Quality Policy
ISO 9001 Standard Requires Quality Policy
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Element 5.3 of ISO 9001 Standard requires an organization to
establish a quality policy. More specifically, the standard
requires: “The management…” of an organization to… “ensure that
the quality policy”:
- Is appropriate to the purpose of the organization;
- Includes a commitment to comply with requirements;
- Includes a commitment to continual improvement of the
effectiveness of the QMS;
- Provides a framework for establishing and reviewing quality
objectives;
- Is communicated and understood within the organization;
- Is reviewed for continuing suitability
Despite the fact that these requirements appear to be rather
simple, most companies I worked with as a consultant or an
auditor, had difficulties with documenting their ISO 9001
quality policies by not addressing all the requirements above.
Establishing a quality policy that, as a minimum, addresses all
the requirements above is important because of our commitment to
establish a QMS that complies with ISO 9001 Standard. Therefore,
we have to adhere to it’s requirements. What if our quality
policy did not require its review “for continuing suitability”?
Most likely that this review would not have been done.
Let’s take a look at a few examples of quality policies. If you
open your browser and type “iso 9001 quality policy”, you will
see a list of companies that placed their quality policies on
their Websites. For example, let’s take a look at a few of them:
“[Company name] is committed to serve it’s customers and meet
their needs and expectations in the design, manufacture and
supply of reliable and innovative technologies and products for
[product descriptions] using modern management, engineering and
material sciences. [Company name] is committed to continuing
improvement of its products and services to achieve increased
customer satisfaction as well as to ensure compliance with the
requirements of the Quality Management System and it’s
continuing improvement.”
Assuming that this quality policy is
appropriate "to the purpose of the organization" and is
communicated, these two requirements are met. Customer needs and
expectations may be considered as requirements, so this
requirement is also addressed. However, commitment to continual
improvement of the effectiveness of the QMS, provision of a
framework for reviewing quality objectives and commitment to
review quality policy for continuing suitability are not apparent.
The second example states: “Our goal is to exceed our customers'
expectations continually by delivering the highest quality
services. [Company name] complies with our quality policy by:
Consistent management focus on quality, Continually improving
the effectiveness of our Quality Management System; motivating
our employees to take ownership of their work; understanding our
customers goals and embracing them; providing ongoing training
to advance the skills of our greatest asset, our employees;
identifying and solving problems to avoid compromising the
quality of our services. [Company name] places a premium on
excellence of service. We clearly appreciate and respect today's
market forces that mandate delivery of quality services and
products. We know that our survival as a company depends on
providing the highest quality of service on every engagement.“
This quality policy, while apparently customer-focused, still
does not cover a framework for establishing and reviewing
quality objectives and commitment to review it for continuing
suitability.
One of my clients came up with a quality policy that won my The
Worst Quality Policy Award! They simply said: “I improve the
Quality of Patient Care and all things [Company name]” No! I am
not kidding and I did not misspelled or took any words out of
this sorry example! Obviously, this quality policy does not meet
standard requirements and, based on what I have seen there, did
not contribute in any way to improving "the Quality of Patient
care...".
Browse our Products page to see
which of our products can help you developing your quality
policy and quality management system.

Discover techniques to build Lean Management Systems.
Download a complimentary copy of our
The Perfect Manual - A Guide
to Lean Management Systems book
Browse our Products page to see
which of our products can help you developing your quality
policy and quality management system.
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