ISO 9001:2015 QMS Awareness – Improvement – Continual improvement
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Improvement = Activity to enhance performance
Improvement activity can be recurring or singular.
Continual activity = Recurring activity
Continual improvement = Recurring activity to improve
or enhance performance
Continual improvement is not a one-time or singular
activity. It is a regular activity.
ISO 9001:2015 QMS standard is based on the quality
management principles that include improvement. Any management approach centred
on quality should be based on the fundamental assumption that there is always
scope for improvement in every area of business including organization’s
processes. Focusing improvement efforts bring better results. ISO 9001:2015 QMS
standard describes requirements for continual improvement.
The organization needs to consider – (i) Results of
analysis and evaluation, and (ii) Management review outputs.
The organization needs to determine – Needs /
opportunities for improvement.
The organization needs to address – Determined
needs / opportunities.
The organization needs to continually improve –
Suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of its quality management system.
Some of the areas within an organization that can
be continually improved are:
(1)
Leadership and management – Enhancing leadership
commitment and improving overall top management role in quality management
system activities
(2)
Customer satisfaction – Focusing on understanding
customer needs, taking and analyzing customer feedbacks, and addressing customer
complaints
(3)
Process efficiency – Identifying and optimizing
organization’s processes to enhance efficiency and streamline operations
(4)
People involvement – Promoting people involvement by
improving their competence and by fostering a culture of quality and continual
improvement
(5)
Relationship management – Strengthening
relationship with suppliers, contractors and stakeholders
(6)
Risk-based thinking – Determining risks and
opportunities and taking actions to address them
(7)
Analysis and evaluation – Analyzing and evaluating data
and information to monitor process performance
(8)
Corrective action – Taking corrective action to address
nonconformity
(9)
Criteria and methods – Determining, applying and
improving criteria and methods needed to ensure effective operation of
processes
(10)
Documented information – Regularly updating, maintaining or retaining
documented information
All above areas provide a foundation for continual
improvement as these are not one time activity. It should be noted that
continual improvement is an ongoing process, and regular review will help
identify additional area for improvement.
Continual improvement is such a necessity, which
should be implemented in every walk of life. Likewise, there is a great need
for continual improvement in the management systems. Although the requirements
for continual improvement are briefly given at the end of ISO 9001:2015 QMS
standard, however it deserves special attention. Continuous improvement will be
effective in strengthening the quality management system of the organization
and will provide great benefits to the organization, including increased
customer satisfaction, improved efficiency, enhanced performance, enhanced
competitiveness, culture of innovation, better process / product / service,
etc.
Think of
the following Questions
(1)
What do you understand by improvement and
continual improvement?
(2)
How will you apply continual improvement requirements
in your organization?
Best wishes,
Keshav Ram Singhal
Please have your comments /
reaction.
To train your employees with ISO
9001:2015 QMS Awareness, please supply them “TRAINING HANDBOOK ON ISO 9001:2015QMS AWARENESS” (ASIN:
B093YFFY7Z), which is available worldwide at Amazon. Please
search this Training Handbook in Amazon Website of your country.
You may also supply your
employees following eBooks - (i) A Concise Guide on Creating and Updating Documented Information
(eBook) https://store.pothi.com/book/ebook-keshav-ram-singhal-concise-guide-creating-and-updating-documented-information/
(ii) Applying Risk-based Thinking in an Organization Implementing ISO
9001:2015 QMS (eBook) https://store.pothi.com/book/ebook-keshav-ram-singhal-applying-risk-based-thinking-organization-implementing-iso-9001-2015-q/
Thanks.
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