Why QMS is important
A quality management system (QMS) is a structured framework that defines and documents an organization’s processes, procedures, and responsibilities for achieving the organizations objectives. The goal of a QMS is to reduce waste, increase efficiency, and improve customer satisfaction.
The QMS is a very powerful system to ensure the excellence of the organization, provided it is implemented in true sense & real spirit. In many cases, it is just for obtaining & maintaining the certification.
The QMS is structured on four important pillars:
Quality planning, Quality assurance, Quality control & Quality improvement.
1. Quality Planning
The organizations top management once decides to go in for QMS certification, the basic work starts from here by defining Quality policy.
The next important step is to document quality procedures, process flows, work instructions & related documentation. These documents should be aligned to the standard requirements.
2. Quality Assurance (QA)
In this stage suitable control mechanisms are built into the system to ensure the reliability, detecting & preventing the occurrence of defects. This is applied to document control, employee training, internal & external audits, supplier validation & evaluation of all internal processes.
3. Quality Control (QC)
In this stage, suitable actions to detect the defects are set in place, so that it does not move forward in the value chain & suitable corrective & preventive actions are put in place to avoid recurrence of identified defects.
There by ensuring the product/service is of high quality & standard & also a mechanism to resolve any issue that may get detected after delivery in terms of handling the customer complaints & grievances. This builds confidence in customers towards the brand.
4. Quality Improvement
In this stage, continuous effort is made to improve all business processes. This is done by data collection, analysis & initiating CAPA & following the PDCA cycle to continually go on improving the effectiveness of the system.
Benefits of Implementing the ISO 9000 management system.
- Increased credibility
- Better customer satisfaction
- Improved customer service
- Reduced operational expenses & optimized profits
- Improved internal communication through internal customer concept
- Improved business reputation & opportunities.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a Quality Management System is much more than a certification requirement; it is a disciplined way of managing processes, people, risks, and improvements to achieve consistent excellence.