials (a poster, flyers and stickers), email, and physical meetings. The idea is to remind the employees about the quality goals through the policy. You should also communicate how the policy would benefit their company and bring success.
Sustaining the Policy
The policy is created and implemented at the very beginning of the ISO 9001 certification process but that never means the work is done and you can forget about it. The policy acts as an established and controlled document in your organization which must be reviewed and evaluated from time to time (at least in 6 months or 1 year). It is necessary to ensure the policy still fits your specific quality goals when the business scenario is constantly changing, and customer expectations are increasing.
Key Takeaway
Every organization needs to have a clearly defined quality policy not just to fulfill clause 5.2 of the ISO 9001 but also to establish a strategic direction and purpose. A quality policy along with an understanding of your customers’ needs and expectations will help you to develop the most suitable QMS (Quality Management System) for your organization, driven towards growth and quality excellence.
